Zaddie Johnson grew up in Alabama working on farms, picking cotton and hauling hay. She had to work alongside her brothers, and when she married her husband, they moved near the shipyards in Mobile to find better paying work.
Her husband got a job as a welder, and she soon followed him, tacking metal for the rest of the welders. However, Johnson wasn’t content to stop there. She practiced welding and soon found work as part of a 15-member female welding team.
Johnson worked at that job throughout the war, working on ships alongside the
men. After the war her husband continued welding and she opened a restaurant.
After that they traveled the country with her family, moving from one job to
another and living in a camper.
Source: The Times Daily
Welding Industry
Welding Jobs Grow in South West Florida: “A prominent National
Science Foundation study found that the United States will require 250,000 new
and replacement positions in just the next six years. In Southwest Florida, the
current epicenter for the issue might be newcomer Air Products and Chemicals, a
company building a manufacturing plant near Port Manatee.
Air Products is going to need at least 140 welders and perhaps many more as
it begins building giant natural gas heat exchangers.”
Friction Welding Provides Key Cost Savings While Improving
Production and Quality: “Innovations in Friction Welding benefit a host of
industries. Seeking new ways of improving production, focusing on driving
quality for cost effective solutions; David Hoel from American Friction Welding,
Inc. talks to AZoM about the latest developments within Friction Welding and how
a variety of industries are staying ahead of the curve with the latest
technology.”
Welding Jobs
Demand for Welding Jobs Remains High in Mississippi: “The
demand for jobs in South Mississippi’s maritime industry is higher than it has
ever been. Industries such as Huntington Ingalls, VT Halter Marine and Trinity
Yachts are constantly seeking skilled workers for new projects. Mississippi Gulf
Coast Community College, along with coastal industries, are training and placing
these workers quickly, but the demand remains high.”
Ingalls Adds Maritime Training Center in Mississippi: “Ingalls
Shipbuilding just can’t seem to get enough workers. The Pascagoula yard has an
already healthy apprentice program, which will grow once a $20 million maritime
training academy is completed this summer. But the company has also implemented
another workforce training initiative to help fill the demand for craft
jobs.”
Welding Education
Mississippi College Adds After-Hours Pipefitting Course:
“Pearl River Community College will offer after-hours pipefitting and welding
courses during the fall semester on the Poplarville campus. The pipefitting
course will meet from 4:30-9:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday, beginning Aug. 12 and
ending Nov. 27. The course offers an industry recognized certificate in
pipefitting, including applications for a 10-hour OSHA certification and NCCER
certification in the core curriculum of introductory craft skills, Level 1 and
Level 2 pipefitting.”
Victoria College in Texas: “On Monday, the Victoria College
board approved a contract using $92,689 provided by the Gonzales Economic
Development Corporation for an electrical upgrade needed for the center’s new
welding lab. For about $400,000, the city of Gonzales purchased the former
Chevrolet dealership to be renovated for the new workforce training center, said
Larry Garrett, VC executive director of special projects.”
Welding Events
16th Annual
Aluminum Conference: September 4-5, 2013 in Chicago, IL
“A distinguished panel of aluminum-industry experts will survey the state of
the art in aluminum welding technology and practice.
The 16th Aluminum Welding Conference will also provide several opportunities
for you to network informally with speakers and other participants, and to visit
an exhibition showcasing products and services available to the aluminum welding
industry.”
Welding Gone Wrong
Report Finds Welding Flaw in Arkansas Pipeline Spill:
“independent report found that a rupture in an Exxon Mobil Corp. pipeline that
spilled thousands of barrels of oil in Mayflower, Arkansas, earlier this year
was caused by defects tied to when the pipe was built in the 1940s, the company
said.”
Fire Caused by Welder Who Worked on Restricted Day: “A 60-year
old Bald Hills man has been fined and convicted over a 32-hectare bush and grass
fire that threatened Creswick earlier this year. Three hundred firefighters in
57 trucks, three dozers and five water bombing aircraft descended on Creswick on
January 21, as more than 80 residents fled to emergency evacuation centres in
the region.
Graham Gray had been welding on the total fire ban day, Ballarat Magistrates
Court heard yesterday, when the ground ignited and grew into an out-of-control
fire.”
