Union Made Fun: Take Kids Fishing Day 2023

“This is what it is all about. You see all the kids running around, smiling after they caught a fish. They’re all laughing and playing, it’s great,” said Western Wisconsin AFL-CIO President Mike Davis Jr at Chad Erickson Memorial Park in La Crosse. “Not only do kids love to fish, but it’s satisfying for grown-ups to watch a kid who’s all smiles while catching a fish, large or small … and with school ending, there’s no better time than now to get a youngster hooked on fishing. It’s also a great way to show area residents the cornucopia of public access fishing spots in the Coulee Region.”

Take Kids Fishing Day 2023 events were held in La Crosse, Beloit, Eau Claire, and Madison over the weekend of June 3rd and 4th. Union members set up fishing sites at local parks and provided free fishing poles, bait, and a picnic lunch/snack(s) for children and their parents in the community.

Nate Tell, newly elected President of the Southern Building Trades Council of Wisconsin, helped organize Take Kids Fishing Day with union brothers and sisters at Riverside Park in Beloit. Before fishing along the Rock River, Tell recognized all the hard work that goes into hosting this annual event.

“Union volunteers set up Take Kids Fishing Day to give back to the community and introduce kids to both fishing and to careers in the trades,” said Tell.

Tobin Boyle, Secretary-Treasurer of the Southern Building Trades Council of Wisconsin grilled hot dogs along the river on Sunday and explained that, “Take Kids Fishing Day is a great way to get involved in our community. We have family-sustaining jobs with benefits through our unions and we want to get the word out about good careers in the trades and let kids know there are options out there for your future. As union members, we give back in any way we can.”

Jesse McKnight, a member of Ironworkers Local 383 handed out gift bags with tee-shirts and duck calls as she pointed kids to the free fishing poles. “Ironworkers promote community service,” said sister McKnight. “We enjoy volunteering and helping youth find positive opportunities in the communities we build.”

Take Kids Fishing Day is held in tandem with the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance Boots on the Ground program and has been a union tradition for over a decade in Wisconsin. Take Kids Fishing Day is sponsored by the Western Wisconsin AFL-CIO, the South Central Building and Construction Trades Council of Wisconsin, the Western Wisconsin Building and Construction Trades Council, the , the Greater West Central Labor Council, the South Central Federation of Labor, the Rock County Central Labor Council and the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance.

Thank you volunteers and attendees for a fantastic day!