In 2021, NABTU commissioned ICERES to conduct a study of female and minority participation in the U.S. construction industry, with particular focus on historical trends in participation, successful initiatives to increase female and minority participation, and opportunities for future growth.

On January 17, North America’s Building Trades Unions hosted an Opportunity Pipeline Forum in Washington, D.C. with key labor and industry leaders in attendance.

“The American Rescue Plan Act, which cost a whopping $1.9 trillion, had a slew of provisions tucked into it to help battle the fallout from the pandemic and plug holes in the social safety net.”

“I do not come from a lineage of tradespeople, nor did I ever think as a young person that I would find a home in construction. Instead, I wandered through a thousand interests, a hundred places, multiple schools, and several career paths before arriving at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 429 in Nashville, Tenn.”

“The University has committed to employing all-union labor for any construction project over $25 million for the next five years as part of an agreement with the Rhode Island Building and Construction Trades Council, according to a press release.”

Madison-based concert promoter FPC Live announced Monday that it has finalized two separate labor agreements for its $50 million concert venue complex proposed for the Deer District in downtown Milwaukee.

Micron Technology plans to spend up to $100 billion building a mega-complex of computer chip plants in Syracuse’s northern suburbs in what would be the largest single private investment in New York history.

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions and the Augusta Building and Construction Trades Council signed an agreement that will pave the way for a major construction project, bringing thousands of jobs to skilled craft and trade workers.

“If you’re struggling with a class, we can get you extra tutoring,” he explains. “The main thing is: if you want to be here and you try, we’re going to get you through it.”

“We’re showing these young folks here that it’s a great living and there’s zero debt,” Loney said. “We can put you to work immediately, and you’re earning while you learn.”

“Seventy-one percent of Americans now approve of labor unions. Although statistically similar to last year’s 68%, it is up from 64% before the pandemic and is the highest Gallup has recorded on this measure since 1965.”

“As major federal investments like the American Rescue Plan, the Infrastructure law, and now the CHIPS and Science Act start to create millions of new jobs, the country’s unions are at the forefront of efforts to build up the workforce to meet that demand.”

“NYC Health + Hospitals and District Council No. 9 Local Union 1969, Civil Service Employees, International Union of Painters & Allied Trades (DC 9) announced the launch of their new apprenticeship program to train New Yorkers for careers as unionized painters.”

The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of more than $121 million in Apprenticeship Building America grants to strengthen and modernize Registered Apprenticeship programs and enable workers to find a reliable pathway to the middle class.

The funding comes from the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law, which included $5 billion overall for terminal projects as part of $20 billion in funding for airport infrastructure.

“Union contractors are significantly less likely to have delays in completion times due to shortages of workers — and they’ve actually been more likely to add workers in this tight labor market.” 

The U.S. energy secretary and Danish wind developer Orsted say they want American union workers to build offshore wind farms to dot the U.S. coastlines.

Petrucci found that women and people of color are significantly more likely to complete their programs in a union apprenticeship compared to a non-union apprenticeship.

What makes federally funded construction jobs “good” is a concept called prevailing wage — a minimum standard that federal construction contractors have to pay workers.

Dominion Energy and skilled labor are working hand-in-glove to make this project — and its associated customer, environmental and economic benefits — possible.