Washington, DC – June 15, 2018 – North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) convened its 32nd annual Labor of Love charity event in Philadelphia last week and raised a record $776,000 for medical research at the Diabetes Research Institute (DRI).

“Nobody values and works harder to take care of and provide for their communities than the Building Trades, and the success of this Labor of Love event is evident of that. Our members’ strong and consistent commitment to meaningful charitable endeavors is on display every day,” said NABTU President and Pennsylvania native Sean McGarvey. “We applaud this year’s sponsors, Mayor Kenney, John Dougherty, Wayne Miller, and all of our brothers and sisters in our affiliated local unions at the Philadelphia Building & Construction Trades Council for helping us set a Labor of Love record, raising nearly $800,000 for the Diabetes Research Institute.”

NABTU hosted over 350 sponsors and tradespeople in Philadelphia at this year’s Labor of Love. The annual softball tournament included eight local unions representing each of the building trades. 130 people participated in the charity bowling and poker tournaments, and 300 golfers and sponsors attended Labor of Love’s three golf events held across the Philadelphia area.

“It was great to host the hardworking men and women of the North American Building Trades Union last week as they gathered for the 32nd annual Labor of Love charity event,” said Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney. “The building trades and the labor movement are vitally important to my Administration. As I said at the time, there are not many people whose lives are not touched by diabetes, whether it be a family member, friend or co-worker. I’m told that thanks to support of groups like NABTU, the Diabetes Research Institute is nearing a day when a cure can become a reality. Regardless of how far off that day is, you deserve enormous praise for your contributions.”

“For over 35 years, Labor of Love has remained one of the most loyal and longstanding events to support the DRI mission, thanks to the dedicated union members who give it their all for those waiting for a cure for diabetes. The financial support from all of NABTU’s efforts continues to demonstrate their commitment to the DRI unyielding drive to find a biological cure for diabetes; our gratitude is immeasurable,” said Tom Karlya, Vice President of the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation.

The labor movement as a whole contributes nearly a billion dollars to numerous charitable causes across North America each year. The Labor of Love events helped NABTU reach a record of nearly $800,000 raised for medical research at the DRI. This brings NABTU’s overall contribution to the search for a diabetes cure to $55 million. NABTU will return to Philadelphia in 2019 for the 33rd annual Labor of Love.

Here is a video about NABTU’s efforts to help the DRI find a cure.

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