Washington, D.C. – June 1, 2023 – North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) President Sean McGarvey issued the following statement:

“We appreciate the EEOC’s analysis of the construction industry and opportunities to further address discrimination, racism, equity, harassment, and inclusion issues in the industry. Harassment or discrimination in any form cannot be tolerated on construction sites, and, as we have said repeatedly, the construction industry can and must do more to prevent these terrible and pervasive workplace issues.

“The EEOC report aligns with findings from NABTU’s commissioned ICERES study, ‘Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives in the Construction Trades,’ released in January. Our data shows that investing programmatically and deliberately throughout the workforce development and retention pipeline, strengthening critical partnerships with community-based organizations, industry leaders, and government agencies and utilizing true workforce development tools like PLAs and collective bargaining work. The EEOC report emphasizes the vital need for successful programs to be used by more sectors of our industry and demonstrates the need for more intentional and engaged commitment by construction owners and contractors at all levels.

“NABTU hopes this report will incentivize others in our industry to join us in investing more resources to advance successful DEI and training programs, implement more accountable preventative measures, increase outcome tracking, and do all possible to provide the safest, most equitable, inclusive, and meaningful middle-class career pathways for diverse communities across America.”

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