WASHINGTON, D.C. – May 20, 2026 – North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) raised a record more than $1 million for the Diabetes Research Institute (DRI) during its 43rd annual Labor of Love charity event this week in Atlantic City, bringing together more than 250 sponsors, signatory contractors, labor leaders and building trades members for a series of fundraising activities and tournaments.

“No one works harder to strengthen our communities than the men and women of the Building Trades. Labor of Love puts that commitment into action, showcasing our members’ deep dedication to giving back and supporting impactful causes,” said NABTU President Sean McGarvey. “Together with our partners, signatory contractors, sponsors, and affiliated unions, we’re proud to raise the bar, deliver meaningful progress, and set a new fundraising record in the fight to cure Type 1 diabetes.”

“We are deeply grateful to NABTU and everyone who made this year’s Labor of Love event such a remarkable success,” said Michael Burton, CEO of the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation. “Surpassing $1 million raised is not only an extraordinary achievement—it represents critical momentum in advancing the transformational research that brings us closer to a cure. Our special partnership is accelerating real progress and delivering hope to patients and families navigating diabetes.”

NABTU and its affiliated unions have supported the Diabetes Research Institute for more than four decades, a commitment that includes helping build the DRI facility in Florida and organizing annual fundraising events with local Building and Construction Trades Councils across the country. With this year’s Labor of Love, the partnership’s total contribution to diabetes research has surpassed $80 million, making the Building Trades DRI’s largest supporter over the past half-century.

(Pictured left to right: Sean McGarvey, NABTU President; Brandon Bishop, NABTU Secretary-Treasurer; Michael Burton, DRI Foundation CEO; Mariah Moscone, DRI Foundation Director of External Affairs)

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Media Contact: Betsy Barrett, (202) 997-3266 | bbarrett@nabtu.org

About NABTU: North America’s Building Trades Unions is an alliance of 14 national and international unions in the building and construction industry, collectively representing more than 3 million skilled craft professionals in the United States and Canada. Each year, our unions and signatory contractor partners invest more than $2.5 billion in private-sector funding to support more than 1,900 apprenticeship training and education facilities across North America. These programs produce some of the safest, most highly trained, and most productive skilled craft workers in the world. NABTU is dedicated to creating economic security and employment opportunities for construction workers by safeguarding wage and benefits standards, promoting responsible private capital investment, strengthening apprenticeship and training, and expanding construction career pathways to the middle class for women, communities of color, Indigenous people, veterans, and justice-involved individuals.