![Area trades complete work at Progressive Field: Phase I renovation covered by Community Benefits Agreement [CBA]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dc9cd97a5705651ea3fbf7c/1714054620317-IDPA9QU29K4F7XYEBR6G/IMG_3950.jpg)
Working under a Community Benefits Agreement [CBA], affiliated members of the Cleveland Building Trades completed Phase I of the $200 million Progressive Field renovations in time for the Guardians home opener on April 8.
Read More
On Nov. 9, by a 5-2-1 vote, the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority Board of Directors voted to repeal its Prevailing Wage provision. The Cleveland-Cuyahoga Port Authority is a public agency that provides financing solutions for economic development projects in Cuyahoga County and beyond. The Port Authority partners with economic developers, government entities and banks to provide funding options for projects in the private, non-profit and public sectors. According to its website, since 1993, the agency has funded 150 projects, issued $4.5 billion in bonds and leveraged $6.1 billion in construction.
Read More
Acting U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Julie Su visited Cleveland in mid-December to announce details related to the final rule to implement President Joe Biden’s Executive Order requiring Project Labor Agreements for most large-scale federal construction projects. This rule will help ensure large federal construction projects are completed by union construction workers, who will earn good wages and excellent healthcare and retirement benefits in exchange for performing quality construction work efficiently and on time, helping to complete the project on or under budget.
Read More
The U.S. Department of Labor announced a long-awaited final rule regarding the misclassification of workers. On Jan. 9, the DOL officially stated it would rescind an independent contractor rule put in place during the Trump Administration. Among the industries the rule is expected to affect are construction, healthcare, trucking and housekeeping.The new final rule will help employers and workers better understand when a worker must be considered an employee and when they qualify as an independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Read More
Cleveland Building Trades Executive Secretary, Dave Wondolowski. “In repealing its wage-protection policy, the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority Board of Directors has violated its mission to advance the economic interests of Cleveland residents in favor of protecting profit margins for a handful of developers.”
Read More
President Biden and U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm announced the creation of seven regional clean hydrogen hubs that will receive $7 billion in Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act funding to accelerate the domestic market for low-cost, clean hydrogen. According to the White House, the seven selected regional clean hydrogen hubs will utilize more than $40 billion in private investment and create tens of thousands of good-paying jobs – bringing the total public and private investment in hydrogen hubs to nearly $50 billion.
Read MoreCleveland leaders gathered on the steps of City Hall on June 27 to talk about the Community Benefits Ordinance recently passed by the City Council. Ordinance 297-2023 was passed on June 5. It is designed to encourage developers to use Cleveland-based, minority-owned and women-owned businesses for construction projects in exchange for incentives. The new ordinance will also create job opportunities for members of the building trades and provide a pathway for more Cleveland residents to join the trades. “I worked closely with the city on this, so I’m very pleased it passed,” said Dave Wondolowski, Executive Secretary and Business Manager of the Cleveland Building and Construction Trades Council.
Read More
Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su strongly pushed workers’ rights enforcement to a Republican-controlled House committee that at times challenged her plan. Her testimony before the House Education and the Workforce Committee on June 7 was intended to be a discussion of the Department of Labor budget for fiscal 2024, which begins Oct. 1, but it also gave insight into how Su will lead the Labor Department.
Read More
Laborers’ International Union of North American (LIUNA) General President Terry O’Sullivan announced his plan to retire effective April 30, after leading the union for almost
24 years.
“There has been no higher honor or privilege than to represent, defend and fight for the strong, proud and united men and women of LIUNA,” O’Sullivan said. “Each and every day I have served as General President, I have been awed by the power of this union.”
Read MoreThe strongest and loudest supporter of union construction, U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, announced his intention to step down from his current position in mid-March. Walsh, 55, the former Mayor of Boston and Massachusetts state representative, will become the first traditional Cabinet secretary to leave since President Joe Biden took office. The former leader of the Greater Boston Building Trades Unions and a card-carrying member of Laborers Local 223 is returning to organized labor via professional sports.
Read More
Cleveland City Council will soon vote to allocate $10 million from its American Rescue Plan Act funding to help bolster the region’s construction workforce. According to a presentation made at Council’s Workforce, Education, Training and Youth Development Committee held on Jan. 24, the funds will be used for work development purposes in the following manner:
Read More
The Cleveland Guardians released details of their upcoming renovation project to reimagine their nearly 30-year-old ballpark. Renovation work on Progressive Field, the 11th-oldest ballpark in Major League Baseball, will begin upon the conclusion of the 2023 season and be performed by affiliated members of the Cleveland Building Trades under a Project Labor Agreement and a Community Benefits Agreement.
Read More
This is shaping up to be not just a big year for Ohio’s union construction industry, but a mega-year. Keyed by several mega projects, including the $20 billion Phase I of the Intel project in New Albany and the $3.5 billion Honda/LG joint venture battery plant in Jeffersonville, 2023 is forecast to be a record year for a number of Local Unions and regional building trades councils in terms of man-hours.
Read MoreElevator constructors who work in the State of Ohio will soon be required to obtain an industry license in order to ply their trade. On Jan. 2, Ohio Gov. Mike De-Wine signed House Bill 107, which mandated the licensure of elevator mechanics. The new law will affect the men and women who build, install or service commercial and industrial elevators, escalators and moving walks. The law will not pertain to those who install, maintain and repair residential conveyance systems such as wheelchair lifts and stair climbers.
Read More
A proposed rule change by the U.S. Department of Labor is designed to target employee misclassification.
The proposed rule change would rescind a Trump-era rule from 2021. Jessica Looman, Principal Deputy Administrator at the DOL, announced the DOL plans to place an emphasis on protecting low-wage workers from being misclassified as independent contractors. Among the industries the rule is expected to affect are construction, healthcare, trucking, food service and retail.
Years of hard work paid off for the Finishing Trades Institute of the Ohio Region [FTIOR], as the training group for the Painters Union gained accreditation from the Council on Occupational Education.
Viewed as a nationally honored seal of excellence for occupational education institutions, COE accreditation denotes honesty and integrity in the organizations.
According to its website, the COE is recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education as a reliable authority on the quality of education offered by the institutions it has accredited, which includes registered apprenticeship programs.
Educational programs or institutes who have been found to meet or exceed stated criteria of educational quality and student achievement are granted accreditation.
President Joe Biden stopped in Cleveland on July 7 to discuss the finalization of new pension relief rules, which will keep at-risk multi-employer pension funds solvent until at least 2051.
Read More
The Ohio State Building and Construction Trades Council hosted an event on June 22 to discuss the 21st century workforce for its affiliated union trades.
About 50 building trades leaders from across the state gathered at the IBEW Local 683 Union Hall to attend the conference and learn about the recruitment and retention of members.
Among those in attendance were leaders of regional building trades council, business managers and representees, organizers and JATC training coordinators. Attendees not only listened to speakers, but also had a chance to participate and ask questions.
The keynote speaker was Russ Ormiston, Associate Professor at Allegheny College, who discussed how demographics and labor statistics relate to successful member recruitment in today’s tight labor market.
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced plans to permanently rescind previous efforts to create Industry Recognized Apprenticeship Programs (IRAPs) from all industries.
Introduced during the Trump administration, IRAPs were widely criticized by the labor community due to their lack of oversight. These “self-monitored” apprenticeship programs rely on employers or affiliated partners to train new workers without any government regulation or oversight.
Many feared these programs could lead to a permanent class of apprentices.
Laborers’ Local 310 officers welcomed Labor Secretary Marty Walsh to the Local 310 Union Hall. From left to right: Field Representative Sean Campbell, Business Manager Terry Joyce, Secretary of Labor Walsh, Secretary-Treasurer Thomas Byrne and Field Representative/President John Soeder.
Read More