Ohio’s building trades year-in-review

It was a busy year in most regions

David Wondolowski is executive secretary and business manager of the Cleveland Building & Construction Trades Council.

As expected, 2023 proved to be a busy year for tradesmen and tradeswomen in most parts of Ohio.

The Labor Citizen reached out to the leaders from all 14 Ohio building trades council to discuss 2023 and received responses back from more than half of those leaders.

While a few areas reported slow periods, many were flush with projects and work opportunities. In some jurisdictions, the work was so plentiful, travelers from neighboring jurisdictions were needed.

Multiple leaders reported an increase of work hours compared to 2022, or at least an anticipated increase by the time the year ends and final tabulations are completed.

As a result of the busy workload and ongoing retirement of the Baby Boomer generation, building trades council leaders nearly all agreed more tradesmen and tradeswomen, especially journeymen, were needed this year.

While needed, most building trades council leaders interviewed said the lack of workers did not significantly delay projects, but available work hours were left on the table.

The following is a brief summary of 2023 union construction in Ohio, based on the information provided from different building trades councils:

Columbus Building Trades

Leading the way with significant workload was the Central Ohio region.

It was another big year for Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council-affiliated unions. Between the nine megaprojects and other significant work, C/COBCTC affiliated members worked roughly 11 million manhours.

That estimate represents a 22 percent increase over the previous year and is nearly double the 6.75 million manhours worked in 2019, according to Dorsey Hager, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council.

Besides the Intel project, whose timeline was pushed back to allow the company to focus on a new fab at its existing Chandler, Ariz. facility, other megaprojects include the Honda/LG Electrical Vehicle Battery Plant, Wexner Medical Center tower and a bevy of datacenters forGoogle, Amazon, Facebook, DBT and QTS.

Other work took place at AMGEN, Hyperion, and projects for The Ohio State University, Franklin County, the City of Columbus and other entities.

While the calendar is set to turn to a new year, Hager expects the workload to increase.Over the past year, affiliated building trades leaders attended new project meetings on almost a weekly basis – and more projects are expected to be announced in 2024.

Cleveland Building Trades

Another hotbed for union construction is Northeast Ohio.

“It will go down as one of the busiest construction seasons in recent memory,” said Cleveland Building and Construction Trades Council Business Manager/Executive Secretary Dave Wondolowski.

While the amount of work hours was not yet available, Wondolowski credited the workload to what he called a “perfect storm.”

“It was just a perfect storm of public and private projects aligning at the same time,” he said. “There was plenty of work throughout the area, and projects of all sizes kept affiliated members busy, including high-profile work such as the Sherwin-Williams headquarters in downtown Cleveland, the Sherwin-Williams R&D facility in Brecksville and two Cleveland Clinic projects – The Cole Eye Center and The Neurological Institute.”

Tri-State Building Trades

The Local Unions that make up the Tri-State Building and Construction Trades Council had a busy and productive year. Affiliated building trades members worked roughly 6 million manhours this year, according to Business Manager John Holbrook.

Affiliated trades had variety of different work opportunities. Two different hospitals in Kentucky – the University of Kentucky’s King’s Daughters Medical Center and Cabell Huntington underwent expansion projects this year, where Ohio tradesmen and tradeswomen traveled to work.

Local Unions in Southern Ohio started construction on the Yellowbud Amazon Solar Farm located in Ross and Pickaway counties. The solar field project is a four-trade project with work being done by Laborers, Operating Engineers, Electricians and Carpenters.

The biggest project in Ohio, the demolition and decommissioning of the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Piketon remains the primary focus in the Tri-State jurisdiction and will continue for some time. Demolition work is expected to go on for another 10 to 15 years.

The work at this U.S. Department of Energy property creates between 300 to 500 jobs for members of the building trades. There was also significant maintenance work at the Southern Ohio Medical Center.

Members from several trades also traveled to work in the C/COBCTC jurisdiction.

Parkersburg-Marietta Building Trades

Building trades members affiliated with the Parkersburg-Marietta Building and Construction Trades Council worked roughly 2.9 million manhours this year. Affiliated Ohio members stayed busy working on projects at Kraton Polymers and Eramet Marietta, said Buddy Malone, PMBCTC Business Manager.

Depending on the trade, some members had to travel, while others were able to find local work.

Upper Ohio Valley Building Trades

Eran Molz, President of the Upper Ohio Valley Building and Construction Trades Council, reported that roughly 2.4 million manhours were booked in 2023.

Several Ohio projects including the GraeCon Recreational Center in Steubenville, Markwest Energy in Cadiz and Hopedale, JSW Steel in Mingo and the Cardinal Plant Buckeye Power kept union crews busy.

Infrastructure projects including bridges and roads throughout the jurisdiction also kept affiliated members busy, Molz said.

A lack of building materials was the biggest issue facing projects within the jurisdiction, said Molz, adding that several projects were delayed, but not canceled.

Greater Cincinnati Building Trades

There were no big union projects in the Greater Cincinnati Building and Construction Trades Council jurisdiction this year, but affiliated members stayed busy with plenty of smaller projects.

James Hyden, GCBCTC Executive Secretary, said members of some trades, like Ironworkers and Bricklayers, traveled, while others were able to stay local.

Despite President Biden standing at the base of the Brent Spence Bridge nearly a year ago, work has yet to begin. Groundbreaking on the $3.6 billion project was pushed back to early 2024. According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, the project must receive approval of an updated environmental assessment, which is expected from the EPA by February.

North Central Ohio Building Trades

Affiliated union members of the North Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council were busy in 2023 with roughly 120,000 manhours worked. NCOBCTC President Chuck Brooky said projects like Ford OH AP, a new residence hall at Oberlin College and the construction of a University Hospital building created significant work. All three projects have required all the crafts to be on the job site.

A few projects that were set to start in 2023 were delayed due to high interest rates.

Tri-County Building Trades

Tri-County Building and Construction Trades Council affiliated unions also found 2023 to be a busy year. Between the abundance of highway work in the jurisdiction and the LG Research and Development facility, all trades were busy throughout the year.

Work on the LG facility is wrapping up, however. The finishing touches are being done and the building is scheduled to open in March 2024.

Tim Stem, Tri-County Building and Construction Trades Council President, said mostaffiliated members stayed in the Tri-County jurisdiction for work, although some traveled to Cleveland to assist on big project