REBUILDING AMERICA: CLEVELAND As seen in Forbes & Entrepreneur
David Wondolowski, executive secretary of the Cleveland Building & Construction Trades Council (CBCTC)
Every city has its story; Cleveland’s is about resiliency. More than once, it has rebounded from the impact of seismic shifts in the global economy thanks in part to the sweat and spirit of the city’s building and construction trades unions. “Our members have done so much to make Cleveland a great place to live, work, and raise a family,” says David Wondolowski, executive secretary of the Cleveland Building & Construction Trades Council (CBCTC), which represents dozens of local construction industry unions in Greater Cleveland. Today, that resiliency is critical as both city and country attempt to rebuild in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The CBCTC believes robust real estate and infrastructure investments in cities like Cleveland can jumpstart that process. “Investments will provide hope,” Wondolowski says. “When people have hope, even the dark times aren’t as bad.”
Open for Investment
Perched on the shores of Lake Erie, Cleveland is about 500 miles from half the country’s population. Its convenient location, miles of waterfront, and reasonable cost of living make it a beacon for businesses seeking alternatives REBUILDING AMERICA: CLEVELAND to New York City and Silicon Valley, says Terence P. Joyce, the CBCTC’s president. “If I were a Fortune 500 company paying a first-year employee $80,000 a year, I’d want to go to a town where that salary has real buying power,” he says.
Investors and developers who see opportunity in Cleveland will find a welcoming building and trades council: One out of every 10 projects breaking ground in Cleveland receives support from the CBCTC, which invests its pension funds in real estate and infrastructure projects. Equally attractive is the CBCTC’s pool of skilled workers—more than 10,000 strong and trained to tackle the most complex projects. “Our training and apprenticeship programs are the envy of the industry,” Joyce says. So essential are these programs to replenishing the workforce that CBCTC members kept them running safely and online during the pandemic.
When it comes to revitalizing a city like Cleveland, building and construction trades workers provide more than just skilled labor. The men and women who build Cleveland’s apartment buildings, roadways, tunnels, bridges, and sewers put money back into their communities. “The more job opportunities there are for our members, who are themselves residents of Cleveland, the more we’re boosting the local economy,” Wondolowski says. Restaurants, gas stations, convenience stores, and hotels all get a piece of the pie when building and construction trades members have steady income.
Leaders at the CBCTC believe this ripple effect is key to lifting the country out of a sinking post-pandemic economy. It starts with strategic investments in cities like Cleveland, where skilled labor and resiliency are abundant. Clevelanders like Wondolowski and Joyce know the story well. “We’re going to apply the energy that helped us in the past to revitalize and rebuild the city and country of our future,” Wondolowski says.