Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb signs an Executive Order mandating Project Labor Agreements on all city-owned projects that cost at least $500,000.
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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.
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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.
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Cuyahoga County Council voted on Dec. 14 to extend the County’s sales tax to pay for the new jail, set to be built in Garfield Heights. Taxpayers will pay the County’s 0.25 percent sales tax for an additional 40 years, which local leaders estimate will create enough revenue to fund the construction of the new county jail. The tax, which was set to expire in 2027, passed Council by a 6-5 vote and will stay on the books until 2067. The sales tax revenue has funded large downtown projects since 2007, according to The Cleveland Plain Dealer.
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The Sherwin-Williams global headquarters project in downtown Cleveland celebrated an important construction milestone on Dec. 4 with a Topping Off ceremony. Two weeks ahead of the scheduled ceremony date, Sherwin-Williams leaders were joined by elected officials, construction workers and others associated with the project to mark the installation of the final piece of structural steel on the 36-story tower (616 feet high), which when completed, will be the sixth tallest building in Ohio. “It’s really a special day for us and for all of Northeast Ohio,” said Sherwin-Williams Chairman and CEO John Morikis. “We’ve been proud to be a part of Cleveland since 1866 and call this home.”
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The Cuyahoga County Council approved the purchase of land in Garfield Heights to build a new county jail on Sept. 26. The 72-acre site, located off Transportation Boulevard and Granger Road, was purchased for $38.7 million. County Executive Chris Ronayne told the council the Garfield Heights site was large enough to build what the county needs in the future, which may include multiple buildings and a central service campus with wrap-around services that people will need in addition to the county jail.
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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.
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The Cleveland Building and Construction Trades Council secured a Project Labor Agreement with Sherwin-Williams to build its new downtown headquarters and suburban research and development facility.
Dave Wondolowski, Executive Secretary for the Cleveland Building and Construction Trades Council, said each project is expected to create about 1,800 jobs for affiliated members of the Cleveland Building Trades
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Officials from the Cleveland Clinic held a virtual groundbreaking ceremony on Sept. 20 to mark the beginning of construction on a new hospital in Mentor.
The project was delayed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but ground has officially broken, generating expectations of amble work opportunities for local union tradesmen and tradeswomen.
Members of multiple building trades affiliated with the Cleveland Building and Construction Trades Council stand to benefit from a longstanding relationship with the Cleveland Clinic, as many past Cleveland Clinic projects have been completed under Project Labor Agreements (PLA).
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Union pension funds help finance ‘Artisan’ project
Area leaders officially broke ground on July 29 at the new Artisan Circle Square building in Cleveland’s University Circle neighborhood, which will be built under a Project Labor Agreement.
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Plans to build a new hospital in Lake County under a Project Labor Agreement are back on the table following a one-year pause due to COVID-19, creating hundreds of jobs for area union trades.
In late April, the City of Mentor announced the Cleveland Clinic will break ground later this year on the new hospital project.
The new construction will provide work for 300 to 400 affiliated members of the Cleveland Building Trades, according to Dave Wondolowski, Cleveland Building and Construction Trades Council Executive Secretary
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Union Heads Praise Biden Infrastructure Plan -President Joe Biden’s 10-year, $2 trillion infrastructure plan calls for more than just the construction of roads and bridges. The plan will include, among other items, green retrofitting of schools, construction of energy-efficient housing and $400 billion for new infrastructure for child care and elder care.
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Major Projects Across Ohio Boost 2021 Construction Outlook
In Ohio, officials closely involved with the union trades are seeing signs of a somewhat positive outlook for 2021, anchored by a number of large projects.
The Columbus area leads the way, with multiple massive, billion-dollar projects underway or set to break ground in 2021.
In 2019, members of the Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council logged about 6.75 million manhours. C/COBCTC Executive Secretary-Treasurer Dorsey Hager believes they topped that mark in 2020.
Thanks to the ongoing building boom in the area, he anticipates the potential for even more hours worked by affiliated unions in 2021.
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Ashtabula Pig Iron Plant Covered by PLA
A new pig iron plant in Ashtabula will be constructed solely by union construction workers.
Petmin USA signed a Project Labor Agreement with the Cleveland Building and Construction Trades Council to ensure only highly skilled and highly trained building trades members will construct their first facility in North America.
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Cleveland Clinic announces New Hospital in Mentor
The Cleveland Clinic recently announced plans to build a new hospital in Mentor, which will be covered by a Project Labor Agreement, providing new work for members of multiple trades affiliated with the Cleveland Building Trades.
Cuyahoga County entered into a Project Labor Agreement with the Cleveland Building and Construction Trades Council to transform three floors inside the Justice Center into a Central Booking Area. Various trades affiliated with the Cleveland Building Trades will convert 37,400-square-feet of space into an area designed to speed up the processing of suspects and help reduce the jail population. Read more here
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