One of the two Bricklayers and Allied Crafts Local 23 apprentices from Northeast Ohio who participated in a national apprentice competition last month at the World of Concrete/World of Masonry in Las Vegas placed in the top three. On Jan. 24, Scott Schooley competed against other apprentices from across the nation in the MCAA Skills Challenge and took third place. Fellow Local 23 Bricklayer apprentice Steve Berlin also competed in the competition.
Read MoreCuyahoga 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.
Read MoreAfter years of battles over permits and environmental concerns, the Lake Erie Energy Development Corp. (LEEDCo), announced it was pausing efforts to construct a freshwater wind farm in Lake Erie, citing delays and rising costs. The Icebreaker Wind project was supposed to be the first freshwater wind farm in North America.
Read MoreThe 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.”
Read MoreThe North America’s Building Trades Unions’ annual Tradeswomen Build Nations Conference shattered its attendance record from the previous year. The 13th annual event was held from Dec. 1-3 in Washington, D.C., at the Washington Hilton Hotel. More than 4,000 people attended, including over 3,700 union tradeswomen.
Read MoreCanton City Council President and Iron Workers Local 550 Business Manager/Financial Secretary William Sherer II heads the list of endorsed building trades members who are running for public office. Besides Sherer, several other Northeast Ohio building trades members are either seeking re-election to their current elected position or running for a seat. Each has received the endorsement of the Cleveland Building and Construction Trades Council.
Read MoreThe 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.
Read MoreAffiliated members of the Cleveland Building and Construction Trades are volunteering their time and talent to help turn an abandoned home into a safe and supportive housing option for pregnant women. Located on Cleveland’s west side, the home is owned by Sisters Haven, a nonprofit organization that provides safe housing and loving communities to pregnant women and new mothers. Once work is complete, up to seven pregnant women will live there until their child is approximately nine months old.
BEW Local 38 was the big winner at the 41st Annual Cleveland Building Trades Softball Tournament, with teams from the Local taking home the titles in both the A and B divisions. The two-day, double-elimination tournament at James Day Park began on Aug. 31 and stretched past midnight the following evening.
Read MoreWhen a non-profit drug and alcohol rehab center needed a new compressor for the chiller at one of their properties, members of Pipefitters Local 120 and the Mechanical Contractors Association of Cleveland stepped up to help. The Ed Keating Center operates three non-profit sober living facilities for recovering alcoholic, and drug-addicted, men and women. The organization takes in individuals struggling with addiction at no cost to the individual or their health insurance.
Read MoreThe Cleveland Building and Construction Trades Council (CBCTC) voted to oppose amending Cleveland’s City Charter to create participatory budgeting. The charter issue will appear on the November 7 ballot. "...the reality is participatory budgeting is a gimmick that presents a very real danger to a city budget that is already cut to the bone. Further cuts could do irreparable damage to City services and public safety,” said David Wondolowski, Executive Secretary and Business Manager for the CBCTC.
Read MoreThe best of the best in the Northeast Ohio construction industry were honored during the fifth annual Excellence and Craftsmanship Awards, held on Aug. 17, 2023. About 500 individuals, including Cleveland area tradesmen and tradeswomen, were in to see over 100 of their Brothers and Sisters recognized for their work on projects completed in 2022.
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 MorePresident Joe Biden was the featured speaker at the 2023 North America's Building Trades Unions Legislative Conference held in Washington, D.C. Biden addressed roughly 3,000 union construction delegates hours after officially announcing the start of his re-election campaign and received raucous cheers as he discussed the many ways his administration has helped organized labor, specifically the building trades.
Read MoreLaborers’ 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 MoreUnion leaders, signatory contractors and community leaders gathered on March 14 to celebrate the dedication of a Habitat for Humanity home built only by union construction workers and contractors.
Read MoreWomen in Construction Week was celebrated in Greater Cleveland for the first time with a dinner at the IBEW Local 8 Union Hall. Nearly 60 tradeswomen attended the event, which was supported by the Cleveland Building and Construction Trades Council.
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 MoreCleveland 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 MoreThe 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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