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 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.
Read MoreThis 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 MoreA 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 MoreThe 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 MoreCleveland Electrical Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee Director Ken Field was recently appointed to the Ohio State Apprenticeship Council.
The Apprenticeship Council is a state board made up of representatives from various aspects of the industry and the public. It is comprised of three employer representatives, three employee representatives, three public representatives, four advisory members and three representatives from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Field’s appointment was made by Gov. Mike DeWine’s office earlier this year.
President Joe Biden used a stop in Cleveland late last month to push harder for Congressional approval of his infrastructure improvement plan.
Speaking to a group at Cuyahoga Community College, the President argued his families and infrastructure plans will create millions of new jobs and reshape the economy – in need of a boost as the U.S. tries to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic.
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.
Read MoreBoston Mayor Marty Walsh, a member of Laborers Local 223 and former head of the Greater Boston Building Trades Union, was officially appointed U.S. Labor Secretary on March 22. Walsh became the first union member in decades to head the U.S. Department of Labor.
Read MoreMajor 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.
Read More
