Union 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.
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Women 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 MoreUnion leaders hailed President Joe Biden’s nomination of Deputy Labor Secretary Julie Su to succeed Marty Walsh, in the U.S. Labor Department’s top job.
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.
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Cleveland 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:
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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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This 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.
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A 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.
The Cleveland Tradeswoman Committee recently donated items and money to a local charitable organization.
The group, Shoes and Clothes for Kids (SC4K), held a sock drive from Nov. 21 through Dec. 9, and the Tradeswomen decided to help them out this year. “We liked it because the items stay local and help children in need,” said Cleveland Tradeswoman Chairwoman Doreen Cannon.
In honor of National Apprenticeship Week, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb visited the Laborers’ Local 310 training center in Cleveland. Bibb, who began his first term as the 58th Mayor of Cleveland in January, spoke to apprentices outside of Local 310’s training center on Nov. 15, and then listened to their stories on why they became apprentices.
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Bricklayers and Allied Craftworker Local 5 apprentice Donald Murray, III gave himself a great early birthday present when he took home the title of the nation’s top Point, Cleaning and Caulking (PCC) apprentice in an International competition. Murray, a fourth-year apprentice, earned first place in the BAC/IMI International Apprenticeship Contest, which took place on Sept. 23-24 in Boston at the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center.
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The Cleveland Building and Construction Trades Council unanimously endorsed Gov. Mike DeWine in his re-election bid.
From the shores of Lake Erie down to the Ohio River and many areas in between, Gov. DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted have focused on job creation.
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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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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.
New Cleveland Building and Construction Trades Council Delegates Ryan McCafferty and Dan Gallagher, both from Pipefitters Local 120, were sworn in at the July meeting.
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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.
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The 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 Cleveland Clinic announced major construction projects in May set to take place on its main campus, with all work covered by Project Labor Agreements [PLA]. In his State of the Clinic address, Cleveland Clinic CEO and President Tom Mihaljevic, M.D., announced the Cleveland Clinic is investing in multiple capital projects, including the construction of new buildings and the renovation of several facilities in Ohio.
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For the Cleveland Building & Construction Trades Council, rebuilding and resiliency go hand in hand.
For Cleveland’s building and construction trades unions, rebuilding is just another day on the job. While most of the country saw construction projects grind to a halt during the COVID-19 pandemic, the more than 29 member unions of the Cleveland Building & Construction Trades Council (CBCTC) never stopped working.
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