Area trades complete work at Progressive Field: Phase I renovation covered by Community Benefits Agreement [CBA]

Working under a Community Benefits Agreement [CBA], affiliated members of the Cleveland Building Trades completed Phase I of the $200 million Progressive Field renovations in time for the Guardians home opener on April 8.

Wondolowski attends State of the Union Address

Cleveland Building and Construction Trades Council Executive Secretary/Business Manager Dave Wondolowski normally watches the State of the Union Address on television. He had to change his plans this year, as U.S. Rep. Max Miller (R-Rocky River) invited Wondolowski to be his guest on March 7 for President Biden’s the State of the Union Address.

U.S. Department of Labor sets final rule on worker misclassification

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.

Cleveland port hastily ends wage policy it itself touted: Dave Wondolowski questions port board on prevailing wage decision

Cleveland Building Trades Executive Secretary, Dave Wondolowski. “In repealing its wage-protection policy, the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority Board of Directors has violated its mission to advance the economic interests of Cleveland residents in favor of protecting profit margins for a handful of developers.”

Ohio’s building trades year-in-review

It was a busy year in most regions

Cuyahoga County approves funding for new jail

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.

2023 TWBN Conference sets attendance record

The 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.

CBCTC endorses tradesmen for elected office

Canton 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.

Biden announces hydrogen hub investment

President Biden and U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm announced the creation of seven regional clean hydrogen hubs that will receive $7 billion in Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act funding to accelerate the domestic market for low-cost, clean hydrogen. According to the White House, the seven selected regional clean hydrogen hubs will utilize more than $40 billion in private investment and create tens of thousands of good-paying jobs – bringing the total public and private investment in hydrogen hubs to nearly $50 billion.

Acting DOL Secretary Su pushes workers’ rights

Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su strongly pushed workers’ rights enforcement to a Republican-controlled House committee that at times challenged her plan. Her testimony before the House Education and the Workforce Committee on June 7 was intended to be a discussion of the Department of Labor budget for fiscal 2024, which begins Oct. 1, but it also gave insight into how Su will lead the Labor Department.

Shuler laments need for ‘Deaths on the Job’ Report

Holding a copy of this year’s AFL-CIO Deaths On the Job Report, an angry federation President Liz Shuler had a blunt message for the nation’s employers. “This report should not have to exist …These pages should be blank,” she said. Shuler joined a large crowd in the U.S. Labor Department’s main auditorium to honor the 5,190 workers killed on the job in 2021, the latest federal data available, which is what the AFL-CIO uses for its annual report

Biden campaign starts at NABTU Conference

President 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.

LIUNA General President O'Sullivan announces retirement

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.”

DOL Secretary Walsh to leave Biden Cabinet

The 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.

Cleveland considers $10 million to grow building trades

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:

2023: A MEGA-year for construction in Ohio

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.

DOL Takes Aim at Worker Misclassification

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.

Sherwin-Williams Signs Project Labor Agreement for HQ Project

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

The Ohio State Building and Construction Trades Council Conference Focuses on Growing Workforce

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.

PLA's Used on New Cleveland Clinic Capital Projects

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.

Cleveland Building & Construction Trades Council Blog