Looking back at 2025 work predictions
Rock Hall: An artist rendering of the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. This expansion project, which broke ground in 2025, is one of more than 10 in the Cleveland Building and Construction Trades Council jurisdiction that is being covered by a Project Labor Agreement.
Last December, regional building trades leaders from across Ohio spoke to The Labor Citizen and offered their thoughts on how 2025 would unfold within their jurisdiction. For most, they expressed cautious optimism for the upcoming year, despite many unknown factors – including political and financial.
Nearly a year later, The Labor Citizen was able to speak with three of those regional building trades leaders to see how the year actually turned out for their members. In all cases, the outcome was as good, or better than anticipated.
Cleveland Building Trades
The 2025 forecast in the Cleveland Building Trades jurisdiction certainly lived up to its billing. Last year, Cleveland Building and Construction Trades Council Business Manager/Executive Secretary Dave Wondolowski predicted 2025 would be a busy year for union construction workers in Cuyahoga, Lake and Ashtabula counties.
With more than 10 PLAs in effect within the region, plus a handful of other major projects, work opportunities were bountiful for affiliated members and the numerous travelers who came to the area. Among the PLAs, three were on the Cleveland Clinic’s main campus for projects on the Neurological Institute, Cole Eye Institute and Global Center for Pathogen Research and Human Health.
While both Sherwin-Williams projects – downtown headquarters and R&D center – were winding down, still spent considerable time in both facilities in 2025.
Meanwhile, work on the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame and Cavaliers Training facility supplied ample hours. “I’m unsure about a (all-time) record, but this is one of the best years we’ve had over the last two decades,” Wondolowski said.
Columbus Building Trades
If construction markets were hot peppers, Central Ohio would be the equivalent of the ghost pepper, which is one of the hottest peppers in the world.
Despite setting a new work hours record last year, affiliated Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council members will likely exceed that mark by at least 1 million hours this year, according to C/COBCTC Executive Secretary-Treasurer Dorsey Hager.
This workload includes more megaprojects within the Central Ohio jurisdiction than the rest of the state combined. This includes the Intel plant, L-H Battery Company EV Battery Plant and datacenters for Vantage, Google, DBT, QTS, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta.
However, Hager emphasized that megaprojects are not the sole source of employment for affiliated members. He noted several projects checking in at just under $1 billion such as Andruil and AMGEN.
This is in addition to many large- and medium-sized projects taking place within the region. Needless to say, the 2025 workload surpassed his expectations.
Tri-State Building Trades
Tri-State Building and Construction Trades Council Business Manager John Holbrook expected a good year in 2025, and the year ended up exceeding his expectations.
With a jurisdiction that includes three states, Holbrook focused on the work in Ohio. Steady demolition and decommissioning work (D&D) at the former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Piketon was interrupted by the federal government shutdown, but work
is getting back to normal. “It cost us a few jobs, but they are starting to come back,” he said.
Holbrook also cited construction on a $105 million water treatment plant in New Boston, which will go into next year, as a larger project for affiliated members.
Area tradesmen and tradeswomen were also busy performing the work on an $89 million, 45,825-square-foot expansion at Kenworth Truck Company’s Class 8 truck assembly plant in Chillicothe.
Fall outages at the Gavin Lightstone Generation Power Plant and the Ohio Valley Electric Corporation Kyger Creek Power Plant also provided a nice boost. While the Kyger Creek outage is finished, crews are still at Gavin, working six or seven days a week to finish.
School work, hospital work, a project at General Mills in Jackson and solar field work also helped keep members employed.
Recruit, Recruit, Recruit
All three building trades leaders emphasized the ongoing need by their affiliated unions to recruit apprentices and organize non-union members. As the workload continues to
increase due to PLAs and megaprojects, growing membership remains a significant issue. “This was and will continue to remain a focus,” stated Wondolowski.
“They have to be committed to recruiting people in the different fields, those needing a second chance, minorities and women,” said Holbrook. “It’s our mission to provide qualified, trained workers to our contractors. We can’t fail.”
Besides recruitment and organizing, Hager cited a need bring travelers into the Central Ohio jurisdiction but then work to get those individuals to permanently relocate to the area and join a Local Union.
In August, members of District Council 6 were working to complete the interior of the new Sherwin-Williams headquarters building in downtown Cleveland.