Cuyahoga County buys land for new county jail. PLA expected for $750 million project

The 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.

Sisters Haven House

Affiliated 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.

IBEW Local 38 sweeps softball tournaments

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.

CommunityCBCTC GenSeptember 1, 2023community, softball tournament, IBEW Local 38, Dan Gallagher, labor day

Pipefitters Local 120, MCA of Cleveland step up.

When 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.

BUILDING TRADES JOIN OPPOSITION TO PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING BALLOT ISSUE

The 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.

500 trades members attend 2023 Craftsmanship Awards

The 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.

Community, EducationCBCTC GenAugust 18, 2023Tim Linville, CEA, Dave Wondolowski, Building Trades, Craftsman awards

Cleveland creates incentives to use Community Benefit Agreements

Cleveland 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.

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.”

Community celebrates all-union built Habitat home

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.

Cleveland Building and Construction Trades Council hosts First Women in Construction dinner

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.

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:

Trades score Progressive Field renovation work

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.

Tradeswomen Committee Makes Charitable Donation

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.

CommunityCBCTC GenDecember 12, 2022Doreen Cannon, Tradeswomen Committee, work event, Women at Work, Contribution

Cleveland Mayor Visits Local 310 Training Center

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.

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

Finishing Trades Institute of the Ohio Region Gains Education Accreditation

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.

Pension Relief Rules Explained During President Biden’s Cleveland Visit

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.

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