Building Better Communities

Communities Do Better When Unions Are Stronger

Studies show that states in which more people are union members are states with higher wages, better benefits and better schools. While unions are just one of the factors that affect the quality of living, the pattern indicates that when workers have a voice, everyone in the community benefits—not just union members.

Ten States with Strongest Unions

(based on percentage of the workforce with a union) are:

• Hawaii
• New York
• Alaska
• New Jersey
• Washington State
• Michigan
• Illinois
• Minnesota
• California
• Connecticut

Ten States with Weakest Unions

(based on percentage of the workforce with a union) are:

• North Carolina
• South Carolina
• Virginia
• Georgia
• Texas
• Arkansas
• Florida
• Utah
• Mississippi
• South Dakota

Ten States Where Unions Are Strongest  ----- Ten States Where Unions Are Weakest

Average Hourly Manufacturing Earnings, 2005 (1)
$17.01 -----$14.39

Median Household Income, 2005 (2)
$53,380  ----- $43,204

Percent of Population With No Medical Insurance, 2005 (3) -----
13.4% 17.5%

Workplace Fatalities Per 100,000 Employees, 2004 (4)
4.0 ----- 5.2

Public Education Spending Per Pupil, 2005-2006 (5)
$10,507----- $7,580

Percent of Eligible Voters Who Voted in Presidential Election, 2004 (6)
60.8% -----55.0%

Crimes Per 100,000 Population, 2004 (7)
3,715----- 4,168

Percent of Population in Poverty, 2005 (8)
10.4% -----13.4%

Sources:

1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
2. U.S. Census Bureau
3. U.S. Census Bureau
4. BLS, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, 2004
5. National Education Association, Rankings and Estimates—Rankings of the States 2005 and Estimates of School Statistics, 2006, November 2006.
6. Fair Vote, the Center for Voting and Democracy. Committee for the Study of the American Electorate.
7. Kathleen O’Leary Morgan and Scott Morgan, State Rankings 2006, Morgan Quitno Press, 2006.
8. U.S. Census Bureau

A New Woman: Program Prepares New York Women in the Building Trades

Submitted by JohnSee on Wed, 04/03/2013 - 11:59am

The Nontraditional Employment for Women (NEW) program in New York City prepares women for careers in construction and related industries through an innovative training and placement program that guides low-income women toward a meaningful career and solid financial footing. Read more »

More than 90 Employees Locked Out in Detroit Lakes

Submitted by JohnSee on Mon, 03/11/2013 - 12:29pm

Starting at 6:00 a.m. Monday morning close to 100 workers are now locked out their jobs in Detroit Lakes. According to an employee that wishes to remain anonymous, 90 some Snappy Air Distribution came to work Monday morning only to find they no longer had a job.

Snappy Air Distribution is a union shop and on Friday, March 8 at 3:00 p.m. the contract between the Sheet Metal Workers Union and Snappy was rejected by vote. Read more »

Women, often working through unions, are transforming the world

Submitted by JohnSee on Wed, 03/06/2013 - 12:29pm

by Tula Connell - Women make up more than 40.5% of the workforce worldwide, according to the most recent data by the International Labor Organization. But their labor has not resulted in a similar level in financial well-being.
Far from it.

Although women contribute 66% of the world's work and produce 50% of the food, they earn 10% of global income and own 1% of property, a 2011 United National Development Program report finds. Read more »

Holiday Lights in the Park breaks records in attendance and charitable giving

Submitted by JohnSee on Tue, 02/12/2013 - 4:35pm

The lights may be off, but the success of Holiday Lights in the Park continues to radiate a positive glow. The fifth edition of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Holiday Lights in the Park event produced in partnership with King of Kings Lutheran Church of Woodbury brought in record crowds and a new benchmark for donations collected for local charities. A record 20,478 cars visited St. Paul's Phalen Park to witness one of the area's biggest and brightest holiday lights displays. Read more »

Right the First Time

Submitted by JohnSee on Tue, 02/12/2013 - 11:01am

From Brian Winkler @bwink110: PLA's in action in this video produced by the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California. shows how paying prevailing wages supports our cities, counties, and the economy of our state by providing a trained and ready workforce that gets the job done right the first time. HIghlights the story of two library projects, in Gilroy and Palo Alto, where one paid the prevailing wage and the other didn't; see the vastly different results.

 

IBEW Face-to-Face Organizing

Submitted by JohnSee on Tue, 02/05/2013 - 2:00pm

In an age of smartphones, email and the Internet, members of IBEW local unions in the Pacific Northwest are going back to the basics to spread the union's message. They're using good, old-fashioned, in-person communication to reach out to their fellow union members and future union members. 

Get a Union, Get a Ticket to the Middle Class

Submitted by JohnSee on Tue, 02/05/2013 - 1:49pm

We've said it for years. Because of the "Union Difference"—fair wages and better benefits for workers who belong to a union—unions are the ticket to the middle class. Even if you don't belong to a union, there is a spillover effect to the whole economy. In other words, when unions are strong, everyone benefits. Read more »

"Apprenticeship:Building Your Career" video premiers at Apprentice Fundraiser

Submitted by JohnSee on Fri, 01/18/2013 - 5:39pm

A highlight of the Mancini's Night / Annual Injured Apprentice Fundraiser on January 16 was the first public showing of "Apprenticeship:Building Your Career," a fast-paced twelve -minute video overview of what it means to be an apprentice in the Building Trades. Read more »

Ryan Cos. to build St. Paul ballpark, after all

Submitted by JohnSee on Thu, 01/10/2013 - 5:44pm

Ryan Cos. was finally awarded the contract to build the $54 million minor-league baseball stadium in St. Paul's Lowertown.

The deal to design and build comes three months after the city and the company had expected.

Back in October, the day after the city was awarded $25 million in state bonding funds for the project, the city announced a no-bid contract was going to Ryan to build the ballpark.

That sparked some outrage and a lawsuit by the Taxpayers League of Minnesota. So the city dropped the no-bid plan, and opened it up for bids. Read more »

Building Trades Statement on the 2012 Elections

Submitted by JohnSee on Thu, 11/08/2012 - 9:57am

"On behalf of the skilled craft professionals that comprise America's Building Trades Unions, I offer our heartfelt congratulations to President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden on their historic re-election. 

I also offer our prayers for the President and the Vice President as they begin the process of governing and moving our nation forward with an "invest in America" strategy that seeks to build our country from the middle out and rehabilitate and rebuild recently devastated areas that need our help. Read more »