Are You Active?

Good afternoon brothers and sisters,

The construction unions have helped place many needed advancements in safety, workplace rules and labor laws. Before the construction unions were around, a lot of construction jobs was exploited with poor working conditions, poor pay and no regulated hours per day. The American Federation of Labor was founded in 1886 and started to form an organization for all union crafts, including construction. In 1908, the Building Trades Department was established by the AFL to address special needs with construction and it’s industry. In 1935, the Wagner Act was established to protect worker’s rights to organize and this helped gain strength with construction unions.  This act also helped fund many new projects.

One of the biggest blows to the unions was the Taft Hartley Act which limited strikes and established Right to Work Laws. The reason that we have what we do is from the union members who fought for us so many years ago. If we are going to grow, we need to take responsibility for our actions. Membership must join by laws committees, attend union meetings and be active in union events!!

Regards,

John Tweedt
Reginal Director