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From curtainwalls and glass systems to pre-engineered metal
buildings, metal roofs and high-tech bridges, the members
of Ironworkers Local #396 and the Erectors and Riggers Association
have expanded their scope of work far beyond red iron and
rebar. |
LEVERAGING LABOR'S
STAKE IN ST. LOUIS
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THE LABOR
COMMUNITY INVESTS IN THE REGION.
It’s been a grinding three years for the St. Louis market, with
the wheels of economic progress too often slowed by news of setbacks.
But beneath the din of grating gears, one engine of economic development
continues to purr along. It is powered by the union construction
industry. And, in good times or bad, it ensures that the region
remains one of the best places in the nation to build.
“The region’s union construction industry is formidable,” says Ed
Abbett, executive director of PRIDE of St. Louis Inc., its venerable
labor-management organization. More than 60,000 strong, the industry
represents more than half of the state’s construction workforce.
In 2001, it generated more than $3.7 billion in wages and nearly
$4 billion in construction volume. Union fringe benefit programs
annually distribute more than $100 million in union health and welfare
benefits and more than $100 million in retirement benefits.
ATTRACTING INVESTMENT
The 11-story Shaw Park Plaza office building stands as a symbol
of Clayton’s stature as the region’s “second downtown,” and a testament
to the ability of the union construction industry to entice investment
from outside the metro area.
The $53 million project is one of several funded by the $3.2 billion
Multi-Employer Property Trust (MEPT), which consists largely of
Taft-Hartley labor pension funds and is based in Washington D.C.
The Trust currently has $82.1 million invested in six St. Louis
projects that total nearly one million square feet. “The St. Louis
market combines quality real estate and union-built excellence,”
says Shep Burr, senior vice president of Landon & Butler and Co.,
which provides marketing services for the Trust. “Those are the
two key elements that MEPT seeks when evaluating real estate opportunities.”
“By
allocating some of our fringe benefit funds to Multi-employer
property trust and AFL-CIO Building investment trust,
we know we’re investing in projects that benefit
the region.”
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Stephen
P. Schoemehl
business manager,
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
Local # 1
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The national AFL-CIO Building Investment Trust (AFL-CIO BIT) has
invested $67 million in new commercial building in metro St. Louis.
As with the Trust itself, the projects are 100 percent union built.
Most recently, the union-backed real estate pension fund also committed
$30 million to the 475- acre Fountain Lakes Commerce Center in St.
Charles.
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Shaw
Park Plaza in Clayton is one of numerous high profile
construction projects financed by union-backed pension
funds. |
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“By allocating some of our fringe benefit funds to Multi-Employer
Property Trust and AFL-CIO Building Investment Trust, we know we’re
investing in projects that benefit the region,” says Stephen P.
Schoemehl, business manager of the International Brotherhood of
Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local #1.
There are also union-backed incentive programs that support the
region’s housing market. Nearly 8,000 St. Louis area homebuyers
have now registered for the free +5 New Homeowners Electrical Protection
Plan offered by the St. Louis Electrical Connection—a partnership
of IBEW Local #1 and the St. Louis Chapter of the National Electrical
Contractors Association (NECA). The “+5 program” provides a union-backed
quality guarantee to new homebuyers. It is offered on all homes
wired by electrical contractors employing IBEW Local #1 members.
“+5 is a wonderful program for the consumer and has worked well
for us,” says Greg Vatterott, chairman of CF. Vatterott, which has
built more than 26,000 homes in St. Louis since 1919.
DEVELOPING THE FUTURE WORKFORCE
Each year, through labor-management teamwork, the union construction
industry invests approximately $26 million in training. The self-funded
programs require no tax dollars and instruct more than 3,000 apprentices
and upgrade the skills of more than 1,000 journey workers annually.
Ironworkers Local #396, in conjunction with the Erectors and Riggers
Association, spend more than $600,000 annually to advance the skills
of about 200 journey workers and apprentices. And they are learning
much more than just “red iron and rebar.” Training includes work
with composite materials—some generated by the aerospace industry—that
is lighter and stronger than steel. Ironworkers are also trained
to erect curtainwalls and glass systems, pre-engineered metal buildings
and high-tech bridges.
PRIDE,
the region’s voluntary construction
labor-management group, invests in workforce development
through its “Careers in Construction” manual,
which is distributed to 25,000 high school students
annually. |
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Likewise, IBEW Local # 1 and National Electrical Contractors Association
partner to invest $2.5 million annually to train electricians. Each
year these two organizations send a large contingent of instructors
from their Electrical Industry Training Center to the National Training
Institute in Knoxville, Tenn.–a renowned industry re-certification
program.
OPENING DOORS
To keep pace with future building demands, the industry has made
a significant investment to reach out to high school students and
to minority youth. PRIDE’s Careers in Construction manual is the
bible of construction careers and is distributed to thousands of
high school students annually.
The industry’s most prominent investment is the award-winning Construction
Careers Center in south St. Louis—the nation’s first charter
high school devoted solely to preparing students for the building
trades. Conceived by the Associated General Contractors of St. Louis
(AGC) and drawing support from labor and management alike, the $6
million school has an enrollment of 230 freshmen and sophomores.
When it graduates its first class in 2005, it will ultimately host
500 students.
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The
St. Louis union construction industry has invested
in a number of programs to help disadvantaged workers
succeed in the construction industry. |
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In addition, the industry’s outreach has included the PRIDE-funded
focus groups, designed to open doors for the unemployed and underemployed
in the inner city. The study was conducted last year by the Inner
City Competitive Alliance (ICCA).
“Many action plans to address ICCA recommendations were already
in place,” Abbett says. “Now, with a better understanding of the
real and perceived barriers from the perspective of the disadvantaged
job seekers, the union construction industry can evaluate existing
recruitment programs and devise more effective ones. Our goal is
to go beyond conventional thinking and to open career pathways in
the inner city to help build St. Louis.”
“Economic cycles are nothing new to the construction industry,”
Abbett notes. “But even as work slows and projects are put on hold,
we must be ready to hit the ground running when capital investment
returns. So we will continue to invest—rain or shine.”
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