Perspective: Engagement on Local Elections Key for Building Trades Members
Date Posted: March 11, 2025
Posted In: Discussion, Workforce,
by John Stiffler, Executive Secretary-Treasurer, St. Louis Building & Construction Trades
From St. Louis/Southern Illinois Labor Tribune: All the noise seems to be coming out of Washington, DC, but the St. Louis Building and Construction Council is focused on the upcoming April 8 municipal elections.
While it might not be as obvious as a project manager in a shiny hardhat, our municipal governments, our counties and cities, our school boards and our fire districts are responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars of work each year. Not only that, these governments establish Project Labor Agreements that guarantee our work, they enforce standards and regulations. I’ve been a member of Insulators Local 1 for over 45 years and can tell you this, I got a lot more hours of state and local government work than pretty much anything.
Work With Industry; State, and Local Government; and Community Leaders
The St. Louis Building & Construction Trades Council works with industry, state and local government and community leaders to raise industry standards and provide opportunities. We advocate and fight to protect the safety, working conditions and wages of the St. Louis area’s unionized construction workforce.
As the executive secretary-treasurer, I spend most of my time working with contractors, contractor associations, lawmakers and local and state government agencies to promote unionized construction, and let me tell you, it’s a lot easier to work with someone who understands our industry, has respect for our crafts and is a friend of Labor. It’s these kinds of relationships that turn into projects and jobs.