The merit shop is founded on the importance of worker choice—and it’s hard to argue that, over the last several years, worker choice has come under renewed assault. Most obviously, the White House has made project labor agreements and other union-friendly measures key components of big-ticket legislation such as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.
How will things look over the next several years? That will depend on many different factors, starting with the results of last month’s midterm elections and their implications for who has control of the House and the Senate. But worker choice will remain a priority issue for the construction industry for the foreseeable future—and the priority issue for the new year we’re heading into.
In fact, for Construction Executive’s 2023 Construction Economic Forecast, rather than covering the construction economy as a whole, as he usually does for this annual feature, Anirban Basu focuses on the industry’s labor market. He writes: “As of July 2022, the number of available construction jobs stood at 375,000, which was still higher than at any point prior to April 2019.”
In other words, the skilled-worker shortage has returned to pre-pandemic levels, which makes worker choice that much more urgent. People have options, and it’s up to us as an industry to make sure they have free and open access to the many career opportunities that construction offers.
That’s why I find stories like this issue’s profile of the partnership between Project H.O.O.D. and ABC Illinois so inspiring—because this entry-point program introduces the trades to a community that otherwise might never have known about them. The Memphis Electrician Apprenticeship Bootcamp, a partnership between UpSmith, ABC of West Tennessee and the city of Memphis that is the focus of Workforce, does the same thing.
Providing all of these great career opportunities requires great leadership, which flourishes in an environment where people are inspired to achieve their professional dreams. With that in mind, I’m excited to have leadership expert Stephen M.R. Covey, author of the new book “Trust and Inspire,” joining us as a keynote speaker at ABC Convention 2023 in March; you can read CE’s preview interview with him on.
Please accept my best wishes for a safe and happy holiday season, however you choose to celebrate. I look forward to another year of leading ABC in its efforts to ensure that worker choice is a reality for everyone in the construction industry.
