Political Candidates Should Consider the Entire Construction Workforce

As the candidates take their turns campaigning in Wisconsin, we invite them to tour our state, enjoy the facilities built by our workforce, and remember the dedicated men and women in Wisconsin’s merit construction industry.

ABC of Wisconsin represents more than 1000 member companies, which includes at least 25,000 working men and women in Wisconsin’s construction workforce. Our members are responsible for building the hospitals, schools, meeting halls, roads and businesses that keep our citizens safe and our economy running. These same members are growing family businesses, sponsoring the events and nonprofits that make our communities great, and training the next generation of apprentices to take over and build with excellence. We welcome candidates to tour our programs and see how Wisconsin is bridging the construction skills gap.

Our members are invested in their employees, providing ongoing training, benefits and mental health support to be sure they are both physically and psychologically safe on job sites. Their investments are paying off. A record number of apprentices chose to join our program this year. We have countless leaders in our membership who began as apprentices and rose to own their own companies, employing countless more. They are living the American Dream, working hard, and rising to success. This merit approach is embraced by the more than 70% of Wisconsin’s construction workforce who choose not to join a union.

In return for their demonstrated commitment to Wisconsin’s communities, our members ask for the right to competitively bid on all construction projects. In our current world, project labor agreement requirements deny 70% of Wisconsin’s construction workforce from working on utility projects and large scale federal projects. This means that our members are not even permitted to compete for these projects. We ask candidates to take a closer look at the success and commitment of our member companies and their employees, and to repeal all rules that deny them the ability to compete for federal projects.

Kelly Tourdot, President, ABC Wisconsin