Illinois Delegation of 300+ Union Women Head to Tradeswomen Build Nations
Illinois Delegation of 300+ Union Women Head to Tradeswomen Build Nations (Chicago, IL) – This Friday, 370 Illinois Building Trades Union members will gather in New Orleans to kick off the 14th annual Tradeswomen Build Nations at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside in a push to recruit and retain more women in the building trades.
Tradeswomen Build Nations, hosted by North America’s Building Trades Unions, is the largest annual building trades conference in the world. This year’s conference has 5,000 registered attendees and the theme of “Let the good jobs roll.” The three-day conference will underscore the significance of the Infrastructure Generation – this once-in-a-generation workforce created from the unprecedented federal policy wins delivered for working families in the construction industry by the Biden-Harris administration – and emphasize the importance of the November election to send Vice President Harris to the White House.
“In Illinois, we believe that good, union jobs need to be accessible to all workers,” remarked Illinois AFL-CIO President Tim Drea. “Tradeswomen Build Nations provides an opportunity for women to learn how to address the issues that they face in a historically male dominated field and to create change within their unions, communities, and the halls of government. If we are to truly create an economy that works for all, that means building pathways for women, transgender and nonbinary people to succeed and lead in their trades, their unions and their communities.”
With women making up 4.3% of the construction workforce, the conference brings together tradeswomen across North America to cultivate leadership, mentorship, and activism to address vital issues facing union tradeswomen worldwide.
“Tradeswomen Build Nations is the most important conference in existence for women in construction” stated Mandy Jo Ganieany, Director of Organizing with Painters District Council 30 in Aurora and Chair of the International Union of Painters (IUPAT) Women’s CORE Committee. “As a former Drywall finisher, I know firsthand how tough construction work is and being a woman in a male-dominated industry poses a unique set of barriers. As more women, transgender and nonbinary people enter the trades, we need to partner with industry and government to advocate for inclusive policies that support these workers to compete and succeed in the construction industry.”
Nationally, women make up 10.8% of employees in the overall construction industry (legal, administrative, engineering and insurance work) and 4.3% in the construction trades. Despite an increased demand in Illinois for careers in the building trades, the number of women entering the construction workforce are not outpacing the number of jobs created.
“There is nowhere on the planet where more building trades members gather each year than at this conference. Trailblazing tradeswomen among our ranks are leading the future of our industry, and Tradeswomen Build Nations is a testament of it,” said Mike Macellaio, President of the Chicago and Cook County Building and Construction Trades Council. “We have a phenomenal regional Women’s committee through our council committed to advancing and recruiting more women into the family-sustaining unionized construction careers our affiliates provide. The youth and the excitement generated by this conference inspire young women like my granddaughter to seek a career in the trades.”
More individuals are attracted to the high-paying, high-quality careers offered by the construction trades. Despite this growth, gender and racial discrimination remains widespread across occupations. In a male-dominated field like the building trades, many women still face barriers from childcare costs and hours that fail to match nontraditional job times to the lack of or limited parental leave policies across the construction industry.
“Making connections with empowered tradeswomen and learning about resources that exist to support our careers is critical. I want to know what else is out there and am genuinely excited to network with women who have been able to make it in this field,” remarked Bee (Beraly) Bautista, a Tile Apprentice with the Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Administrative District Council 1 (BACD 1) who is attending the conference for the first time.
Tradeswomen Build Nations will include plenary sessions, guest speakers, workshops, panels, and networking opportunities for tradeswomen to develop and hone their leadership skills, industry knowledge and understanding of the public policy making process.
Following the conference, the Illinois AFL-CIO will continue its discussion of gender equity in the trades with a Webinar on October 29th, and will host a 2nd annual Tradeswomen Take Over Springfield advocacy day during the spring legislative session.
Illinois Delegation of 300+ Union Women Head to Tradeswomen Build Nations
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