Canterbury, New Zealand Success

Canterbury New Zealand is rebuilding from a massive earthquake in 2010. The government of New Zealand has made it a priority to get women into these jobs. Political will has made it happen. 2400 women working on the rebuild equal 17.8% of the workforce! See it here.

https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/women-quitting-the-office-to-join-canterbury-rebuild-q14037

Women Build Nations Conference in Chicago April 30-May 1, 2016

The 2016 WOMEN BUILD NATIONS conference will mark a momentous occasion for tradeswomen worldwide when the conference convenes outside of California for the first time in its 15-year history. The annual conference brings together hundreds of tradeswomen from multiple construction crafts to build leadership skills, learn strategies for overcoming challenges and unite around common issues.

Chicago Women in Trades is serving as the local host committee of the 2016 Women Build Nations Conference and partnering with the North American Building Trades Unions, along with other national, regional and local tradeswomen advocates and other allies.

Additional information regarding registration for the 2016 Women Build Nations conference will be announced in December of 2015.

In the meantime:

Download a Save the Date flyer for 2016 and share it with your sisters

and

visit: http://www.sbctc.org/ for newsletters, pictures and videos of previous years conferences.

For other conference information, contact kkupcak@cwit2.org

Hope to see you in Chicago this spring!

Building Pathways New Hampshire: "Program helps women get construction jobs"

Building Pathways New Hampshire (BPNH) is currently recruiting women for the next cycle of their five-week pre-apprenticeship program, which prepares individuals for "high-skill, high-wage construction careers" and assists eligible graduates with joining union apprenticeship programs (Foster's Daily Democrat, 3 Feb. 2015).

For more about BPNH or how to apply, check out the recent Foster's article about their February information sessions:

— Monday, February 9, Teachers Union Hall, 7 Tagart Dr, Nashua
— Thursday, February 12, Plumbers and Pipefitters hall, 161 Londonderry Turnpike, Hookset
— Monday, February 16, Seymour Osman Community Center, 40 Hampshire Circle, Dover

Interested applicants can also contact Joe Gallagher at 603-948-8161 or buildingpathwaysnh@gmail.com.

Upcoming Event: FREE Occupational Safety Health Administration (OSHA) Training

The Asian Community Development Corporation (ACDC) and Suffolk Construction will be hosting a free 10-hour Occupational Safety Health Administration (OSHA) training. The training will cover OSHA regulations and requirements that are necessary as you apply to the construction industry. This will be a good opportunity  for women looking to enter the construction industry.

Saturday January 24th, 2015, 8:30am-3:30pm
Sunday January 25th, 2015 8:30am-3:30pm

OSHA Training
38 Oak Street 
Boston, MA 02111

For more information, check out the event flyer.
If you have any questions or need to sign up, please call Brian McPherson at 617-517-4446 or email BMcPherson@suffolk.com

Repost: MassGaming to establish ‘Access and Opportunity’ committee, Initiative created to support state’s commitment to ensuring workforce and vendor diversity

Last week, The Massachusetts Gaming Commission announced their plans to establish an Access and Opportunity Committee for "the primary function of monitoring diversity in the construction workforce and supplier base of the state's resort-casino licensees" (MGC Communications, 11 Dec. 2014). This motion was passed unanimously by The Commission on December 4. The Policy Group on Tradeswomen's Issues (PGTI) co-conveners Susan Moir and Elizabeth Skidmore expressed their excitement for the achievement, which was spurred in part by The Commission's collaboration with PGTI. "'After six years of hard work developing best practices for increasing the number of women in construction jobs, this is a great milestone, and we look forward to continuing to work with the Commission'" (MGC Communications, 11 Dec. 2014). With major construction planned for new casinos in Massachusetts, this motion means hundreds of jobs for tradeswomen.

To read the full news release, visit http://massgaming.com or download the PDF.

Repost: Borger Earthworks Closes the Gender Gap in the Construction Industry

President Bill Borger Jr. of the Borger Group of Companies knows that to form the best construction crew you need to pull from 100% of the labor pool. "Borger's Earthworks division defies the norm and 50% of their workforce is women. In fact, one entire crew is female” (PR Newswire 2014). Clients and stakeholders have praised the team’s performance. The Borger Group adopted the Respect in the WorkplaceTM to make sure that women felt empowered and that there was a healthy workplace for all. This lead to the success of the company

Visit http://www.sys-con.com/node/3233766 to read the full article.​

Repost: UPS Hits the Brakes on Pregnancy Discrimination

There is much for women working at UPS to celebrate in the upcoming new year. The Supreme Court had agreed to hear a suit against UPS about the discrimination that pregnancy employees faced. UPS relented and "In a brief to the Supreme Court, UPS has announced that 'On a going-forward basis, UPS has voluntarily decided to provide additional accommodations for pregnancy-related physical limitations.’” The policy will go into effect on January 1,2015.

For more information visit: http://tdu.org/news/ups-hits-brakes-pregnancy-discrimination

Repost: Construction-Training Grads Are All Women

The Construction Workforce Initiative 2 Program in New Haven, CT, recently presented 37 women with certificates of completion. This graduation ceremony marked the matriculation of their first women-only class in the construction training program. (Markeshia, 23 Oct. 2014).

Visit http://www.newhavenindependent.org to read the full article.

Girls at Work, Inc. MusicFest 2014: 2-for-1 Tickets on Sale Today!

Girls at Work, Inc. is a non-profit in southern New Hampshire that has worked for 13 years to empower young girls by giving them power tools. Check out their upcoming evening of live music, good food, raffles, and more to support this great organization.

Repost: Francoise Jacobsohn Joins ERA with Taskforce on Tradeswomen’s Issues

Equal Rights Advocates recently announced that Françoise Jacobsohn, who serves as a co-chair of the National Task Force on Tradeswomen's Issues and a Fellow at the Cornell ILR Labor and Employment Law Program (LEL), recently joined their organization to restart their Tradeswomen’s Advocacy Project (ERA Staff, 21 Oct. 2014). Along with co-chair Wider Opportunities for Women, the National Task Force will aim "to improve and enforce the law on equal opportunity for tradeswomen through education and legislative and policy advocacy" (ERA Staff, 21 Oct. 2014).

Visit http://www.equalrights.org/ to read the full article.

Repost: Coalition calls for wage guarantees for construction on Roxbury projects

At a recent meeting of the Roxbury Strategic Master Plan Oversight Committee, which monitors construction projects that are part of the Roxbury Strategic Master Plan, the Boston Jobs Coalition and other community activists called for developers to adopt prevailing wages for both union and non-union workers as well as higher goals for contractors to hire residents, women, and people of color. This recommendation comes not long after community members picketed the Tropical Foods store site, where "some workers...were being paid only $11 per hour" (Larson, 22 Oct. 2014). The coalition's efforts have received support from City Councilor Tito Jackson and State Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz, among others.

Visit http://baystatebanner.com/ to read the full article.

Repost: Where Are All the Blue-Collar Women?

HuffPost Live's Caroline Modarressy-Tehrani recently interviewed Lorien Barlow (@hardhattedwoman), the director of Hard Hatted Woman, a feature-length documentary film that will explore the experiences of American women working in the construction industry.
Ambra Melendez, a journey ironworker; Francoise Jacobsohn (@fjacobsohn), a project manager at Equal Rights Advocates; and Rudy Mulligan, a second-year carpenter apprentice, also contribute their thoughts on the stereotypes tradeswomen confront in a "hyper-masculine arena."

Visit The Huffington Post online to watch the interview.

Visit www.hardhattedwoman.com to learn more about the documentary.

News Release: Fort Myer Construction will pay $900K to settle discrimination and harassment case involving 371 women and minorities

OFCCP News Release: [09/17/2014]
Contact Name: Laura McGinnis or Michael Trupo
Phone Number: (202) 693-4653 or x6588
Email: McGinnis.Laura.K@dol.gov or Trupo.Michael@dol.gov
Release Number: 14-1513-PHI

Fort Myer Construction will pay $900K to settle discrimination and harassment case involving 371 women and minorities

WASHINGTON — Fort Myer Construction Corp. has agreed to settle charges that it violated Executive Order 11246 by failing to provide equal employment opportunities to employees and job applicants at 413 construction sites in the D.C. metropolitan area.

An agreement reached by the federal contractor and the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs resolves allegations that between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2010, the company discriminated against 27 qualified women and 136 qualified African Americans who applied for jobs as laborers, and unfairly terminated eight African American skilled laborers. It also resolves pay discrimination charges stemming from Fort Myer Construction's practice of assigning equally qualified workers performing the same jobs to projects paying different hourly rates, some with fewer work hours. This resulted in lower wages for 44 African American and 156 Hispanic laborers.

"Strong enforcement and vigilance are critical to opening doors of opportunity for more women and minorities in the construction industry, ensuring that all workers get an equal shot at getting to work on the highest-paying projects," said OFCCP Director Patricia A. Shiu.

OFCCP's investigation of Fort Myer Construction began in January 2011 during the agency's review of companies involved in constructing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's consolidated headquarters in southeastern D.C. Because that project is valued above $25 million and will last more than a year, this undertaking has been designated by the Labor Department as a Mega Construction Project, which is a priority area for OFCCP. More than 300 workers were interviewed over the course of the compliance evaluation, which focused on Fort Meyer Construction's employment practices in 2010.

"Getting those workers in the door and keeping them is going to take more than improved applicant tracking and better pay policies," said OFCCP Mid-Atlantic Regional Director Michele Hodge. "It's going to take a concerted effort by Fort Myer Construction's leadership to change a culture that devalues too many workers."

During their investigation, OFCCP compliance officers received more than 30 phone calls alerting them to charges of harassment, intimidation, threats and coercion at work. The agency discovered that supervisors at Fort Myer Construction used hostile and derogatory language toward African American and Hispanic employees, as well as a disabled veteran. The supervisors sexually harassed and tried to date female subordinates. African American women were locked out of restroom facilities and had feces left in their work trucks. A company vice president tried to interfere in OFCCP's investigation by discouraging Hispanic employees from talking to agency inspectors conducting an onsite review. Even a female investigator from OFCCP was subjected to inappropriate sexual jokes by a superintendent while at a Fort Myer Construction work site.

Under the terms of the settlement, Fort Myer Construction will pay $900,000 in back wages and interest to 371 class members and make job offers to seven women and 30 African Americans from that class as laborer positions become available. The company has also agreed to undertake extensive training and monitoring measures to ensure that all its employment practices – including hiring, termination and compensation – fully comply with the laws enforced by OFCCP.

D.C.-based Fort Myer Construction builds, repairs and maintains streets, roads, bridges and underground utilities. In 2010, the company received more than $400 million in federal funds for work on 155 construction projects in the D.C. area. Some of its largest contracts that year were with the U.S. Department of Transportation, General Services Administration, Navy Department, National Park Service and Smithsonian Institution.

In addition to Executive Order 11246, OFCCP enforces Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974. These three laws require that those who do business with the federal government, both contractors and subcontractors, follow the fair and reasonable standard that they not discriminate in employment on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, national origin, disability or status as a protected veteran. For more information, visit http://www.dol.gov/ofccp/.

Read this news release en Español.

Repost: Iron fist in a velvet glove, Chinese women on construction site

© 2009 - 2012 ChinaHush

ChinaHush recently published striking photos of women working in construction in China, where "woman construction workers have taken up 10.18% of the total construction site workforce" (Lee, 24 Sept. 2014). Many of these women work side-by-side with their husbands, earning wages to support their families. While these jobs often provide better wages and greater freedom than factory jobs, women workers typically make less money than their male counterparts--in the case of 32-year-old Yang Amei, 120 yuan instead of the 160 yuan per day that her husband earns (Lee, 24 Sept. 2014). In recent years, women have taken on roles that require "heavy lifting" on the construction sites--work that was previous reserved for men.

To read the full article and view the photos, visit http://www.chinahush.com/.

Upcoming Event: WOW Book Talk Series with Dr. Mary Gatta - 10/9/14, 1-3pm

As part of their 50th Anniversary Book Talk Series, Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW) will host an event featuring new CEO Amanda Andere and Dr. Mary Gatta, who will discuss her new book, All I Want Is a Job! Unemployed Women Navigating the Public Workforce System.

Thursday, October 9th, 1-3pm

Jobs for the Future
88 Broad St, 8th Floor Conference Room

Boston, MA 02110 

For more information, check out the event flyer. To RSVP, visit WOW online.

Repost: Become a Union Carpenter [video]

Awesome video just released by the NERCC's Sisters in the Brotherhood to recruit more women to become union carpenters. Pass it along!

Repost: Lessons from returning women migrant workers

A recent article in The Phnom Penh Post illuminates the importance of protecting Cambodian women who face many challenges and dangers while they migrate to and from worksites in Thailand:

"Chandy’s story was positive – she received her wages, retained her belongings and returned to Cambodia unharmed. But in crossing into Thailand as an irregular migrant, there were no guarantees of her safety or protection. Indeed, many of Chandy’s fellow returnees had much darker stories to tell." (Holliday, 10 Sept. 2014)

Chandy's story is just one of many women who overcome barriers to earn a living for themselves and their families.

Visit http://www.phnompenhpost.com/ to read the full article. 

Repost: Manufacturing and Women

A group of federal, state, educational, community, and industry leaders recently gathered at The New Haven Connecticut Chamber of Commerce for "a roundtable discussion focused on the need for more women business owners and more women in advanced manufacturing positions" (USDOL, 4 Sept. 2014). Congratulations to Women's Bureau regional administrator Jacqueline Cooke and the other leaders on their continued efforts to recruit and retain women in non-traditional occupations.

Visit http://www.dol.gov to read the full article in the USDOL newsletter.

Repost: Is construction still a losing game for most women? Are you part of the problem?

A recent article by Julia Evans, Chief Executive at BSRIA, describes the ebb and flow of women workers in the construction field during the past two centuries and questions the long-term efficacy of legislation that simply "throws money" at the job access problem. Through a look at the historical efforts to incorporate women in the building trades workforce, Evans smartly argues:

"Funding new training opportunities is a great step forward, but to see real change we need industry leaders to be proactive in embedding a more diverse and inclusive work culture. The majority of women aged 25-45 find that attitudes, behaviours and perceptions are the greatest barriers (3)." (Evans, 23 July 2014)

To read Evans' full argument regarding women workers in Britain's construction workforce, visit http://www.link2portal.com/.

Event Recap: "Where are all the women?" webinar

On August 5th, Gamaliel, a network of community organizing affiliates across the United States, South Africa and the United Kingdom, hosted a webinar on "Putting Women to Work in the Skilled Trades through Regulatory Reform" (Gamaliel, 30 July 2014). Panelists Connie Ashbrook, Executive Director of Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc., Francoise Jacobsohn, former manager of Legal Momentum's economic security program, and Jenny Perrino, legislative director for U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, discussed "why women are still excluded from the construction trades and what can be done to fix the problem" (Gamaliel, 30 July 2014). This webinar is part of Gamaliel's ongoing efforts through the Fire of Faith campaign, which seeks to increase access to living-wage jobs.

Watch the full video of the webinar.
Download the webinar PowerPoint slides.
Learn more about Gamaliel's Fire of Faith campaign.