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.

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: Newly launched program gives women a pathway to building trades

Great article in the May 16 2014 issue of New Hampshire Business Review describing Building Pathways New Hampshire (BPNH)'s efforts to help women access good jobs in the construction industry:

"Lisa Wiggin was looking for a career change. A 40-something nurse’s assistant, she wanted a job that was 'more hands-on' and gave her the satisfaction of working on a project and seeing something finished. 

At a visit to the unemployment office, Wiggin learned about Building Pathways New Hampshire, a program to provide pre-apprenticeship training to unemployed and underemployed women in hopes of building the female ranks in the construction industry. About 13 women were selected for the inaugural class, which began May 12 and runs for five weeks" (Lamontagne Hall, 16 May 2014).

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

Repost: A few strong women - Buildings Trades Union wants more female workers

More great press for Building Pathways New Hampshire! Here's a preview of the article in the April 17th issue of The Hippo:

"Nationally, women only make up about 2 percent of building industries workers, but if you ask the organizers of the New Hampshire Building Pathways program, a new initiative aimed at recruiting and training women for careers in construction, women do just as well as men. 

'The truth is, women have been doing heavy physical labor since the dawn of time. There’s nothing inherent about us that says we can’t do this,' said Liz Skidmore, Building Pathways organizer and veteran construction worker. 'As girls, we don’t get told this is an option, or this is possible.' 

The New Hampshire Building Trades Unions is piloting Building Pathways, which will give 13 unemployed and underemployed women the opportunity to participate in a pre-apprenticeship program." (Fishow, 17 April 2014)

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

Repost: Gov. Hassan talks of "Building Pathways" for women during building trades pre-apprenticeship info session

Word is getting out about the new pre-apprenticeship program, Building Pathways New Hampshire. Three dozen women attended Building Pathways New Hampshire's info session earlier this week and got to meet Governor Hassan, who spoke movingly about the power of doing non-traditional jobs, the critical value of construction to the state's economy, and the pride of doing challenging work.

Building Pathways New Hampshire's last info session will be held this Thursday, March 27, 6 - 7:30pm at 161 Londonderry Turnpike, Hooksett. Spread the word!

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By RYAN O’CONNOR
Union Leader Correspondent

HOOKSETT — For years, Gov. Maggie Hassan built pathways for herself, which ultimately led to the top spot in New Hampshire’s state government.

Monday, the first-term governor was at the Plumbers and Pipefitters Hall in Hooksett, encouraging other Granite State females to reach their dreams through Building Pathways, a new, no-fee pre-apprenticeship program designed to bring local women into the high-skill, high-pay world of union construction careers.

“As only the second woman governor in New Hampshire history, I know a little bit about taking the non-traditional path,” Hassan told the room of about three dozen woman and several men.

“Knowing you have a skill for businesses and to people is really, really transforming,” said Hassan. “I happen to know each one of you has it in you, just as someone told me 14 years ago when someone told me ‘why don’t you run for the state Senate.’”

Jane Triboletta said she’s an outspoken supporter of Hassan due to the governor’s vision for women in New Hampshire. In addition, she said admitted she felt she should be paying Building Pathways for the “amazing opportunity.”

Gov. Maggie Hassan was one of several speakers at Monday night’s

Building Pathways informational meeting at the Plumbers

and Pipefitters Hall in Hooksett. (Ryan O’Connor Photo)

“I’m 41 years old and I have a 16-year-old, and I want the next 20 years of my life to count for something ... to build things or work with people that can teach me something that can never be taken away from me,” she said.

Hassan said many women already have the ability to develop the skills necessary to succeed in perceived men’s careers but, in many cases, limit themselves mentally.

“For those of you that are mothers, know that nothing is as hard as being a mother, so you’re all set there,” said Hassan. “But you need to understand that you can do this ... and the other thing you will find is that there are a number of great men to be there by your side to help you ... and you get to turn around and help others do the same thing, and we will all get stronger through your success.”

Building Pathways has another informational session scheduled for Match 27 at the Plumbers and Pipefitters Hall at 161 Londonderry Turnpike in Hooksett. Those interested in additional information may call 491-2406.

Visit http://www.unionleader.com to view the original article.

Career Opportunity: Building Pathways New Hampshire pre-apprenticeship program

Building Pathways New Hampshire is looking for women who want to join the construction trades!


BPNH PSA-JB 03122014 from UBC Sisters in the Brotherhoo on Vimeo.

Repost: NH gender wage gap higher than national average

PGTI's own Elizabeth Skidmore recently served on a panel discussion about the wide wage gap between men and women in New Hampshire. Check out the article below to learn about the wage equality that's happening in the construction trades and how we can narrow the wage gap for all women.

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Friday, June 28, 2013

By JENNIFER JANIAK

The wage gap between men and women has remained an unresolved social issue for decades, but Granite State women face even greater inequality in the workforce than others across the country.

New Hampshire women earn 77 cents for every dollar New Hampshire men earn, a 5 cent larger gap than the national average, according to the New Hampshire Women’s Initiative.

“It’s clear that there is a growing gap between men and women in the workforce today,” Mark MacKenzie, president of NH AFL-CIO, said Wednesday night at a forum titled “Women, Work, and Wages,” held at Saint Anselm College’s Institute for Politics to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Equal Pay Act. “As of the last few years, it’s not had the kind of profile I think it should have. When you talk to the general public about this, it touches everyone.”

Four speakers addressed the wage gap with a variety of statistical findings, mostly focusing on the reason for women’s 23 percent wage loss.

About 14 cents of the loss-per-hour can be attributed to reasons like workforce participation, education attainment, industry and occupation, type of employer, and the preference for flexible work, according to Judy Stadtman of New Hampshire AFL-CIO. For example, Stadtman said that women tend to make up the majority of employees in lower paying sectors, such as elementary and secondary education and certain health care sectors.

“Even the 14 cents that is attributable … to career paths and lifestyle choices, we also need to understand that some of those career paths and lifestyle choices are because of sexism,” Liz Skidmore, one of the speakers, said. “Women grow up and think the only thing they can be is XYZ and … don’t do all the other things.”

However, the remainder of the gap, the other 9 cents, remains unexplained.

Skidmore is a business manager in the Carpenters Local 118 and has worked in carpentry for about 25 years.

Carpentry and construction are among the few job sectors in which women are paid equal to their male peers, she said.

“In union construction, women make exactly the same as men,” Skidmore said. “Starting 35 years ago, when women started getting into construction. Every hour we work, every dollar we get paid, we get paid exactly the same.”

The type of employer chosen by women, another factor Stadtman attributed to the wage gap, also differs from men. More women tend to work for nonprofit organizations and local and state government, while men dominate federal government jobs and the self-employment sector.

In attendance was newly appointed Labor Commissioner James Craig, who asked what can be done to solve the wage gap. While the four speakers offered different solutions, they all agreed that no single, or immediate, solution exists.

“There is no silver bullet to any of this stuff,” Skidmore said. “If there were, we would have solved it already. So what we’ve found is that if you can pull together a group of stake holders from long-term engagement on this … it’s not something that we can solve in one evening, but there absolutely are solutions and when we can bring people together, break down those aisles of expertise, and work toward it, that’s when I think exciting things happen.”

Read the remainder of this article at http://www.nashuatelegraph.com.

Article on Job Corps Center being built in New Hampshire...mobilized women are an important consideration for success

Retrieved from http://www.newhampshire.com/article/20110820/NEWS06/708209987

Jobs Corps Center project going forward

By GARRY RAYNO

New Hampshire Union Leader

MANCHESTER — A project labor agreement, which delayed construction of New Hampshire's Job Corps Center for 21 months, will be a project requirement according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

The department announced last week it would move forward with the long-delayed $35 million project off Dunbarton Road. A New Hampshire contractor challenged the requirements two years ago, delaying project construction.

U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte said in a press release Friday she is concerned that the PLA favors out-of-state unionized contractors over local firms and could drive up the project's cost.

"The administration's plan to keep in place the PLA represents yet another senseless government mandate that could put New Hampshire businesses and workers at a competitive disadvantage. A PLA effectively gives unionized firms an unfair advantage over non-union firms, making it less likely that New Hampshire contractors would be able to bid successfully for the work," said Ayotte. "This is a New Hampshire project, and local contractors should be able to compete for it on a level playing field."

Project labor agreements usually require companies working on a construction project to provide health care, retirement benefits and apprenticeship programs. And PLAs usually include work rules, safety provisions, dispute resolution and a no-strike clause.

Contractors balked when the Job Corps agreement called for experience with three or more PLAs. North Branch Construction of Concord filed a protest with the Government Accountability Office and that brought the bidding process to a halt.

Manchester Mayor Ted Gatsas said Friday his concern with the original PLA was the prior PLA experience. That meant no New Hampshire firms could qualify to do the work, because no firm had experience with three PLAs, he said.

"My understanding was that was not going to be in there," Gatsas said. "It should be New Hampshire people doing this project."

Gatsas said he has not seen the documentation, but noted "This is a project we need to move forward. It's 300 construction jobs to the city and 135 permanent jobs."

In response to a request from Ayotte asking to clarify the PLA issue, the DOL wrote that in keeping with a January 2009 executive order by President Obama, construction projects over $25 million should use PLAs. A PLA is appropriate for the $35 million Job Corps project, the department wrote.

Mark Holden, president of the Associated Builders and Contractors of New Hampshire/Vermont said: "It is important for all New Hampshire taxpayers to understand the impact of this decision. Requiring non-union contractors to execute union agreements for the project, agreeing to replace their employees with union workers, pay into union funds and abide by union work rules and conditions creates unknown costs that are impossible to plan and bid for and are conditions that make it non-competitive for non-union contractors.

"To suggest that a non-union contractor's ability to compete would not be impacted by this PLA is untrue. A PLA requirement will have a chilling impact on competition from non-union contractors and will dramatically inflate the construction cost of this taxpayer funded project. At a time when a challenging economy is dependent on real solutions for job creation and accountability for every taxpayer dollar, this decision is unbelievable."

Joe Casey, president of the New Hampshire Building and Construction Trades Council, said Ayotte and Holden are making a lot of assumptions about the PLA and what it will require. "It all depends on what the project labor agreement is and I have yet to see one for this project," Casey said. "This is a debate we should have once the Department of Labor releases the project (documents)."

He noted the DOL hired an independent group, Hill International, to determine if a PLA is feasible for the project, but he had not seen the study. "We should all take a step back and see the actual contents of the project labor agreement," Casey said. "The provisions could benefit New Hampshire contractors and New Hampshire workers."

He noted the last major federal construction project in New Hampshire was the Berlin prison and the contractors and almost all of the workers came from out-of-state. That prison has yet to open because the federal government has not released operation money.

"That is the type of thing the project labor agreement addresses," Casey said. "If federal money is coming to the state of New Hampshire, why shouldn't it stay in New Hampshire with the New Hampshire workforce. At the end of the day, that is what we are looking for."

Dick Anagnost, a Manchester developer who is chairman of the Job Corps Task Force, told the New Hampshire Union Leader last week that the project will take about 18 months.

He said the Labor Department should take a month to prepare bid specifications. Another month will be needed to solicit bids, and a final month will be needed to review them.

A Job Corps Center will help train economically disadvantaged youth to enter high-growth industries. New Hampshire is among the last states to have a Job Corps Center. The state began efforts 10 years ago to land a center of its own.