The Building and Construction Trades Department, commonly known as North America's Building Trades Unions (NABTU), is a trade department of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) with 14 affiliated labor unions in the building trades. It was originally founded by the

American Federation of Labor The American Federation of Labor (A.F. of L.) was a national federation of labor unions in the United States that continues today as the AFL-CIO. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions eager to provide mutual ...

in 1907.

History

North America's Building Trades Unions was founded by the

(AFL) at its November 1907 Convention in Norfolk, Virginia, as a ''Department of Building Trades''.Constitution of NABTU
August 2015, 46 pages In 1937, its name was changed to ''Building and Construction Trades Department of the American Federation of Labor--Congress of Industrial Organizations''.

Affiliates

North America's Building Trades Unions is a labor federation of 14 North American unions in the building trade. Affiliates are the

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) is a trade union, labor union that represents approximately 820,000 workers and retirees in the electricity, electrical industry in the United States, Canada, Guam, Panama, Puerto Rico, an ...

(IBEW),

International Brotherhood of Teamsters The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of the Team Drivers International Union and the Teamsters National Union, the union now represents a diverse members ...

(Teamsters), International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers (BAC), International Union of Elevator Constructors (IUEC), International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT), Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA), Operative Plasterers’ and Cement Masons’ International Association (OPCMIA),

International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers The International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers (SMART) is a North American labor union headquartered in Washington, DC, which was chartered by the AFL–CIO in 2013. The product of a merger between the Sheet ...

(SMART), United Association – Union of Plumbers, Fitters, Welders and Service Techs (UA), United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers (Union Roofers), International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE),

International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers The International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers (IBB) is a trade union in the United States and Canada. It is for boilermakers and related occupations, and is affiliated with the AFL–CIO. T ...

(Boilermakers), International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers (Insulators), International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers (IW) and The Canadian Building Trades Unions (CBTU) NABTU has labor–management committees with workers in the biopharmaceutical industry, the oil and natural gas industries and the US chemical industry.

Organization

The federation is organized in state, provincial and local councils. , its funding consisted of an initiation fee, a per capita tax of 70 cents per member per month, an annual levy, agreements negotiated, sale of supplies and assessments. Sean McGarvey has been President and Brent Brooker Secretary-Treasurer of the NABTU. NABTU represents over 3 million skilled craft professionals in the United States and Canada.

Purpose

The NABTU was founded as a way to overcome the jurisdictional conflicts occurring in the building and construction

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

s. It was largely unsuccessful in this task; conflict ended only after the

Taft–Hartley Act The Labor Management Relations Act, 1947, better known as the Taft–Hartley Act, is a Law of the United States, United States federal law that restricts the activities and power of trade union, labor unions. It was enacted by the 80th United S ...

largely outlawed jurisdictional strikes.Palladino, Grace. ''Skilled Hands, Strong Spirits: A Century of Building Trades History''. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 2005. The NABTU coordinates the activity of building and construction

trade unions A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

belonging to the AFL–CIO by establishing jurisdictional rules, coordinating how work is assigned at construction sites, mediating jurisdictional and work assignment disputes, and coordinating interaction between the AFL–CIO's construction unions and employers. It also coordinates the efforts of local unions in the building trades, including contract negotiations with employer organizations and apprenticeship and training programs. The NABTU also conducts research into construction workplace health and safety issues. It lobbies the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

and executive branch agencies (such as the

Occupational Safety and Health Administration The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA; ) is a regulatory agency of the United States Department of Labor that originally had federal visitorial powers to inspect and examine workplaces. The United States Congress established ...

) on health, safety, wages (e.g., the

Davis–Bacon Act of 1931 The Davis–Bacon Act of 1931 is a United States federal law that establishes the requirement for paying the local prevailing wages on public works projects for laborers and mechanics. It applies to "contractors and subcontractors performing on ...

), and other legislative and regulatory issues. The organization also helps its affiliate unions establish, coordinate and uphold minimum educational standards for apprenticeship and journeyman training programs. The NABTU´s purpose is described in 13 sections as coordination, organization and formation of local councils, apprenticeship training, health and safety practices, dispute resolution and jurisdiction, engagement with industry, negotiations of wage and working conditions, legislative activity, research and public communications helping members to become elected officials.

Political positions

NABTU criticized President Obama's 2015 initiative of a tax-funded apprenticeship program, saying it was already doing its own. In April 2016, NABTU and the presidents of eight building trade unions called on the

AFL–CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is a national trade union center that is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 61 national and international unions, together r ...

to cut its ties with environmentalist

Tom Steyer Thomas Fahr Steyer (; born June 27, 1957) is an American climate investor, businessman, hedge fund manager, philanthropist, environmentalist, political candidate and liberal activist. Steyer is the founder and former co-senior-managing-partner ...

, who founded NextGen America Climate Action, a super PAC to "prevent climate disaster and transition to clean energies", opposing fossil fuel pipelines. In April 2017, NABTU President McGarvey applauded

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

's plans for the

Keystone Pipeline The Keystone Pipeline System is an Pipeline transport, oil pipeline system in Canada and the United States, commissioned in 2010, formerly owned by TC Energy. It is now owned by South Bow, following TC Energy's spin off of its liquids business i ...

and other infrastructure projects, when Trump spoke at NABTU's 2017 legislative convention. NABTU offered a $200,000 reward for information about the hanging of a rope noose at the Y-12 Uranium Processing Facility construction site in

Oak Ridge, Tennessee Oak Ridge is a city in Anderson County, Tennessee, Anderson and Roane County, Tennessee, Roane counties in the East Tennessee, eastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee, about west of downtown Knoxville, Tennessee, Knoxville. Oak Ridge's po ...

. Nooses on

construction sites Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the a ...

had become common after the police killing of

George Floyd George Perry Floyd Jr. (October 14, 1973 – May 25, 2020) was an African-American man who was murdered by a white police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest made after a store clerk suspected Floyd had used a counterfeit tw ...

in May 2020, with more than 20 nooses and other racist incidents on jobsites that year alone. In April 2024, the NABTU endorsed

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

for president of the United States. NABTU President McGarvey appeared in a video criticizing

for failing to deliver on promises related to pensions and infrastructure projects and praising

for "fixing our pension funds", "delivering" on promises with "monumental legislation" on infrastructure and "writing the rules so the rules work for working people".

Leadership

Presidents

:1908: James Kirby :1910: James A. Short :1913: John Donlin :1924: George F. Hendrick :1926: William J. McSorley :1930: Michael McDonough :1936: J. W. Williams :1937: Joseph McInerney :1939: John Coyne :1946: Richard J. Gray :1960: C. J. Haggerty :1971: Frank Bonadio :1974: Robert Georgine :2000:

Ed Sullivan Edward Vincent Sullivan (September 28, 1901 – October 13, 1974) was an American television host, impresario, sports and entertainment reporter, and syndicated columnist for the ''New York Daily News'' and the Chicago Tribune New York News ...

:2008: Mark Ayers :2012: Sean McGarvey

Secretary-Treasurers

:1908: William J. Spencer :1924: William J. Tracy :1927: William J. Spencer :1934: Herbert Rivers :1951: Joseph D. Keenan :1954: Frank Bonadio :1971: Robert Georgine :1974: Joseph F. Maloney :1995: Paschal McGuinness :2000: Joseph Maloney :2005: Sean McGarvey :2012: Brent Booker :2022: Brandon Bishop

History

Affiliates

Organization

Purpose

Political positions

Leadership

Presidents

Secretary-Treasurers

See also

References

Archives

External links