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Labor Voices: Infrastructure investment creates skilled trades jobs

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Labor Voices: Infrastructure investment creates skilled trades jobs

Tom Lutz
 |  The Detroit News

Summer is here, and with it comes longer days, hotter temperatures and the proliferation of orange construction barrels across Michigan. Sure, that can mean traffic, detours and a longer commute in the short term, but when I see those barrels, I see my skilled trades brothers and sisters hard at work building the state’s brighter future. 

They are busier than ever, turning more than $12 billion from President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Inflation Reduction Act and Chips and Science Act into a strong foundation for growth. Building this infrastructure — broadband, bridges, roads, transit, supply chain, clean energy, water and more — has already delivered over $28 billion in private sector commitments, with even more on the horizon that will establish new manufacturing and other job-creating enterprises. 

All of that is good for Michigan and it’s even better for working people like Natalie Yabs. Today, she works for Toebe Construction, rebuilding overpass bridges along US-127 and I-496 in Lansing. She loves that she is able to have a hand in constructing all the small details that combine to create strong bridges that will carry Lansing (and MSU) traffic for decades to follow. 

Of course, to the Lansing region, these infrastructure investments mean easing traffic, reducing costly vehicle repairs, improving safety and driving business growth. To Natalie, though, investing in infrastructure is personal because it means investing in her future. At 24, she is part of a new generation of carpenter apprentices who, alongside others across the building trades, can look forward to years of steady work doing what they love while building wealth and creating real value in their communities.

The magnitude of these investments means contractors are hiring. No matter your age, the opportunity is there to forge a lucrative, meaningful career as a skilled trades professional. And no matter the kind of work that interests you, the best place to start is by contacting the skilled trades union of your choice. 

Joining a union gives you access to state-of-the-art training. Unlike programs offered by community colleges or private non-union contractor organizations that charge tuition, a union apprenticeship is debt-free. Union apprentices earn good wages and benefits while they learn and have access to free, life-long upgrade classes, empowering them to learn new skills and advance their careers regardless of how the construction industry evolves. All of this is made possible by unions working together with their signatory contractors to invest in people. 

Membership in a skilled trades union brings benefits beyond training. Union apprentices can count on raises as they progress through their program. Over the course of their careers, union-skilled trades professionals earn a dignified retirement and high-quality healthcare benefits that won’t vanish the moment a construction job ends.

Michigan’s skilled trades unions are meeting this historic moment, training and supporting workers like Natalie, who are realizing the opportunities created when America invests in our shared future.

Tom Lutz is executive secretary-treasurer of the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights.

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