Have you ever wondered what Labor Day is all about? Is it merely a day dedicated to resting from our labor, firing up the grill, and celebrating the unofficial end of summer? Or is there something more to it?
While Labor Day is a day marked for celebration, camaraderie, and rest, the observance of the holiday is a hallowed one for those in the building trades.
During the height of the industrial revolution in the late 1800s, American workers were subject to horrific and unsafe working conditions. They worked 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, only to earn a very meager wage. Over time, these hard-working men, women, and even children began to band together to demand safer working conditions, better pay, and reasonable hours. This was the start of the labor movement.
As the movement progressed, Labor Unions started to form across the country, and protests, strikes, and rallies became common occurrences. On Tuesday, September 5, 1882, led by the Central Union, over 10,000 American workers took unpaid leave to march the streets of New York City in protest. This is hailed as the first-ever Labor Day parade and quickly became a tradition not only in New York City but in cities across the country. It was a self-appointed “holiday in honor of workmen” everywhere.
While the labor movement grew stronger and stronger, there was still much progress to be made. Courageous men and women continued to make a stand for what was rightfully theirs: fair compensation for their hard work, safer working environments, reasonable hours, and, ultimately, respect. But it was a battle.
Finally, 12 years later on June 28, 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed the Labor Day holiday into law as a peace offering to American workers after several protests and strikes turned into deadly riots. Ever since then, Labor Day has been nationally celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor the contributions American workers - and more specifically trades workers - have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country. Labor Day is a day of great pride for the men and women in the trades.
This Labor Day, as you’re cracking a cold one, enjoying your local parade, or throwing a burger on the grill, take a moment to remember and honor the hard-working women and men who came before you. Without them, we wouldn’t have the country that we have today, with the great infrastructure and prosperity that we enjoy, nor the rights that we have in our work.
Interested in joining the ranks of the men and women that continue to build our great nation? Learn more about a rich and rewarding career in the trades.
In the construction trades, you’ll often hear the phrase “leading with safety.” And by often, we mean daily. But what does it mean to lead with safety?
Leading with safety means the health and life of the tradesperson is prioritized above everything else. Workers are more important than the work, more important than profits, more important than deadlines. In recognition of OSHA’s Safe + Sound Week 2022, let’s talk about what that means and why safety is the first priority in the building trades.
Leading with safety has to start with a strong foundation. Safety is about creating a controlled work environment, so the first and most important step in safety is securing the basics. Trained workers, bright lighting, clean and ventilated workspaces, well-maintained tools, and proper safety gear – all of these contribute to a safer work environment. It’s the responsibility of both workers and managers to prioritize these basic requirements, taking the extra time to make sure that the job is done right.
Once the basic foundation has been secured, the next step is to look ahead to proactively identify and manage workplace hazards before they cause injury or illness. One way to manage these hazards is by strict adherence to OSHA’s published workplace safety rules, which are based on years of reported workplace accident data and university research. The other way is through in-depth training and hands-on experience. The more knowledgeable and experienced workers are, the more they will be able to identify potential hazards and prevent injury. When OSHA’s rules and regulations are combined with years of training and experience, everyone is much safer.
The payoff for all of this extra effort in training and maintenance demonstrates that safety is front and center for everything we do in the trades. It also means that you get to lead in the trades. Construction tradespeople who lead with safety develop the most experience, get to be trained on the most complex and dangerous machines, and go on to have the most successful and long-lasting careers. They are the people everyone wants to work with when doing inherently risky tasks, like welding the side of a suspension bridge or installing high voltage electrical equipment. They’re also the people employers and customers want to hire.
In the construction trades, your safety comes first, always. Is it dangerous? Yes, at times, but you can trust that there is no industry more committed to your health, safety, and well-being. You’ll get the training, the equipment, the jobsite, and the management you need to do your job well - to do it safely.
You’ve heard about a career in the building trades and know that it’s an exceptional choice, offering great pay, incredible benefits, and almost limitless opportunities. You’re sold (and why wouldn’t you be?).
Thinking of joining the construction trades, and wondering if you have what it takes to be successful?
Being a successful tradesperson requires much more skill than simply being able to swing a hammer or weld a pipe. A master tradesperson has unique talents and meticulously honed skills developed over many years of training and hard work.
Similar to any job, it’s not just the hard skills and know-how that matter in the building trades; the soft skills matter, too. In fact, soft skills might matter more! Many of the most successful tradespeople entered their careers with little to no prior knowledge or experience in their field, but their soft skills are what have made them successful. So, what are those qualities and skills?
There’s nothing more satisfying than a job well done. But what might be even more satisfying is the day off after you finish a hard week’s work. All work and no play is no way to live. We don’t get up and go to work every day for the sake of working, we get up to make a living. A living for ourselves and for our families. And not just a living, a good living.
What is a good living? When summer rolls around, we want time off to go on vacations with our family and friends. We want a nice car or truck that gets us to work and then gets us out on the weekends. We want to play video games with our friends, go fishing, go water skiing, or have the family over for a holiday barbecue. The American dream looks different for everybody, but one thing is the same - PlayStations, fishing rods, water skis, and gas grills aren’t cheap. And time off to enjoy them isn’t always easy to get. Coming up on the 4th of July, it’s important to think about what independence really means.
Independence is the freedom to make what you want of your life, and that takes time and money. For decades, the construction trades have ensured that our workers have those freedoms. The building trades focus on what matters most - giving our craftspeople the kind of life they deserve after a hard day’s work. The world seems to squeeze harder and harder each year, but a tradesperson has great wages, vacation time, pension, and benefits. In the building trades, we don’t make do; we make a living.
Join us! The construction trades have room for every worker in America. Start making more money today without taking out a mountain of student loans that will weigh you down for decades. We’ll teach you what you need to know to start your new career and pay you while you learn. Come enjoy a fulfilling career and the independence that the American dream is built on in the building trades.
Happy Independence Day!
The best defense is a good offense. If you love games or have spent time in the military, you’ve surely heard this phrase. It means that the best way to defend, or protect, yourself is to be proactive, not reactive. The same approach applies to safety on a construction job site: the best way to prevent injury is to actively put safety first. Always.
By the numbers, construction still remains one of the most dangerous professions. What’s unrivaled, though, is the building trades’ dedication to the health, safety, and welfare of all workers. Safety is prioritized above all else. They’re on the offensive. Here’s how they work hard to put worker safety first:
Did you know that 1 in 5 adults in the United States reports living with a mental illness? That’s a staggering number! And, as we all know, mental illness and other struggles don’t magically disappear when we walk out the door for work in the morning, only to return when we clock out. It’s something that we carry with us, wherever we go.
Not only do we carry our struggles with us into our work life, but our work environments and workload can also play a big role in how we respond to those struggles. It can be make or break. That’s why it’s imperative that employers be aware of these issues and actively advocate for and develop a healthy physical and mental work environment.
While working in the construction industry can sometimes be challenging due to tight deadlines and demanding physical conditions, what’s unique about the construction trades is their unwavering commitment to their members’ health and well-being. Not only do the trades provide comprehensive health and wellness benefits, but they are also working hard to break the stigma around mental health while providing countless avenues for union members to get the help they need when they need it.
Many of the building trades have dedicated mental health programs for their members to raise awareness and provide needed resources and services. SMART Union has a Membership Assistance Program, IUPAT has Helping Hand, and the Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers have a Member Assistance Program. These are just a few of many! There are also numerous joint initiatives, such as the Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention. This level of awareness, care, and support of employees’ mental and emotional health is unparalleled across industries.
In the trades, there’s also support and camaraderie between coworkers like nowhere else. It’s a brotherhood and sisterhood. When one person is down, it impacts everyone. Tradespeople are notorious for their steadfast support of one another, no matter what struggles are being faced, and are always there to lift each other up.
In life, you will always have difficulties; what’s important is surrounding yourself with people who genuinely care. In the trades, you can be certain you will be cared for physically, mentally, and emotionally and you won’t have to face any challenge alone in work or personal life.
Are you ready to get started with a rewarding career where you know you’ll be supported through all of life’s ups and downs? Consider joining the thousands of men and women pursuing a career in the building trades. Learn how to get started today.
When people think of construction work, they often think of jobs, and not careers. But for most in the construction trades, their work is not a job, not a career, but a true vocation. Don’t believe us? A recent report showed that 83% of tradespeople are highly satisfied in their choice of work!
What is it about the construction trades careers that is so appealing to hundreds of thousands of U.S. workers? Here are just a few of the reasons why a career in the construction trades is such a great choice:
There are a myriad of misconceptions and myths about work in the construction trades: that it’s grueling work, it’s dangerous, and, maybe the most common misconception, that it doesn’t pay well.
But the truth is the building trades don’t just offer good pay, they offer great pay. Did you know that some tradespeople earn high five-figure salaries, and can even make north of six figures as they progress in their career? The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook shows some impressive numbers for 2021 median pay in the trades:
There’s no doubt about it: lineworkers have one of the most important jobs in our country. They keep our lights on, quite literally. Lineworkers are responsible for setting up, maintaining, and repairing the power lines that bring electricity from the powerplant to our homes, businesses, and communities.
After a major storm, natural disaster, or other emergency, lineworkers are often some of the first on the scene, bravely facing the elements and risky situations to repair power lines and restore power. In between major events, lineworkers are always hard at work, delivering power to new developments and areas, and making sure our power lines are safe and secure.
It’s a big job, and with great power (pun intended) comes great responsibility: the responsibility to keep our nation up and running.
