A Labor Day of strength and bounty

By Kevin Ferreira
Executive Director, Sacramento-Sierra’s BCTC

Happy Labor Day to the members of the Building Trades, and to all of our union families.

What a year it’s been!

Here in Sacramento and across the region, our members have had no shortage of work. We are on the job, with projects filling the horizon for years to come.

Many of us still remember the tough days of the pandemic. Even though, as essential workers, many Building Trades members were still on the job, those were hard times.

I am proud to say that this Council has not just recovered, but built back stronger, tougher and better in the past few years.

Now here we are, thriving and growing.

We have projects in Roseville, projects in Natomas, projects at the airport and projects in the pipeline. We are working on schools and power plants. We are in the downtown, helping to restore our government buildings. And we are building the housing that our region so badly needs.

We are so busy that, in truth, we need more members! Along with People Working Together, who leads our outreach and recruitment program, we are making that happen. Our apprenticeship programs are bringing in the next generation of construction experts and it’s a group that is more diverse than ever.

We are drawing young kids from our high schools through excellent outreach programs including our upcoming expo at Grant High, and we are working on more programs that will help our local students find their pathway into our membership.

We are giving second chances to those coming out of incarceration, helping build stronger societies and stronger communities through hard work and good pay.

We have more women joining our ranks every day, proving that the trades are a pathway and career for the entire middle class.

And we have veterans, our soldiers who have served this country and now proudly join the Trades as they return to civilian life.

I am so honored to serve all of our members, and to help lead this Council in these days of bounty.

So happy Labor Day this year, and for many more to come.