CLEVELAND — With a stroke of a pen, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb signed an executive order ensuring labor unions would be part of all critical infrastructure projects in the City of Cleveland that cost $500,000 or more.
“It's so important because we know that unions create good paying jobs for Cleveland residents," Bibb said.
Bibb said they have hundreds of millions of dollars planned for neighborhood development. Five billion dollars worth of investments are planned for the city’s waterfront, and then there is the $500 million investment in the proposed stadium project.
Bibb said he's fighting to keep the Browns in town.
“It's so critical," Bibb said. "So many hotels, restaurants and bars and retail shops really rely on the revenue from Browns season. Some folks may think it's only, you know, eight to 10 games a year, but that's still a significant chunk of revenue for small businesses.”
Cleveland has invested $10 million in its workforce development training initiative, but one of the biggest obstacles to building these projects is a shortage of construction workers.
“We need people everywhere, and the volume of work that we're faced with in Northeast Ohio is unprecedented, so we're looking at a lot of work coming up,” Bibb said.
Dave Wondolowski, with the Cleveland building trades, said the legislation the mayor signed would create a pipeline of work, making it sustainable to bring more workers into the trade.
It begins with the apprenticeship program, most of which are three to five years.
“And so taking people in and getting them ready for apprenticeship is one part of it, one step, and then putting them and placing them into the apprenticeship programs is the next step. And you get paid while you work, so you earn while you learn," Wondolowski said.
Al Simonitis travels to schools all over Northeast Ohio as part of the Sheet Metal Workers Union. They also work closely with guidance counselors to help students understand the benefits of joining the trades. Pay could range from $22 to $70 an hour with benefits.
"I just tell them honestly, if you like working with your hands, if you like learning new things. If you're driven to, if you're motivated by, you know, self motivated, this could be a perfect opportunity for you to grow," Simonitis said.
