North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) OUR MOVEMENT, OUR MOMENT.
Hawaii was well-represented by the union affiliates of the Hawaii Building & Construction Trades Council at the North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) Legislative Conference in April of this year. The 2022 conference opened with a welcome by Brent Booker, Secretary- Treasurer of NABTU with keynote speaker Sean McGarvey, President of NABTU. Other honorary speakers included Lisa Murkowski, U.S. Senate, Nancy Pelosi, Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives, and Liz Shuler, the first woman President of the AFLCIO. The special honorary speakers on the final day of the conference included Tim Ryan, U.S. House of Representatives, Charles Schumer, Majority Leader, U.S. Senate, Stacey Abrams, Candidate for Governor of Georgia, Pete Buttigieg, Secretary, U.S. Dept of Transportation, and concluded with The Honorable Joe Biden, President of the United States.
President Biden spoke intensively about the war in Ukraine. He talked about the historic year of policy wins for union construction workers, the implementation of the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law and the positive effects of the new Executive Order on Project Labor Agreements. These laws will create opportunities for the councils and union affiliates across the nation.
Hawaii received a brief spotlight at the conference. Speaker of the Senate, Chuck Schumer stated that Hawaii is the most union-strong state in the country, right in front of New York. A bright note at the educational legislative conference ending in the nation’s capital.