North America's Building Trades Unions Report Growth Amid Challenges

North America's Building Trades Unions See Growth Despite Industry Turbulence

Amidst challenges of policy unpredictability and suspended federal funds, North America's Building Trades Unions (NABTU) reported a significant rise in membership and apprenticeship enrollment over the past year. The organization revealed an addition of 47,198 new members and a record 88,000 apprentices, spotlighting its capacity to thrive even in a disrupted industry environment.

Sean McGarvey, president of NABTU, attributed the success witnessed in 2025 and the prior year to substantial workforce development initiatives driven by "collectively bargained investments." These have been bolstered by federal infrastructure and energy policies, resulting in over 300,000 individuals participating in registered apprentice programs during this period.

Highlighting the organization's readiness to expand workforce training, McGarvey stated, "At a time of rising concern about skilled labor availability, [building trades] have the infrastructure and capacity to more than triple apprenticeship enrollment at no cost to taxpayers." He emphasized the necessity of "sound public policy" akin to that during President Joe Biden's administration.

McGarvey expressed concerns over the lack of tangible benefits from announced foreign investments by the current administration, noting that "none have yet produced a single work hour for our members." He pointed to complications such as delays, withdrawn permits, and policy vagueness as threats to domestic investment opportunities.

The Associated Builders and Contractors' (ABC) Construction Backlog Indicator for January showed a decline to a four-year low, with the backlog dropping by 0.2 months since December to a reading of 8 months. This indicator reflects the volume of scheduled work for commercial and industrial contractors in the forthcoming months. The backlog has decreased by 0.4 months since January 2025, affecting both commercial and institutional, and heavy industrial sectors.

Nevertheless, the infrastructure sector's backlog presented a more optimistic picture, increasing by two months year-over-year and by 0.9 months since December, now standing at 10 months, as per ABC's report.

ABC's chief economist, Anirban Basu, commented on February 10 that contractors appeared "shockingly sanguine" about the near future. He added, "Just 13% of contractors expect their sales to decrease over the next six months, the smallest share since February 2022," indicating a relative confidence among contractors despite the downturn.

The Associated General Contractors of America observed a notable decline in contractor sentiment compared to the previous year. However, the growing demand for skilled labor in key sectors, notably advanced energy, underscores the urgent need for sustained federal investment in local labor resources, according to McGarvey.

He urged policymakers, stating, "Uncertainty and instability for the construction industry are incompatible with building the high-road construction workforce America urgently needs at this time. We urge all policymakers to remain focused on what works: real investments for real projects that are tied to our training infrastructure to strengthen America now and into the future."

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