We Are Strongest When We Look Out for Each Other
Our labor movement shows up everywhere — from jobsites to the ballot box, the halls of government, and our communities. One truth ties it all together: We are strongest when we look out for one another. Sometimes that means pulling a coworker out of harm’s way. Sometimes it means fighting for laws that protect future generations. Sometimes it means just checking in on a brother or sister to make sure they’re OK.
Suicide Prevention: A Crisis in Construction
September 7 through 13 was Suicide Prevention Week, and our council joined the call for attention to this matter. Trustee Dan Torres visited the MWH/Webcor Biosolids project to talk with all crafts about mental health and supporting one another.
This crisis is nothing to scoff at. Construction workers die by suicide at a rate four times higher than the national average. These aren’t statistics — they’re human beings. They’re our colleagues, friends, and family.
When we lose someone, the pain lingers across crews and communities. That’s why labor can’t just fight for wages and benefits. We must also fight for dignity, health, and life itself.
Resources exist at constructionsuicideprevention.com and preventconstructionsuicide.com. But nothing replaces solidarity. The most powerful tool is simply asking, “How are you?” and listening. Checking in could save a life.
If you need help, dial or text 988.
Public Service Awards: Recognizing Allies
This year’s Public Service Awards, this council’s annual event, reminded us what solidarity looks like. We honored California Attorney General Rob Bonta for holding scofflaws and exploitive actors accountable, SF Supervisor Connie Chan for championing working families in the City, and the SF Public Utilities Commission for showing how public agencies can partner with labor and community to bring well-paying and long-lasting jobs to members of the trades.
Thanks to our sponsors and members, the event was a success — you can see photos on page 5. The larger lesson here is clear: We win when we recognize allies, build bridges, and keep the circle wide. In these divided times, unity itself is a powerful act.
Proposition 50: Protecting Fair Representation
Our unity will be tested again this November with Proposition 50, a.k.a. the Election Rigging Response Act. This measure strengthens California’s independent redistricting system and creates temporary emergency congressional maps if other states rig their lines to distort representation (see: Texas). These maps expire in 2030, when the redistricting commission resumes its regular work.
Why does this matter to labor? Because gerrymandering weakens democracy. When working people lose fair representation, we lose the power to protect wages, safety standards, housing, schools, and healthcare. Prop 50 both ensures that our votes count in California and balances the power grab that the Texas legislature has forced on the American public writ large.
Unions across the Golden State, as well as the California Federation of Labor, are part of the broad coalition backing Prop 50. We’ll win by doing what labor does best: talking with co-workers, family, and neighbors about why their vote matters.
When we vote yes on Prop 50, we’re not just fighting for fair maps. We’re defending the principle that working people deserve a seat at the table.
A Call to Care and to Act
Whether we’re talking about suicide prevention, honoring allies, or defending democracy, the common thread is solidarity.
Solidarity means putting an arm around a brother, sister, or sibling who’s struggling. It means celebrating public servants who go to bat for us. It means doing the everyday work of democracy, even when we’re tired.
“Every time we choose solidarity, we write another chapter in the story of working people refusing to be invisible or divided.”
Our movement has always been about more than wages. It’s about life, dignity, and justice. Every time we choose solidarity, we write another chapter in the story of working people refusing to be invisible or divided.
That kind of overreach is not appropriate for NABTU. Our coalition works because it respects the autonomy and sovereignty of each union.
The proposed language also risked undermining the stability and certainty of our PLAs and the general presidents’ project maintenance agreement. These agreements are not abstract pieces of paper — they are the reason projects get built with union labor. The predictability they provide often makes or breaks whether an agency or developer will sign on. And, once signed, we honor those agreements.
That’s why the building trades have historically had fewer all-out strikes than many other unions. Pre-hire agreements and PLAs promote labor peace and keep our members working.
Now, let me be clear: I believe in honoring picket lines. I believe every union member should be educated and empowered to stand in solidarity when the call comes. We saw this play out in the glaziers strike of 2024. Strikers held the line at shops, not on PLA-covered construction sites. Work continued where PLAs were in place. And, in the end, not only was the strike successful, but two new agreements were secured that put even more trades to work.
That’s what it means to balance solidarity with strategy.
So, yes, the teamsters are right to push us to do more. We must redouble our efforts to educate members about their rights, to fight back when it’s called for, and to honor picket lines whenever possible. But we must do so in a way that keeps our coalition united, respects each union’s independence, and protects the stability that PLAs bring to our members’ livelihoods.
Brother Gary LaBarbera of the New York State Building Trades Council, himself a teamster, handled this debate with tremendous leadership and respect while serving as our resolution committee secretary. His example is one we should all follow.
In addition to these debates, the convention body approved a per-capita increase to ensure our team at NABTU has access to the resources needed to fight for work opportunities at the federal level.
This is not the time to fight with an empty toolbox. We require every resource available to defend workers’ rights and secure more work for our members.
Finally, I was deeply proud to see the entire convention rally around two priorities that I hold close to heart: recruiting more women into our trades and doubling down on our defense and expansion of PLAs. These commitments will strengthen our movement for generations to come.
I’ll be sharing the full text of the conference resolutions with delegates at our upcoming meeting so we can align ourselves and organize around the issues that matter most.
Brothers, sisters, and siblings: The work ahead is serious, but so are we. Onward, together.