Kansas City landing a visit from North America’s Building Trade Unions as part of their Opportunity Pipeline Tour is no small thing. Kansas Citians are no strangers to being left out of national events, be it political tours or concerts that skip us, so for the local leaders of Kansas City’s construction unions, this visit confirms what they’ve long known: Kansas City is on the up-and-up.
Union apprenticeship programs in the region have become known as the gold-standard for each craft and many training programs are growing at unprecedented speeds.
The visit has left the leaders of Kansas City’s local construction unions excited for the future and reflecting on the momentous nature of the event. The Labor Beacon caught up with a number of these union leaders and discussed the visit in depth with them.
Greater Kansas City Building and Construction Trades Council’s Business Manager Ralph Oropeza: “The visit was great… What I truly enjoyed was having NABTU recognize how big Kansas City really is. I wish we had more days to show them more job sites, but the impressive thing is how in-tune they are with our apprenticeship programs here and our growth. The thing that really stood out to me too was how involved their whole staff is with apprenticeship programs, what is going on in our region, and what is happening across the country. They were really impressed with the Business Managers and how intune they are with local politics, workforce development, and what we are trying to do with each city and state in our area. They see the projects that are coming in, like Panasonic, and see the numbers we will need.
“McGarvey and I had some great conversations about politics, and really about what they do in D.C. and how that impacts us locally. We talked a lot about the Big Beautiful Bill and all the ways that is really going to hurt union construction workers.
“We visited the Ford plant and talked a lot about job creation and how these projects will demand a well-trained workforce.”
Greater Kansas City Building and Construction Trades Council President and Ironworkers Local 10’s Business Manager Dave Coleman: “The NABTU Pipeline has been just incredible this year. The turnout here in Kansas City was really good. We’re getting a lot of buy in from all of our membership. And again, you know, for all the different crafts, we all have the gold standard apprenticeship program.”
Heat & Frost Insulators Local 27’s Business Manager Chuck Martin: “I was able to talk to Sean McGarvey and one of his assistants, they provided me with a speech he gave out in D.C. and I was able to give the info from that speech at a recent union meeting. Our political stances effect our day in and day out performance of our jobs, how things get affected not only federally, but on a state and local level.
“Our apprenticeship has been growing immensely the last few years, we went from 4 to 6 apprentices the last couple years to we’ve taken 16 to 18 apprentices a year. The apprenticeship area itself has received a significant amount of work… we’ve upgraded to provide tools, new tables, new equipment over the last three years.”
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 124’s Business Manager Bo Moreno: “It was a huge honor for the Kansas City Building Trades to have President Sean McGarvey visit on their National Opportunity Pipeline tour showcasing the Union skilled trades apprenticeship programs. With the historic amount of work we have in this area, Kansas City is front and center of this once in a lifetime economic boom that President Biden and the previous administration helped bring to the working men and women of this country.
“Building Trades Business Manager Ralph Oropeza and I accompanied Brother McGarvey to several of these projects to visit with the workers onsite who shared their perspective. IBEW Local 124 was blessed to host this event as well as give a tour of our state of the art JATC and the incredible instructors that educate our future workforce.”
Roofers Local 20’s Business Manager Steve Gercone: “I think this NABTU visit speaks loudly and clearly of the direction that this council is taking for, you know, the whole building industry in town, I think that people are paying attention, so we’re doing things right…
“I think our apprenticeship is doing really good. You know, we had changed probably, I don’t know, five years ago and it went to a five year school, you know, which is kind of above our standard, even for our international, four year school is their standard. So we’re even above that. We feel like that we’re looking out for the future.”
Plumbers Local 8’s Business Manager Matt Harris: “I think the NABTU Pipeline event demonstrated how much Kansas City is growing, how much work we have in the area, and how strong our labor unions are. We are fighting to do the right thing. Work is good, continues to be good, it could be strong for the next five to ten years, especially if get these stadiums on track and get that ball moving.”
Sheetmetal Local 2’s Business Manager Daniel Loftis: “Sean McGarvey was great. He was very down to earth. You can tell he’s definitely a union trades member that hasn’t lost his way. The apprentices that got up and spoke, talking about where they’ve been and where they’re going to, you know, some of them drive by our union halls and our apprenticeships, and they don’t even know what those are. And now as they find out what those are, they are realizing there’s a whole other world out there that they can be part of.
“From a building trades perspective, we’re definitely looking to see more as to what the membership is looking for and supporting things that support jobs, you know, for members and and for our actual membership.”
Pipefitters Local 533’s Business Manager Kevin Hendrickson: “Our apprenticeship enrollment continues to set new records year after year. We have more out of town contractors here than I think I have ever seen and we just continue to grow.”
Operative Plasterers’ & Cement Masons’ Local 518’s Business Manager Kevin Gard: “I think that the Pipeline event was really good, some of the younger apprentices got in there and gave a speech and I think that we all believe that these events and apprenticeships make our communities stronger. Apprenticeships and job opportunities mean less poverty and less crime. I really believe that. Work is looking good moving forward.”
Sprinklerfitters Local 314’s Business Manager Nigel Bayless: “Work has been good in Kansas City for a little while and it looks like the next couple years are pretty solid too. Hopefully we get a couple stadiums coming up soon, I know that is on everyone’s mind. I think the Building Trades has made great progress recently and our apprenticeship numbers continue to grow.”
Operating Engineers Local 101’s Business Manager Aaron Brown: “The NABTU visit to Kansas City is really just a sign of what we have all been working towards. Our apprenticeships are growing, we have the recognition of the industry as the “gold-standard” and we continue to take innovative approaches to fighting for our membership and working-people in our jurisdiction. I know that I am really excited about the future of our work and look forward to union members building the future of this city.”
Bricklayers Local 15’s Organizer Josh Franklin who was made available to The Labor Beacon by Business Manager Dustin Himes for this interview: “Our apprenticeship program continues to be the gold standard of masonry in the nation, and in this area specifically. We train multiple crafts. The bar has been set very high. It’s multifaceted, and we get a lot of support from our contractors and the area around us, we just like to keep that going. We’re very busy right now. We’re at full capacity. We’re doing some hiring where we can and just continuing to grow.”
