PRIDE of St. Louis, Inc.

As seen in the April 2003 issue of St. Louis Commerce Magazine

LEVERAGING LABOR’S STAKE IN ST. LOUIS

The Labor Community Invests in the Region
It’s been a grinding three years for the St. Louis market, with the wheels of economic progress too often slowed by news of setbacks. But beneath the din of grating gears, one engine of economic development continues to purr along. It is powered by the union construction industry. And, in good times or bad, it ensures that the region remains one of the best places in the nation to build.

“The region’s union construction industry is formidable,” says Ed Abbett, executive director of PRIDE of St. Louis Inc., its venerable labor-management organization. More than 60,000 strong, the industry represents more than half of the state’s construction workforce. In 2001, it generated more than $3.7 billion in wages and nearly $4 billion in construction volume. Union fringe benefit programs annually distribute more than $100 million in union health and welfare benefits and more than $100 million in retirement benefits.

Shaw Park Plaza in Clayton is one of numerous high profile construction projects financed by union-backed pension funds.

Attracting Investment
The 11-story Shaw Park Plaza office building stands as a symbol of Clayton’s stature as the region’s “second downtown,” and a testament to the ability of the union construction industry to entice investment from outside the metro area.

The $53 million project is one of several funded by the $3.2 billion Multi-Employer Property Trust (MEPT), which consists largely of Taft-Hartley labor pension funds and is based in Washington D.C. The Trust currently has $82.1 million invested in six local projects that total nearly one million square feet. “The St. Louis market combines quality real estate and union-built excellence,” says Shep Burr, senior vice president of Landon & Butler and Co., which provides marketing services for the Trust. “Those are the two key elements that MEPT seeks when evaluating real estate opportunities.”

The national AFL-CIO Building Investment Trust (AFL-CIO BIT) has invested $67 million in new commercial building in metro St. Louis. As with the Trust, the projects are 100 percent union-built. Most recently, the union-backed real estate pension fund also committed $30 million to the 475-acre Fountain Lakes Commerce Center in St. Charles.

“By allocating some of our fringe benefit funds to Multi-Employer Property Trust and AFL-CIO Building Investment Trust, we know we’re investing in projects that benefit the region,” says Stephen P. Schoemehl, business manager of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local #1.

There are also union-backed incentive programs that support the region’s housing market. Nearly 8,000 St. Louis area homebuyers have now registered for the free +5 New Homeowners Electrical Protection Plan offered by the St. Louis Electrical Connection – a partnership of IBEW Local #1 and the St. Louis Chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA). The “+5 program” provides a union-backed quality guarantee to new homebuyers. It is offered on all homes wired by electrical contractors employing IBEW Local #1 members. “+5 is a wonderful program for the consumer and has worked well for us,” says Greg Vatterott, chairman of C.F. Vatterott, which has built more than 26,000 homes in St. Louis since 1919.

Developing The Future Workforce
Each year, through labor-management teamwork, the union construction industry invests approximately $26 million in training. The self-funded programs require no tax dollars and instruct more than 3,000 apprentices and upgrade the skills of more than 1,000 journey workers annually.

From curtainwalls and glass systems to pre-engineered metal buildings, metal roofs and high tech bridges, the members of Ironworkers #396 and the Erectors and Riggers Association have expanded their scope of work far and beyond red iron and rebar.

Ironworkers Local #396, in conjunction with the Erectors and Riggers Association, spend more than $600,000 annually to advance the skills of about 200 journey workers and apprentices. And they are learning much more than just “red iron and rebar.” Training includes work with composite materials – some generated by the aerospace industry – that is lighter and stronger than steel. Ironworkers are also trained to erect curtainwalls and glass systems, pre-engineered metal buildings and high-tech bridges.

Likewise, IBEW Local # 1 and National Electrical Contractors Association partner to invest $2.5 million annually to train electricians. Each year these two organizations send a large contingent of instructors from their Electrical Industry Training Center to the National Training Institute in Knoxville, Tenn. — a renowned industry re-certification program.

Opening Doors
To keep pace with future building demands, the industry has made a significant investment to reach out to high school students and to minority youth. PRIDE’s Careers in Construction manual is the bible of construction careers and is distributed to thousands of high school students annually.

The industry’s most prominent investment is the award-wining Construction Careers Center in south St. Louis — the nation’s first charter high school devoted solely to preparing students for the building trades. Conceived by the Associated General Contractors of St. Louis and drawing support from labor and management alike, the $6 million school has an enrollment of 230 freshman and sophomores. When it graduates its first class in 2005, it will ultimately host 500 students.

The St. Louis union construction industry has invested a number of programs to help disadvantaged workers succeed in the construction industry.

In addition, the industry’s outreach has included the PRIDE-funded focus groups, designed to open doors for the unemployed and underemployed in the inner city. The study was conducted last year by the Inner City Competitive Alliance (ICCA).

“Many action plans to address ICCA recommendations were already in place,” Abbett says. “Now, with a better understanding of the real and perceived barriers from the perspective of the disadvantaged job seekers, the union construction industry can evaluate existing recruitment programs and devise more effective ones. Our goal is to go beyond conventional thinking and to open career pathways in the inner city to help build St. Louis.”

"Economic cycles are nothing new to the construction industry,” Abbett notes. “But even as work slows and projects are put on hold, we must be ready to hit the ground running when capital investment returns. So we will continue to invest — rain or shine.”