Benefits of a Union

Benefits of Being a Union Tradesperson

Ohio's Construction Trade Union members are the best-trained, most productive, and top-earning workers in the state's construction industry.

WHY? Because Construction Trade Unions provide them with the Superior Benefits and Protections of being Union.

Ohio's Construction Trade Unions work with their Construction Contractors and Employers through Collective Bargaining to ensure union construction workers have high-paying jobs through Prevailing Wages, outstanding benefits such as high-quality, employer-paid family health insurance, and stable careers.

Superior Pay and Benefits

Collective Bargaining allows members of Ohio's Construction Unions to work together to negotiate contracts with their employing contractors. This way, the UNION MEMBERS DETERMINE THEIR TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT, including pay, benefits, hours, leave, on-the-job and safety policies and more.

Negotiating together is the most effective way to address employment issues.

For Ohio's Construction Union members these include:

  • Prevailing Wages
  • Fair and Honest Pay Wages
  • Employer-Paid, top quality Family Health Insurance
  • Strong Retirement Pensions
  • Leave (Vacation, Parental, Sick)
  • Workplace Safety Standards
  • Training (Apprenticeships and Journeyworker Upgrade)

PREVAILING WAGES and PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENTS

At the heart of the unmatched ability of Ohio's Construction Unions to provide steady employment and fair wages to its skilled, union tradespeople are Prevailing Wage Laws and Project Labor Agreements, or PLAs.

The state's Union Construction Industry fights together for Prevailing Wage Laws in order to protect all workers from contractors under-bidding taxpayer-funded construction projects by setting standard wage rates. Ohio has had a Prevailing Wage Law in place since 1931.

Project Labor Agreements are Collective Bargaining agreements Building Trade Unions and contractors that set terms and conditions of employment for all craft workers – both union and nonunion – on a construction project. This way, PLAs protect construction workers and taxpayers by eliminating costly delays caused by labor conflicts or shortages of skilled workers.

FREE, WORLD-CLASS TRAINING

Industry-funded, Building Trades Training Programs provided AT NO CHARGE by Ohio's Unionized Construction Trades to all of its members ensure Union Construction Workers are the very best-trained and most-prepared craftspeople in the industry – helping to ensure they are easily employed. Building Trades training programs throughout Ohio are funded entirely by the unions and their partner contractors and are conducted in State-of-the-Art Training Centers around the state.

  • Union Training Programs are FULLY ACCREDITED by a governing or educational body.
  • Union Training Instructors attend accredited programs of INSTRUCTOR EDUCATION.
  • Union Training Programs are affiliated with local Institutions of HIGHER LEARNING, such as colleges and universities.

Union members are also PAID while they learn! Apprentices earn wages while attending training instruction in classrooms and laboratories and learning their trades while working on the job.

Ohio's experienced journey-level Construction Union members are also constantly provided with Upgrade Training on the most current industry tools and applications, ensuring that Ohio's Construction Unions provide their employers with the most technically skilled and readily employable construction workforce in the state.