Older Issues
The Building Tradesman Newspaper Editions
Anti-PLA bill adopted; has greater use as a scare tactic
Date: Jul-15-2011
LANSING – Michigan House Republicans adopted a Senate bill on June 30 that (sort of) takes away the ability of local lawmakers to enter into project labor agreements (PLAs) on...
‘A right-to-work law for Michigan would be incredibly stupid.’ New effort makes push for passage
Date: Jul-15-2011
LANSING – It’s been a tough year for organized labor in Michigan. It’s probably about to get tougher. Michigan’s Republican lawmakers, with more time on their hands now that the...
Construction spending hits 11-year low in May
Date: Jul-15-2011
Construction spending fell for the sixth straight month in May, touching an 11-year low, as shrinking public outlays and residential construction swamped a rise in private nonresidential work, the Associated...
New life for 600-megawatt coal-burner
Date: Jul-15-2011
ROGERS CITY – Wolverine Power Cooperative ’s proposal to build a $1 billion coal-burning power plant is up and running again, its resurgence made possible by a June 29 letter...
NEWS BRIEFS
Date: Jul-15-2011
U.S. employment situation: lousy Yuck. Another poor jobs report for the general economy, and another downer for construction in particular. The Economic Policy Institute on July 8 called the nation’s...
SVSU seeks to upgrade food, fitness with new campus work
Date: Jul-15-2011
KOCHVILLE TWP. – Saginaw Valley State University is Michigan’s youngest university, but it’s growing up fast. Several construction projects have dotted the campus landscape over the past few years, and...
Trades, Lansing utility forge PLA on new co-generation plant
Date: Jul-15-2011
LANSING – The Lansing Board of Water and Light and the Lansing Area Building Trades in late June agreed to utilize a project labor agreement (PLA) for the construction of...
Anti-union PLA bill first taketh away…then giveth back?
Date: Jul-01-2011
LANSING – Republicans in the Michigan Senate adopted a bill on June 16 that seems to outlaw the use of project labor agreements by local units of government in the...
Michigan’s a comparatively safe state, study shows
Date: Jul-01-2011
Michigan had good-to-excellent marks among the states in a worker safety scorecard issued this spring by the AFL-CIO titled, Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect. Our state was tied...
Mobilizing members, reaching across the aisle: a blueprint for other unions
Date: Jul-01-2011
(By Mark Gruenberg, PAI Staff Writer) WASHINGTON (PAI) – The nation’s construction unions scored two big wins for workers in the normally hostile, GOP-run House of Representatives this week. It...