Press Statement

Press Release: BlueGreen Alliance, ReImagine Appalachia Host “Labor Women Who Lead,” Webinar, Discuss Expanding Opportunities for Women in the Trades

By March 25, 2023No Comments

RELEASE: BlueGreen Alliance, ReImagine Appalachia Host “Labor Women Who Lead,” Webinar, Discuss Expanding Opportunities for Women in the Trades

With Women’s History Month winding down, the BlueGreen Alliance and ReImagine Appalachia hosted a virtual webinar with women leaders in the labor movement Saturday morning. Speakers shared reflections on their own career journeys and discussed successful strategies that can expand opportunities, increase diversity, and encourage more women to find success in these family-sustaining jobs. 

A video of the event is available here

“In Pennsylvania, I’m privileged to work alongside so many highly qualified women in the building trades and other sectors of organized labor who have excelled in lobbying, policy, and political leadership roles,” said Joanne Manganello, Director of Pennsylvania Government Relations for the LIUNA Mid-Atlantic Regional Organizing Coalition. “I’m honored to highlight the work we are doing—women union leaders are advancing legislation and policies to create jobs with family-sustaining wages, benefits, and quality apprenticeship programs that can bring more women into the construction trades.”

Women have been contributing their skills to building this nation since before WWII—and yet women still represent less than 5% of the construction trade and other skilled workers across most of the United States. The massive investments included in the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), and other federal investments present an historic opportunity to bring more women into the trades. The laws include important provisions that incentivize employers to hire more apprentices and invest in training and mentorship that can lift women into the middle class without requiring a college degree. 

“As the Inflation Reduction Act and BIL funds start flowing we are seeing a huge need for workers,” said Gina Cooper International Vice President of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Fourth District. “We should be doing all we can to create pathways for women into these good-paying union jobs and to ensure that they have safe, equitable workplaces.”

Many of the speakers reflected on difficulties they have faced as women in a male-dominated industry. While they acknowledged that progress has been made, it remains an uphill battle in many cases to achieve equality in the workplace. 

“We just received the maternity benefit in our BAC union and all of these women and bricklayers were so passionate about this matter. We had women in tears because of how excited and proud they were to be a part of our union and win the battle that they had been fighting for years.” said Angela Swan, a first year apprentice with Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local 4 in Kentucky. “The men that we all work with don’t see those battles that we go through.” 

“Hearing first-hand from these inspirational tradeswomen today really hammered home how far we have come and how much farther we have to go,” said Amanda Woodrum, Co-Director of ReImagine Appalachia. “With careful attention to creating career pathways in this industry the sight of a woman supervisor can become commonplace for carpenters, laborers, electricians, and plumbers in Appalachia and across the nation.”

“While Women’s History Month is drawing to a close, the conversation about how to expand access to good-paying union jobs for women in the trades will not end on April 1,” said Lee Geisse, Ohio Regional Program Manager, BlueGreen Alliance. “We will continue to work to ensure that the funds in the Inflation Reduction Act and BIL are implemented in the right way to create a fair, just, and prosperous future for all workers in the United States.”