ADVOCACY
Build Rhode Island works with federal, state, local and quasi government agencies and officers to grow and incentivize the Rhode Island’s construction industry. From advocating for direct state investments, developing standards that allow our contractors to compete on a “level playing field” in order to increase business opportunities for our signatory contractors, all while enacting policies aimed to protect the collective bargaining rights of the members of the Rhode Island Building Trades.
Federal Government
Build Rhode Island, and our partners, are in regular communication with Rhode Island’s Congressional Delegation on how the federal government can support the men and women of the Building Trades. We routinely support our Congressional Delegation in securing merit grants to improve Rhode Island’s infrastructure, and have worked with high level Department of Defense staff, including former Secertary of the Navy Ray Maybus, to attach project labor agreements onto projects developed on the Newport Navy Base. In December 2023, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, U.S. Senator Jack Reed, and Rhode Island Building Trades’ President Michael F. Sabitoni announced the relocation of NOAA’s Marine Operations Center-Atlantic. This $150 million investment was developed under a project labor agreement, the first on Naval Station Newport.
STATE Government
Build Rhode Island’s staff work directly with members of the Rhode Island General Assembly to draft and lobby for legislation which strongly advocates for numerous economic development initiatives, legislation that levels the contractor playing field, and enhances the workers rights of the 10,000 members of the Building Trades.
Local Government
Build Rhode Island works with mayors, town administrators, and members of the local town councils and school committees on advocating for feasibility studies to be performed on municipality awarded large scale projects to determine if the project should be built under a project labor agreement. We also champion local ordinances to support the local unionized construction industry. We assisted in re-writing the City of Providence’s First Source ordinance, and ininserting apprenticeship utilization requirements in numerous ordinances and tax stabilization agreements for most of the major construction projects in and around Providence. These requirements “level the playing field” for law abiding contractors that invest in training and in the community. This results in maximizing local contractor participation and in utilizing local workers.