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America's Building Trades Unions Partner With Native Americans' to Develop Career Opportunities
New Native American Construction Careers Institute to work at national level
News Release
September 23, 2009
HousingZone
The Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO and a coaltion of Native American Indian Tribal Councils have come together to create the Native American Construction Careers Institute, a partnership that will seek to develop long-term careers in the construction trades for Native Americans. While Native American tribes and America's Building Trades Unions have many common interests and objectives, this is the first time that these two groups have formally joined forces at the national level.The co-chairs of the NCCI are Mark H. Ayers, president of the Building and Construciton Trades Department, AFL-CIO, and Conrad Edwards, a member of the Colville Tribe and president of the Council for Tribal Employment Rights, a national organization that represents the 300 tribes and Alaska Native Villages that have established Tribal Employment Rights offices. The NCCI Board of Advisors is composed of the General President of the twelve national and international construction trade unions that have signed the NCCI charter and 12 tribal leaders, including the chairs of the Shoshone Paiute Tribe (Idaho and Nevada), the Crow Nation (Montana), the Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe (ND), and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe (SD).
"America's Building Trades Unions are immensely proud to be a part of the the NCCI and to work with tribal leaders to provide the much-needed training and expertise that will enable thousands of young Native Americans to secure careers as skilled craft professionals," said Mark Ayers. "We are confident that this project will foster a deeper level of understanding, respect and admiration among and between the organizations and people involved in this important endeavor."
According to Conrad Edwards, "America's Building Trades Unions have agreed to bring training onto the reservations, to recognize tribal sovereignty and to indenture any training graduate who wants to become a union apprentice. Without question, they provide the world's best skilled craft training, and they are now bringing that expertise to us."
© 2009, Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All Rights Reserved.