Most of the contractors I talk with are watching the same three things: labor, backlog,…
Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling Visits ABC Heart of America
ABC Heart of America was proud to welcome U.S. Secretary of Labor Keith E. Sonderling to our training facility for a firsthand look at how merit shop contractors are building America’s construction workforce. ABC strongly supported Sonderling’s nomination throughout the confirmation process and were ecstatic to bring together construction leaders from Missouri and Kansas to discuss workforce development, reducing unnecessary regulation, and creating more opportunities for Americans to build a career in the skilled trades.
The visit began with a tour of our apprenticeship facility, where two ABC Heart of America apprentices from M&S Electric and Electrical Associates provided hands-on demonstrations. Secretary Sonderling saw the skills they are developing through employer-led training and how our members are investing in the next generation of craft professionals. ABC Heart of America trains more than 400 apprentices across 10 trades through programs that are 100% employer-sponsored and offered at no cost to students. This investment helps workers earn while they learn and reflects our members’ leadership in preparing the workforce our communities need.
Following the tour, Secretary Sonderling joined ABC members for a roundtable discussion on the opportunities and challenges facing the construction industry. Members discussed the need to train more Americans to meet workforce demand and how reducing regulatory burdens can help contractors grow their businesses and create jobs.
An all-of-the-above approach to workforce development was central to that conversation. Apprenticeships, employer-led training, colleges, and other effective pathways offer multiple entry points into construction, and workers need the flexibility to develop skills as their careers and industry needs evolve. Protecting those pathways gives employers more options to train their teams and helps more people access opportunities in the trades. We also discussed multiskilling, which allows qualified workers to apply skills across trades. This can help workers stay employed, work more hours, gain new skills as project needs change, and help contractors make better use of their teams’ skills. Fair and open competition is essential to creating and protecting those opportunities. ABC Heart of America supports policies that recognize demonstrated skills and experience and allow qualified contractors and workers to compete for public construction projects regardless of labor affiliation.
The roundtable also covered Secretary Sonderling’s proactive approaches to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) compliance and ABC’s commitment to developing a safe, skilled, and qualified workforce. Members highlighted ABC’s STEP Health and Safety Management System® and total human health initiatives, which help contractors strengthen safety practices and support employee health and well-being, allowing them to far exceed industry safety metrics. All our apprentices receive mental health and suicide-prevention training, and all employers participating in our apprenticeship program participate in STEP.
For ABC Heart of America, this was an exciting opportunity to show the Trump administration the work our members are doing every day and discuss the policies that affect their ability to hire and train. Our members are investing in their workforce, and their experience should help inform policies that expand job opportunities and support building our communities.
Thank you to Secretary Sonderling for visiting our facility, hearing directly from ABC members, and learning how our industry is preparing the workforce that builds America.
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