What We Do

CTWI was founded in 2018 to serve as the workforce development nonprofit partner of the Alameda, Contra Costa and Napa-Solano Building and Constructions Trades Council

Our Mission

Create greater opportunities for communities that are currently underrepresented in the trades – like women, people of color, underrepresented youth, and the formerly incarcerated

Ensure that more construction projects are built by union labor

Connect contractors to a well trained, qualified, and safe labor pool

Together, we support the long term sustainability of the construction industry

Our Values

Unions were founded over 100 years ago under the following principles:

Build Opportunities For Working People

Advocate For Economic Justice

Deliver Exceptional Work

We remain true to these tenets in our work and are guided by a similar set of core values

Collaboration

Economic Justice requires the coordinated effort of the whole community. Only through cooperative action can we build sustainable pathways to a diverse, equitable and inclusive Bay Area.

Collective Power

Collective Power through engagement in labor unions is fundamental to protecting and advancing workers’ rights, wages, and working conditions.

Transparency

Greater transparency around employment pathways and workforce initiatives is key to linking job seekers to high demand construction careers.

Who We Serve

CTWI is uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between organized labor and key stakeholders. We support our partners in the following ways:

JOB SEEKERS

Educate and connect job seekers to careers in the union construction trades

COMMUNITY PARTNERS

Support the initiatives of allies that ensure that sustainable and affordable construction development is achieved through partnerships with unions

TRAINING PROVIDERS

Increase quality of MC3 training to meet the needs of union apprenticeship programs & expand relationships with the trades to create more direct entry opportunities for MC3 graduates

CONTRACTORS

Improve compliance for meeting workforce development goals in PLAs related to the hiring of new apprentices

UNIONS & BTC LEADERS

Increase union market share through MC3 pre-apprenticeship programs in strategic geographic areas where workforce agreements currently do not exist

PUBLIC AGENCIES

Support the BTC in creating and strengthening policies that expand employment opportunities for unions

Our Approach

We don’t want union construction careers to be a mystery to anyone! That’s why we implement a holistic approach to ensure the long term sustainability of the construction industry.

Regional Leadership and Coordination

Identify, fund, develop and implement a collaborative structure to ensure that the East Bay has a regional approach to building pathways into the union construction trades through strategic partnerships

Shaping and Leveraging Workforce Policies

Create uniform and effective workforce development policy language that promote the hiring of local, diverse MC3 pre-apprenticeship graduates through partnerships with Union Leaders, Public Agencies and Municipalities

Improving Union Construction Career Pathways

Educate and connect training providers and job seekers to career opportunities in the union construction trades through our union endorsed MC3 Pre-Apprenticeship and Construction Trades Test Preparation Programs

Our Impact

500

Committed to serving 500 individuals participate in our local MC3 pre-apprenticeship training programs between 2021 and 2023

$2,000,000

Distributed funds to outreach, recruit and train women, the formerly incarcerated and communities of color

7

Established 7 construction trades test preparation programs across the Bay Area

5

Established construction career programs in 5 major school districts and community colleges in the East Bay

2

Created policy recommendations for the City of Berkeley’s and the City of San Leandro’s Residential and Commercial Buildings Decarbonization and Electrification Initiatives

CTWI’s 5 Year Impact Report

From our start in 2018, CTWI has strived to advance economic and social justice for working people – including women, the formerly incarcerated, low-income communities, communities of color and our youth – through building and leading regional partnerships, programs and policies that create career pathways to family-sustaining union construction careers.

This July, we released our first impact report which celebrates CTWI’s growth over the past 5 years and highlights stories of resilience and innovation.