Editor's note: This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity and length. You can listen to this conversation by clicking the LISTEN button above.
Rick Brewer: While women have made great strides in the construction job market, it's still a male-dominated industry. Only 4% of the construction industry is made up of women workers. Recent studies suggest that one reason women stay away, is the lack of effort on the part of companies to recruit them. But one Michigan union is striving to attract more women to their job sites and is seeing great success. WCMU's Tina Sawyer recently talked with John Hartwell from Michigan's Operating Engineers Local 324 to discuss what changes are being made at their training facilities and job sites.
Tina Sawyer: Looking at it from the other perspective like from the management perspective will there be training for them to be more of a support group to the females when they come into the job place?
John Hartwell: Great question Tina. There actually are. It's kind of a reverse mentoring program so that the supervision on the job sites, our superintendents are foremen out there, are accepting. I've seen a big change in the thirty years that I've been with the Operating Engineers and i continue to see that as a growth opportunity .
TS: Witnessing that acceptance first hand, is thirty one year old Angel Duby from Montrose, Michigan. Angel started in the trades in 2021 and recently completed a heavy equipment apprenticeship and is now a crane operator apprentice with local three two four she's now in the eastern up working on the soo locks with her team. I asked Angel if she had to do a lot of heavy lifting on the job?
Angel Duby: I don't do a lot of manual labor as an operator but there is a female on this job there's multiple females between laborers and carpenters and i watch them running around picking up four six two by fours at a time and do the manual labor heavy lifting and they love it they thrive off of it!
TS: How does your job help women with issues that may arise like sexual harassment or any concerns?
AD: HR comes out every once in a while just to do a meet and greet and they'll pick a list by random to talk to different employees about different concerns that they have on the job
TS: And another issue was having a space for working moms to pump breast milk .
AD: One of the biggest struggles with women is we get into it and then we want to have families and it's super hard to choose between a career and family and that that's a major struggle for a lot of women once they go and have kids a lot of don't come back to work because between childcare being able to have a place to breastfeed when you are working on a job without electricity and water and places to sanitize like it's a major major struggle for so they're trying to make something happen for us and make things accommodating.
TS: So I asked John with Local 324, what their union is doing to make changes to accommodate females on the job sites.
JH: We have our support groups for the we have annual meetings with them to hear the concerns and see what we can do on the job sites to make the conditions better out there in the porta potty piece says definitely a piece where we've made headway in the last ten years and will continue to move forward that way stations and that's that's something that's that's been needed for a long time not only on job sites but at our training facilities also.
TS: Do you know a time frame when that would come into play?
JH: We actually were working on a piece at our training facility right now. I know that our management has received some prices on it and I believe they're going ahead with the implementation as we speak.
TS: So I have to ask Angel... do you really love your job in construction?
AD: it's the best choice i've ever made in my life! I have never been so financially stable. I just want all these females to know that college and enlisting into the forces isn't their only option... is definitely an option and you will you will succeed and make a lot of money doing it .
TS: And John... agrees.
JH: When I started my apprenticeship I did not have a daughter at that time. I have a daughter now and if she wanted to enter the trades I think that it would be a great opportunity, a lot of independence in it and the equality is second to none.
