The $159.6 million building, approved last November, could also bring the city “good paying jobs, secure benefits and family-sustaining wages” if the project’s building committee decides to enter a project labor agreement. That’s the message residents shared with the building committee last week. “It’s the only way to ensure resident requirements, resident participation and career opportunities for your residents,” said Joe Toner, executive director of Connecticut State Building Trades Council, which represents about 30,000 construction workers statewide. Toner told the building committee that when his union is involved in a school construction project, it commits to offering students apprenticeship opportunities. His union also maintains frequent communication with school guidance counselors during and after construction, he said. “When we get into a community, those relationships don’t end when the job is done,” Toner said. “We will continue to do what we need to do to make sure the folks up here are going to have an opportunity.”
