Matt Ragsdale

Kansas City Regional Director Rocky Kloth stopped by several job sites recently to hand out new T-shirts to the KC area members. Kloth and area Representatives visited jobsites and spoke to the members about the Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council merger and answered questions they had. The group also stopped by the new 192,000 square-foot Lee’s

Local 58 Delegate Tammy Guilinger says she’s always had a passion for construction even when she was forced to take Home Economics in high school. “I could look over and see the guys in drafting class and think, ‘I want to be in there so bad,’ so bad that I burnt my cookies,” Guilinger said.

“It will create that generation of good-paying, union jobs,” Buttigieg said.

Brother Johnson was recognized for his hard work and dedication helping area youth overcome barriers and establish solid careers.

Carpenters working for George Shaw Construction, McCown Gordon and PCI are setting concrete forms, wood blocking, installing weather protection, as well as, hanging metal studs and drywall.

According to the study, about 34% of construction worker families in Illinois are enrolled in at least one federal safety net program. The programs included in the study were Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program, Temporary Aid for Needy Families, Earned Income Tax Credit and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.