As a 14-year member of the Iron Workers Local 25 union, I know that there’s a growing demand for highly skilled labor workers in Michigan. The good news? More people are beginning to see the trades for what they are: a strong, stable pathway into a lifelong career.
In my current role as an outreach specialist, I travel across Michigan recruiting the next generation of apprentices. I visit schools, attend career fairs, talk with families and explain what many of us in the trades already know: the construction business is booming. Major infrastructure projects, including those needed to support AI and advanced technology, are helping create new opportunities for workers throughout the state.
Until recently, young people were told that they had to earn a four-year college degree to attain economic success. Now, I hear more families encouraging their kids to learn a skilled trade. They understand that the trades offer more than a job. They offer training, advancement, leadership opportunities, retirement security and the chance to build something that lasts.
For new members joining Iron Workers Local 25, the total starting package is $57 an hour, with prospects of upward mobility and guaranteed pensions upon retirement. That kind of career can change the trajectory of a person’s life and provide the foundation for a family’s future.
I didn’t join the trades until I was 28. While some may consider that late, for me it was perfect timing. Like many people in their early 20s, I had not yet found a clear professional direction. The trades gave me one. In the 14 years since, I have not had any unwanted time off, and I’ve spent my career growing in one of the fastest-growing industries in the country.
Labor unions have become increasingly more accessible to people from all backgrounds. At Iron Workers, we work with Helmets to Hardhats, which helps members of the U.S. Armed Forces transition from active duty to civilian life. We visit public schools and career fairs across Michigan to recruit new members, and we partner with community colleges to connect students with apprenticeship opportunities.
We’re also recruiting more women in Iron Workers Local 25 than ever before. In fact, our international union recently created a maternity leave program so women don’t have to choose between good, high-paying jobs and having a family.
These pathways are opening at exactly the right time. As data center projects break ground across Michigan, demand for skilled labor is rising across nearly every trade, not just ironworkers. Consider the data center project in Saline Township, which is expected to generate 2,500 construction jobs.
But the work doesn’t end at the ribbon-cutting. Complex infrastructure has always required skilled workers to maintain, modernize and improve it over time. That was true of the automobile in the early 1900’s, the internet in the 90s and data centers today. As these facilities evolve, workers will be needed to install, upgrade, repair and reinforce the systems that keep them running.
Michigan is approaching data center development the right way. Strong legislation is in place to not only guarantee long-term jobs, but also to provide important protections for workers, the environment and local communities. Project Labor Agreements help ensure that workers and apprentices considering the trades know that when they show up to a job site, their wages, benefits and working conditions are protected from day one.
The technology supported by data centers will also reach far beyond the job site. Across Michigan, AI is already being used in ways that can make industries more efficient and improve people’s lives. The University of Michigan recently demonstrated how AI can help patients better predict heart failure. At Michigan State, researchers and farmers are working together on precision agriculture tools that can help manage crops and livestock more effectively.
For iron workers, that connection between building and progress is nothing new. Michigan workers have always known how to turn new technology into real-world opportunity. We built the auto plants that helped define the modern economy. During World War II, Detroit became the “Arsenal of Democracy” by helping produce the bombers, tanks and equipment our country needed. Now, Michigan has the chance to be the “Arsenal of Innovation.”
That future will not build itself. It will require skilled workers, strong training programs, responsible development and a commitment to making sure new technology creates opportunity here at home.
The demand for skilled workers is only growing, and the trades are open to anyone ready to answer that call. Data center projects are creating long-term jobs with real protections for workers and communities. And the technology we are helping build is already improving lives across Michigan, from medicine to agriculture.
Michigan has always been a place where people build what comes next. With the right investments, the next generation of skilled trades workers can help carry that legacy forward.
Brad Pierce is the outreach specialist for the Iron Workers Local 25 Labor-Management Education Committee in Michigan.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Michigan was once the Arsenal of Democracy. It can now be the Arsenal of Innovation | Opinion
Reporting by Brad Pierce, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Brad Pierce, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
