Baltimore-DC Metro Building Trades Council

08/28/2026

Today we celebrated with the graduates of our Raising the Bar Summer Baltimore cohort. Seventeen of 19 participants have already been placed and begun working in new jobs! We anticipate 100% placement in the very near future.

Raising the Bar is our free, six-week pre-apprenticeship program. It offers participants an introduction to the unionized building trades, job site tours, interview prep and mock interviews, math refreshers and practice tests, hands-on activities and projects, and introductions to decision-makers with local contractors.

To all the new grads, CONGRATULATIONS!! Enjoy the start of your journey to a great building trades career and welcome to our movement!

08/28/2026

08/28/2026

08/28/2026

There are only two more days to register for the Poker Run and be guaranteed your t-shirt size. All other registrations will be taken at the event on September 26th. Come ride with us for a great cause!

08/28/2026

08/28/2026

“Project Labor Agreements are the best way to ensure that this rebuild is both an investment in the bridge and the people who build it — creating high-quality jobs and life-changing career opportunities for local residents.”
– Greg Akerman, President, Baltimore-DC Metro Building Trades Council

PHOTO: Maryland Transportation Authority. The Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) has officially opened competitive bidding for the “Demolition and Miscellaneous Marine Work” contract on the rebuild of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, marking the launch of the second phase of the massive proje...

08/28/2026

“You want to be in the forefront of the next generation of this digital infrastructure. And we want to be the ones building it.”
– Chris Anderson, Business Agent, Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 486

ABOVE: Jason Friedman (center), a Senior Council Representative for the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters, participates in a panel discussion at the 2026 Maryland Data Center Summit. When it comes to the future of the digital economy, Mid-Atlantic building trades unions have a ...

08/27/2026

Data center PLAs have a new set of allies in Pennsylvania. In an Aug. 26 release from Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office, the administration rounded up endorsements for its new data center rules from labor leaders who put project labor agreements at the center of responsible data center construction.

The Governor’s Responsible Infrastructure Development, or GRID, requirements took effect under Executive Order 2026-05, signed Aug. 18. The order directs state agencies to hold every data center proposal seeking a Commonwealth permit to GRID standards on energy affordability, community engagement, workforce and economic development, transparency and environmental protection. It also removes AI data center projects from the state’s permit fast track program and bars the use of nondisclosure agreements with developers. Read more at whatisapla.com

08/27/2026

IBEW Local 26 Political Coordinator Don Slaiman: Data centers are "tremendous opportunities" to build a great career in the union building trades and reach the upper-middle class.

I.B.E.W. Local 26 political coordinator Don Slaiman discusses the national debate over data centers on ‘The Bottom Line.’