Our union exists to help carpenters succeed today and to build a better tomorrow for their families. Our founders’ vision inspires us to fight for fair treatment of workers and to train carpenters for challenging, productive careers.
A continent-wide system of local unions and regional councils is our foundation, and the gateway through which aspiring carpenters learn their trade and enter the union. Staying accountable to our mission, councils stand up for carpenters and defend workers’ rights by confronting businesses that underpay or otherwise mistreat their employees.
Sustaining it all is our investment in unequaled skills training. At our International Training Center and across North America, we train thousands of apprentices and journeymen each year. We constantly update our curriculum to match industry standards, providing a lifelong career ladder for all UBC members to climb.
Our dedication to unionism is built on one bedrock principle: By standing together workers improve their lives.
This solidarity allows them to bargain for high-quality wages and benefits and insist on decent, safe working conditions. In return, we pledge to provide workers who are well-trained, productive, and careful.
Freely negotiated contracts protect our members and pay them fairly, while signatory contractors get access to the most dedicated workers on the jobsite. For nearly 130 years, this simple-but-powerful formula has brought security and dignity to millions of families and created untold value for building owners and contractors.
The UBC is committed to fighting the epidemic known as “misclassification fraud,” which harms the legitimate players in the construction industry and burdens all taxpayers.
Many unscrupulous contractors designate some or all of their workers as “independent contractors” to avoid paying taxes, benefits, and workers’ compensation insurance. Others exploit workers by paying them “under the table” and reporting nothing at all to the government.
Our full-court press includes pushing for better enforcement of existing laws, working for new legislation, and educating policymakers and the public. The 2008 elections brought hope for change, and our regional councils have made major inroads in states and municipalities.
More about Misclassification
With a $175 million annual budget, 2,000 full-time instructors, and 250 centers across North America—including the state-of-the-art International Training Center in Las Vegas—the UBC’s affiliated training programs offer the finest skills-development courses in the construction industry.
This training, which is offered without charge, keeps our members at the top of their fields … and keeps them working.
Skills, safety, and productivity have brought our members fair wages, good benefits, and dignity in work and retirement since the Brotherhood was founded in 1881. That tradition continues today, with the union currently in the midst of the biggest upgrade of its training curriculum in its history.
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