Columbus Building Trades to renovate Mapfre Stadium

You need to listen to Dorsey Hager’s December appearance on America’s Work Force Radio.

Hager, the Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council Executive Secretary-Treasurer, told AWF host Ed “Flash” Ferenc his members will turn Mapfre Stadium, the soon-to-be former home of the Columbus Crew SC into a sports complex under the terms of a Community Benefits Agreement.

Dorsey Hager, C/COBCTC Executive Secretary-Treasurer

With Jimmy and Dee Haslam in the processes of being the club’s new majority owner, the Crew will move into a new stadium within the next two years. Once they are in their stadium, Mapfre will become vacant.

In order to keep the property from becoming an eyesore, the City of Columbus and the Haslams will team up to turn Mapfre into a sports complex, which will also house the Crew’s practice facility.

The upcoming work on the new sports complex is one of many projects the region’s highly skilled and highly trained construction workers will build.

In order to fill the need of journeymen and apprentices needed to perform all the work, the C/COBCTC is implementing a new pilot program to target high school students.

America’s Workforce Radio Host Ed “Flash” Ferenc

The C/COBCTC will work with the Columbus Parks and Recreation Commission to create three pilot programs next year. The program will target eighth graders going into their freshmen year and juniors, who entering their senior year of high school. The program will teach students who may be interested in a career with the building trades basics skills, such as reading a tape measure, striking an arc, bending conduit, etc.

The freshman will learn what high school courses they need to take in order to join an apprenticeship after they graduate school. The juniors will be eligible to enter a pre-apprenticeship program in the last quarter of their high school careers, and once they successfully complete the pre-apprenticeship program, can join an apprenticeship program upon their graduation from high school.

Hager hopes this program, combined with the Columbus Building Futures program, can help increase membership of his affiliated unions.

To listen to the entire interview, which also included discussion on So-Called “Right to Work” legislation, click here.