HYM, Trades Unions and John Moriarty sign PLA for Suffolk Downs

Revere, MA The HYM Investment Group, Building Trades Unions and John Moriarty & Associates have signed a project labor agreement (PLA) for the construction of the Suffolk Downs Redevelopment. This partnership was made possible through the collaborative efforts of the signatories, along with Boston mayor Martin Walsh, mayor Brian Arrigo, and Boston city councilor Lydia Edwards.

The agreement will ensure Suffolk Downs is union-built and will create 14,000 construction jobs. The 16 million s/f development will include 10,000 units of housing, including more affordable units than have ever been created in the city by a single project.

As part of the agreement, the parties announced that HYM will furnish $2 million in investments that will go towards supporting employment pipelines to quality, union careers, and to prepare local residents to join the future workforce at Suffolk Downs. That investment and other key aspects of the agreement will further build upon the equity and inclusion initiatives currently being led by the Building Trades Unions with support from key construction industry partners such as HYM.

The innovative approach set forth by the new PLA will provide funds to create new pathways to the building trades for even more workers and traditionally underrepresented communities. 

PLAs like the one by HYM and the Building Trades Unions ensure social and economic justice by providing family-supporting wages, life-saving safety and training standards, healthcare benefits, and dignified retirement benefits, all while ensuring racial and gender pay equity for workers and their families in the construction industry. 

One program benefiting from those investments will be Building Pathways. Originally founded by mayor Martin Walsh, the program increases participation and access in the construction industry for women and people of color through apprenticeship preparedness, training and advocacy.

“An entire generation of new construction workers in the area will experience family-sustaining career opportunities thanks to this agreement and the access it will create at a scale rarely seen,” said Mary Vogel, executive director of Building Pathways. “Through this project labor agreement, HYM, the Building Trades Unions, and the cities of Boston and Revere will generate opportunity for thousands of women and people of color including those who graduate through our program. It’s great news for workers, for the community, and for the economy of Greater Boston.”

In addition to the $1 million that will be invested in Building Pathways, a portion of the $2 million investment in workforce development will fund an initiative to provide access to nonstandard hour child care for working parents in the trades through the efforts of the Care that Works campaign.

The investment in workforce development furthers the mission of the Building Pathways program in East Boston and Revere by taking an innovative approach to ensure that more local residents have the skills to fill future jobs at Suffolk Downs. This methodology creates an employment pipeline to quality, union jobs, effectively changing the lives of community members.

In addition, HYM and JMA are also pledging $1 million to skill-building initiatives for East Boston and Revere, to ensure that more local residents have the skills necessary to fill future employment roles at Suffolk Downs. The development team will work with the city of Boston Office of Workforce Development to invest in workforce training programs such as ESL classes, teaching soft skills, and computer and technical training to make sure the local community can join the future workforce of Suffolk Downs.