Apprentice Spotlight | Emma Moore

What made you choose the trade you are learning?
I enjoy seeing the way buildings and homes are put together and seeing all the planning, materials, and work really goes into constructing the world we live in.
FOUNDING MEMBER SPOTLIGHT | October 2023

At the Keystone Chapter, we prepare for a new year as we enter the last quarter of each year. We prepare certain standard things such as our budget, preparing for a new incoming Chair of the Board, and getting all our event and committee dates set. 2024 will be slightly different. In addition to the standard prep, we will get ready for a milestone year. 2024 will be Keystone’s 65th anniversary.
WHERE IT ALL STARTED | October 2023

September is Suicide Prevention month. It’s a topic that we all generally avoid due to the uncomfortable nature of the matter. But suicide is a real threat to our industry and therefore deserves its time in the spotlight.
According to statistics released by the CDC, construction ranks amongst the top for all industries as it relates to suicide. It’s a staggering number that is 4 times higher than the suicide rate of the general population; 45 suicides per 100,000 workers annually; 15 suicides per day. The annual number of construction industry suicides exceeds the work-related deaths fivefold. This is truly a crisis in our industry that we need to STAND UP and address.
Advocacy Update | September 2023

It may be hard to believe, but we are in fall right now. Summer vacations are ending as we get ready for back-to-school nights and football season. This will be true for our chapter too as our classrooms begin to fill up with apprentices again soon. In a way, fall resets a clock for the coming year.
2023 STEP Verified Participants

Congratulations to the 2023 STEP Verified Participants!
A LOOK INTO THE SHOP| September 2023

September is Suicide Prevention month. It’s a topic that we all generally avoid due to the uncomfortable nature of the matter. But suicide is a real threat to our industry and therefore deserves its time in the spotlight.
According to statistics released by the CDC, construction ranks amongst the top for all industries as it relates to suicide. It’s a staggering number that is 4 times higher than the suicide rate of the general population; 45 suicides per 100,000 workers annually; 15 suicides per day. The annual number of construction industry suicides exceeds the work-related deaths fivefold. This is truly a crisis in our industry that we need to STAND UP and address.
WELCOME BACK! | September 2023

September is Suicide Prevention month. It’s a topic that we all generally avoid due to the uncomfortable nature of the matter. But suicide is a real threat to our industry and therefore deserves its time in the spotlight.
According to statistics released by the CDC, construction ranks amongst the top for all industries as it relates to suicide. It’s a staggering number that is 4 times higher than the suicide rate of the general population; 45 suicides per 100,000 workers annually; 15 suicides per day. The annual number of construction industry suicides exceeds the work-related deaths fivefold. This is truly a crisis in our industry that we need to STAND UP and address.
“IT CAN’T HAPPEN TO ME OR MY LOVED ONES.” | September 2023

September is Suicide Prevention month. It’s a topic that we all generally avoid due to the uncomfortable nature of the matter. But suicide is a real threat to our industry and therefore deserves its time in the spotlight.
According to statistics released by the CDC, construction ranks amongst the top for all industries as it relates to suicide. It’s a staggering number that is 4 times higher than the suicide rate of the general population; 45 suicides per 100,000 workers annually; 15 suicides per day. The annual number of construction industry suicides exceeds the work-related deaths fivefold. This is truly a crisis in our industry that we need to STAND UP and address.
STAND UP FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION | September 2023

September is Suicide Prevention month. It’s a topic that we all generally avoid due to the uncomfortable nature of the matter. But suicide is a real threat to our industry and therefore deserves its time in the spotlight.
According to statistics released by the CDC, construction ranks amongst the top for all industries as it relates to suicide. It’s a staggering number that is 4 times higher than the suicide rate of the general population; 45 suicides per 100,000 workers annually; 15 suicides per day. The annual number of construction industry suicides exceeds the work-related deaths fivefold. This is truly a crisis in our industry that we need to STAND UP and address.
The Merit Shop Advocacy Update

Unfortunately, at the time of publication, there is the perfect storm of increased discussion for Responsible Contractor Ordinances (RCOs), little engagement with the construction community, and a rush to adopt them. While this has been happening in all aspects of local government, it is now happening at the state level with House Bill 1449 seeking to apply a less restrictive RCO on state-level projects, coincidentally sponsored by Representative Josh Siegel (D-Lehigh), who most recently was an Allentown City Council member and saw firsthand the problematic nature of RCOs through Allentown’s turbulent ordinance.
The Merit Shop Advocacy Update

Unfortunately, at the time of publication, there is the perfect storm of increased discussion for Responsible Contractor Ordinances (RCOs), little engagement with the construction community, and a rush to adopt them. While this has been happening in all aspects of local government, it is now happening at the state level with House Bill 1449 seeking to apply a less restrictive RCO on state-level projects, coincidentally sponsored by Representative Josh Siegel (D-Lehigh), who most recently was an Allentown City Council member and saw firsthand the problematic nature of RCOs through Allentown’s turbulent ordinance.
The Merit Shop Advocacy Update

While it looks like the plane is being built while it’s climbing up in the air, legislators in the state capitol are beginning to move their agenda after a slow start. At the time of writing this article, we have seen bills supported by unions move from the House to the Senate – one to enshrine the right to organize in the Pennsylvania Constitution (and bar state legislators from passing future bills related to employer/employee relations) and another that attempts to address misclassification of employees.