Affiliation AFL-CIO Website www.bctd.org | Country United States Founded 1908 | |
Full name Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO Head union Sean McGarvey, president Office location Washington, D.C., United States | ||
The Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL–CIO (BCTD) is a constitutionally mandated department of the AFL-CIO. It was founded on February 10, 1908, as a way to overcome the jurisdictional conflicts occurring in the building and construction trade unions. It was largely unsuccessful in this task; conflict ended only after the Taft-Hartley Act largely outlawed jurisdictional strikes.
The BCTD coordinates the activity of building and construction trade unions belonging to the AFL-CIO by establishing jurisdictional rules, coordinating how work is assigned at construction sites, mediating jurisdictional and work assignment disputes, and coordinating interaction between the AFL-CIO's construction unions and employers. It also coordinates the efforts of local unions in the building trades, including contract negotiations with employer organizations and apprenticeship and training programs.
The BCTD also conducts research into construction workplace health and safety issues. It lobbies the United States Congress and executive branch agencies (such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration) on health, safety, wages (e.g., the Davis-Bacon Act), and other legislative and regulatory issues. The organization also helps its affiliate unions establish, coordinate and uphold minimum educational standards for apprenticeship and journeyman training programs.