The Tradeswomen Build Nations Conference hosted by North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) is the largest annual gathering of tradeswomen in the world, and this year’s conference in New Orleans was the biggest yet with over 5,000 attendees. Over the weekend of September 27th-29th, a record-breaking number of union tradeswomen participated in workshops, panels, networking opportunities, and a banner parade. Among the guest speakers were President Joe Biden, Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su, and Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Gina Walsh, Deputy Director of the Mechanical Insulators Labor Management Cooperative Trust (LMCT).
Leading up to the Tradeswomen Build Nations Conference, the IBEW Women’s Conference also took place in New Orleans on September 24th-26th. A delegation of five sisters from Local 3 attended both conferences. This year’s theme was “Powered for Success,” and some of the workshops focused on the IBEW’s history and structure, industry-related legislation, mentorship, and mental health.
