Most mothers don't want it all. After generations of debate about working mothers, only about a fifth say full-time jobs are ideal, fewer than held those views 10 years ago, the Pew Research Center reported in a survey released Thursday... Read More

Today women account for less than 3% of the construction workforce. It's still unusual to find a woman running her own construction company, but here are five women-owned businesses that prove women's strength in the field... Read More

After she dropped out of college in 2002, Natilie Rojas started working three jobs and still wasn’t making enough to cover rent, insurance, gas, and student-loan payments.

A family friend pointed Rojas in a direction she never would have thought about: an electrician’s apprenticeship program that was recruiting women. Three years after she started, she earns nearly $24 an hour, along with a pension and benefits, wiring hospitals, schools and other buildings in the Los Angeles area. She says she is making more than many of her peers who stayed in school... Read More

OLYMPIA – Governor Chris Gregoire today announced the appointment of Cynthia Cooper of Columbus, Ohio as director of the Washington Office of Minority and Women Business Enterprises (OMWBE). The appointment is effective July 1, 2007... Read More

"Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex."

The U.S. Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment in 1972, but it set a seven year time limit for ratification. During this time 38 states needed to ratify the amendment. Congress later added a three year extension, but by June 30, 1982 the amendment was three states short of full ratification. Then in 1992, Congress added the Madison Amendment to the Constitution. The Madison Amendment was passed by Congress in 1789. The ratification of this 27th amendment, 203 years after it was passed by Congress, set a precedent which, when applied to the Equal Rights Amendment, means that the ERA is still legally viable and before the states. According to this legal opinion, full ratification can be achieved once three more states ratify the ERA. 72% of Americans mistakenly think the Constitution already specifies that male and female citizens are entitled to equal rights.

Sisters in the Building Trades provides mentoring and encouragement for women working in the trades. Daily Journal of Commerce article on the Sisters... Read More

TACOMA WA , Bates Technical College will introduce a new series on “green construction” through the college’s extended learning department, beginning mid-March at the college’s south campus location, 2201 South 78th Street, Tacoma.

Contractors and consumers alike are responding to the appeal of and the demand for healthier residential and commercial construction that takes environmental responsibility to heart, both in building practices and in the choice of materials... Read More

The Puget Sound area has an unusually large volume of construction work right now, Sayre said. Building permits filed with the City of Tacoma suggest it won't slow down any time soon... Read More

Because of the phenomenal success of the three American tradeswomen showcasing their talents at last year's Expo Hormigon in Santiago Chile, they have been invited to attend again this year. Specifically requested were Laura Johnson, Mary Denning (both of Local #82) and Mary Lovette of BAC Local #1 of Washington.

Project HELP is a cooperative effort between Labor & Industries and the Washington State Labor Council (AFL-CIO) that facilitates fair and speedy claim resolution. No one expects to be injured at work. The fact is, over 200,000 claims are filed every year as a result of work place accidents. When workers are injured and paychecks stop, their life is suddenly out of control.

Port Jobs produced this study through a contract with Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Employment for Women and Men (ANEW) with funding support from the Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County.

Yes, the world’s largest and meanest merchandiser--stung in the last few years by a grassroots rebellion of employees, small businesses, unions, neighborhood groups, environmentalists, and others that it has been so arrogantly stiffing--is now straining to project a kinder and gentler image: urbane, upscale, green, socially responsible… even sensitive, for goodness sake. The image spiff-up comes as Wal-Mart executives have made a marketing decision to move from their suburban/rural base into cities, reaching out to a clientele that wants finer goods… and a more refined company... Read More

Forty-nine new buildings planned to be completed by 2010

The Seattle skyline could look a lot different by the end of the decade. Despite soaring construction costs and land prices, the downtown Seattle residential pipeline is booming with new condominium projects. Forty-nine new buildings -- 13 of which already are under construction -- are planned to be completed by 2010. And all those buildings mean room for thousands more residents, who will need places to get groceries and the other necessities of daily life, and perhaps send children to school. To some, it's an expansion that's long past due... Read More

NOW AVAILABLE!

Port Jobs has developed a free guide to help apprentices meet the financial challenges of the first year of apprenticeship.