Saturday, February 19, 2022

Union work will build the future of West Tennessee and strengthen communities | Opinion


Jeff Taylor and Brandon Osbahr
Thu, February 17, 2022

Six months ago, Governor Bill Lee made an announcement that would forever change West Tennessee: the arrival of a 3,600-acre Ford electric vehicle plant that would bring over 27,000 new jobs. Located between Jackson and Memphis in rural Haywood County, this mega campus will require an infrastructure overhaul, including the installation of 40 miles of pipe for water and waste.

The Tennessee State Pipe Trades Association represents nearly 5,000 men and women working in the piping industry. Our members across the state have built some of Tennessee’s largest economic development projects, from Nissan Stadium to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to the TVA power plants that keep electricity going in throughout the Tennessee Valley.

As the ones who will build the megasite’s infrastructure and help staff the completed factory, our union knows what kind of work this is going to take. We recently met with our union counterparts in Detroit to learn directly from those who have built America’s automobile industry infrastructure the workforce and level of skill our members will need to bring to the table for this project.

Volunteers from the Tennessee State Pipe Trades Association hand out water to help in the disaster recovery after a tornado ripped through Mayfield, Kent., on Dec. 10.

Ready to take care of business


TSPTA’s plumbers and steamfitters stand ready to build the next era of West Tennessee and we are excited to play a role in this unparalleled economic opportunity for our state. The influx of revenue created by the Megasite will bring new housing, businesses, and hospitals to the area, creating new jobs and further stimulating the economy. Local governments will also benefit from more funding for schools and public safety. Once built, the Megasite has the opportunity to create a higher standard for jobs that will be felt for years to come in West Tennessee.

We are ready to play a foundational role in this community transformation and are equipped to do so thanks to the connections and opportunities that unions like TSPTA provide. The opportunity to regularly make more per hour than non-union counterparts on a jobsite. The opportunity to receive health benefits and a retirement plan.

The opportunity to perform good quality, honest work to hang your hat on at the end of the day. The opportunity to thrive in ways previous generations hoped we could. Anything less is simply not good enough. Ford’s steadfast history as a union shop can help rebuild Tennessee’s middle class and deliver on those promises of the past for Tennessee’s workers now and in the future.

Yet calls for anti-union ‘secret ballots’ and other attempts by the legislature to undercut employee rights could threaten the quality of life for all West Tennesseans. That’s because the legacy of Jimmy Hoffa is alive and well in the private sector as corporations and their anti-employee lobbyists have taken on the mantle of corruption and self-dealing, vilifying the unions who stand up for workers rights and their quality of life.

Because of our union, we are trusted by employers and practice the highest standards in safety, training, and expertise. That’s because we’re entrusted to keep power plants running, hospitals functioning, and auto manufacturing plants humming.

To prepare for maintaining facilities such as these and the Ford Megasite, TSPTA members take specialized courses, receive hands-on experience in workshops and mock hospital settings, practice troubleshooting and the drawing of pipe network blueprints, and refine their math skills. Our 5-year apprenticeship program ensures a job well done while fostering a sense of brotherhood and community.

Our plumbers and steamfitters take pride in everything we do. We are eager to contribute to the West Tennessee community and show our neighbors that union labor will play a critical part in building the future of both electric vehicles and the state of Tennessee for decades to come.

Brandon Osbahr is the Business Manager for UA Plumbers Local 17.

Jeff Taylor is the Business Manager for UA Steamfitters Local 614. Both represent Memphis and West Tennessee in the Tennessee State Pipe Trades Association.


This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Why union work will strengthen West Tennessee and Ford megasite

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