It's About Investing in Ourselves

Local 1 MD/VA/DC at Richie Station

JOURNAL: ISSUE 3 - 2013

Local 1 MD/VA/DC member Segundo Guevara.	Local 1 member Freddie Austin.	Freddie Austin, front, and Segundo Guevara at the Richie Station jobsite.

Solidarity is at the heart of everything we do as Union craftworkers. Only by working together can we achieve our common goals, whether it's building a structure or a building a secure retirement.

That's why the International Union and the International Pension Fund (IPF) are proud supporters of the AFL-CIO sponsored investment programs: the AFL-CIO Building Investment Trust (BIT), and the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust (HIT). These programs take union pension dollars and put them to work for BAC fund participants by securing competitive returns and creating good paying union jobs.

This year the Building Investment Trust celebrates its 25th Anniversary. During this time not only has the fund generated competitive returns but has also created 68 million union construction work hours and invested $5.3 billion in more than 180 projects to date.

IPF was one of the first investors in both BIT and HIT, with current investments now totaling more than $25 million in HIT and $30 million in BIT. As you read this, 400 BAC members and thousands more building trades members are working on projects funded by union pension funds through the Building Investment Trust alone. In fact, the BIT has current investments or commitments to invest in nearly a dozen projects that are either in the planning stages or underway. The estimated development costs for these projects are a whopping $1.4 billion. While generating strong returns is the BIT's number one mission, the projects it finances – like all BIT investments – provide collateral benefits in the form of union job creation and economic development.

These projects span the country. For example, the BIT has generated 180 BAC jobs at 500 Lake Shore Drive in Chicago; 146 jobs at Park Place in Hoboken, NJ; and another 25 at San Mateo Apartments in San Mateo, CA. Nationally, 14 million construction hours are in progress with 224 ongoing service contracts with 157 local unions.

Recently, BAC President James Boland and AFL-CIO Investment Trust Corporation President joined Local 1 Maryland/Virginia/DC President Scott Garvin on the Local 1 jobsite at the BIT-financed Richie Station project in Capital Heights, MD. Located just outside Washington, D.C., upon completion Ritchie Station will feature one million square feet with a mix of large retailers, a grocery store, and auto dealerships.

In walking the jobsite, Boland said: "This is a great opportunity to see firsthand the positive results of the Building Investment Trust's capacity to create not just union jobs, but work for our members, as well as solid returns for IPF and many of our local pension funds pensions that invest in BIT.  It's a good return on our money, it is a safe investment, and puts out members to work. How can you beat that?"

The AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust, whose portfolio consists primarily of high credit, quality fixed-income securities, has helped finance more than 500 housing projects, creating or preserving roughly 108,000 homes and more than 70,000 union construction jobs.

The IPF invests in a half dozen similar programs in addition to BIT and HIT, and it is estimated that these investments have generated more than 31 million hours since 1982.

"We must do whatever we can to invest in ourselves and grow a union economy," says President Boland.

From left, BAC Executive Vice President Gerald Scarano, BAC President James Boland, Buch Construction Project Manager Shawn Schreiner, and AFL-CIO Building Investment Trust President and Managing Director Mike Stotz.	BAC President James Boland, left, discusses the project with AFL-CIO Building Investment Trust President and Managing Director Mike Stotz, center, and BAC Executive Vice President Gerald Scarano.