Providence Journal op-ed: My turn: Michael F. Sabitoni: In times of crisis, R.I. can count on union workers
EDITOR'S NOTE: Thanks to Jeff Wiggins for sending us this.
By MICHAEL F. SABITONI
President, Rhode Island Building & Construction Trades Council.
A number of professions have been recognized for heroic calls to action during this pandemic, all of them well-deserving. One group that is rarely mentioned is the 10,000 skilled craftsmen and women of the Rhode Island Building and Construction Trades Council.
A number of professions have been recognized for heroic calls to action during this pandemic, all of them well-deserving. One group that is rarely mentioned is the 10,000 skilled craftsmen and women of the Rhode Island Building and Construction Trades Council.
For a number of years, I have been honored and privileged to serve as their president; but today, I am more proud than ever, because our members are answering the call of duty, courageously “lacing them up” every day during these most difficult times.
A most poignant example is the urgently needed field hospital recently constructed with extraordinary speed and skill for an anticipated rise in COVID-19 cases. Within a record two weeks, our union workforce turned a 365,000-square-foot space at the Rhode Island Convention Center into a total functioning hospital to treat Rhode Islanders infected with the coronavirus.