NJBIZ Conversations: IUOE Local 825 Business Manager Greg Lalevee

A lot of business leaders worry about finding and hiring qualified employees. The International Union of Operating Engineers Local 825 is doing something about the labor shortage.

The local embarked on a partnership with Hudson County Community College , funded in part by a grant from the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development . Under the partnership, students simultaneously work as union apprentices while earning an associate's degree at the college. Local 825 whose members are largely responsible for the built environment in the New York-New Jersey region already ran an extensive training program. But as technology plays an increasingly large role in the union's work and as projects like the Gateway Program become ever more complex higher order skills are required. Hence the alliance with the college.

When the partnership launched in 2021, there was only one other such program in New Jersey. And it was the only one in conjunction with a community college.

In this edition of NJBIZ Conversations, IUOE Local 825 Business Manager Greg Lalevee describes the genesis of the program, how it works, and what participants and the union get out of it. Lalevee also provides an update on several major infrastructure projects around the state, including Gateway.

To watch the interview, click on the video below.

To listen instead, click on the podcast below.

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