It’s a win for workers in Lorain County! On March 19th, 2026, Nicole Ohmer, Field Rep. for the North Shore Chapter, attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the City of Elyria Public Works Complex. The $20 million complex will have 100,000 square feet between several buildings to house city departments as well as Elyria’s non-emergency vehicles. Valentine Contractors was awarded the masonry package and should be on site as soon as May.

The Complex will be completed with a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) that will provide workers with good wages, clear expectations and safety on the job. This is the first PLA that’s been signed there in 15 years!

“Attending the groundbreaking ceremony for the City of Elyria’s new Public Works Complex was truly exciting,” said Ohmer. “This PLA has been a long time coming, and hopefully it’s the beginning of even bigger wins for working people. North Central Building Trades president Chuck Brooky is doing tremendous work for Lorain county.”

If you remember, we just sent out a Union Solidarity text earlier this month about Project Labor Agreements and how they help working people! (Be sure you are signed up for the Wednesday Union Solidarity texts.)

Breaking ground at the City of Elyria Public Works Complex

Rendering and plans of the City of Elyria Public Works Complex

Today starts our first week of a six-week Pre-Apprenticeship class that is being held in the Columbus Training Center. We will be doing Pre-Apprenticeship training for both Bricklaying and PCC Craftwork for the area contractors. This program will be six weeks of applying bed and head joints on brick and block and lay to the line. Later on, the PCC Pre-Apprentices will learn caulking and tuck-pointing training. Local 23’s skilled instructors will be teaching the new generation coming into the trade the foundational skillset that will be required to get into the Masonry field.

“I started my BAC apprenticeship in Columbus, helped open the Columbus Training Center and then took my last year of my apprenticeship here,” said Bill Hulet, Field Rep. for the Central Ohio Chapter. “The training center then sat dormant when we moved the apprenticeship training down to Cincinnati several years ago, but it is not dormant anymore! I am ecstatic that this is a first step into getting training back into the Columbus Training Center and a huge step forward as Local 23 continues to grow.”

“With the vision and help from BAC Local 23 President Danny Musacchio and the management team, we are moving in the right direction as we grow our membership in the Columbus market and meet the ever growing demand for skilled, union craftworkers,” said Hulet.

Central Ohio

M-Squared is looking for union bricklayer foremen for the central Ohio area. Positions are available starting immediately! Resumes are due by the end of March. For further information on what they will offer please contact Andy Wyeth at office (740-751-4049), cell (614-425-3714) or email at andy@msquaredllc.net.

West Virginia

BAC Local 23 is hiring a Field Representative for the Northern West Virginia area. All resumes should be sent to frontdesk@bac23.org.

Cincinnati

American Facade Restoration is a union contractor in Cincinnati, Ohio and is looking for Journeyman PCC craftsworkers for the 2026 season work with a few large projects to starting in March! If you are interested, please contact Eddie Baas or Jill Johnson at 859-572-9200.

Co-owner of H&J Brick Restoration Specialists Cory Jones (L) shaking hands with Brian Collier, Field Representative and Vice-Chairman for BAC Local 23, after bringing H&J on as a signatory contractor!