November 14, 2023

RICHLAND, Wash. – A new Tri-Cities-based nonprofit will create an accredited pre-apprenticeship training program to generate opportunities in the building trades industry for low-income and historically underserved central Washington populations, including women and minorities.

The Central Washington Building Pathways nonprofit aims to build a new and diverse talent pipeline by ensuring individuals are prepared and successful in formal apprenticeships to replace an aging construction workforce and meet the region’s labor demands.

The nonprofit’s inaugural board meeting was Nov. 13 at 2 p.m., the first day of National Apprenticeship Week. Founding directors of the board include:

• Nickolas Bumpaous, President of the Central Washington Building Trades Council
• Karl Dye, President and CEO of TRIDEC
• John Eschenberg, Sr. Vice President for Amentum and President of Central Plateau Cleanup Company
• Greg Gales, Treasurer of the Central Washington Building Trades Council
• Kolby Hanson, Business Manager at SMART Local 55
• Rick Holmes, Vit Plant Site Director and General Manager at the Waste Treatment Completion Company,a subcontractor to Bechtel
• Diahann Howard, Executive Director of Port of Benton and Acting Director of VERTical
• William Hughes, Business Representative at UA Local 598
• Travis Swayze, Business Manager at IBEW 112
  
  

The 14 Union Affiliates of the Central Washington Building Trades Council led the effort to establish the nonprofit with support from many regional partners, including the VERTical innovation cluster, which works to solve national workforce and other challenges impeding the widescale deployment of next-generation nuclear and other advanced clean energy technologies.

About the Central Washington Building Trades Council
The Central Washington Building Trades Council represents the 14 Affiliated Unions of North America’s Building Trades Union acting on behalf of affiliated labor organizations and their membership in the legislative, regulatory and judicial spheres on matters of wages, employment benefits, including unemployment and worker’s compensation, and environmental conditions affecting work, home and community.

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