Local 17 (Boston, Mass.) members are preparing to begin work on one of the largest real estate projects in Boston history, as well as the largest-ever project labor agreement (PLA)-covered job in Massachusetts: the redevelopment of Suffolk Downs, a former horse racing site on the border of east Boston and neighboring Revere. The 20-year buildout is set to create pipelines to family-sustaining union careers for thousands of local community members, as well as construct affordable housing in the area.

According to the development firm heading the project, HYM Investment Group, “the redevelopment will transform 161 acres into a new resilient mixed-use neighborhood served by two stops on the MBTA Blue Line. Suffolk Downs will create 10,000 new units of housing to meet critical demand in the market, and will provide a mix of senior, workforce, family and young professional housing, including over 900 affordable units.”

And thanks to the PLA negotiated between HYM, its general contractor, John Moriarty & Associates and both the North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters and Boston’s Building and Construction Trades Council, the Suffolk Downs project will be completely union-built and create 14,000 jobs across every sector of the building trades.

The initial project phase will include approximately 1.39 million square feet of development consisting of the Phase 1 Project (520,000 square feet of corporate use and amenity space); three residential buildings; a portion of the townhomes proposed along Waldemar Avenue totaling over 800 housing units; and construction of the Horseshoe Pond landscaped wetland enhancements and Belle Isle Square public plaza, with over 100,000 square feet of ground floor retail.

“It will be a city within a city,” said SMART Northeast Regional Council Labor Management Representative John Cody. “The local community will benefit from new affordable housing and pathways to new careers, whether it be in retail, hospitality, bio life science or the Boston building trades unions. And for our current members of Local 17, we are starting from a blank canvas, so the many hours of work generated by this project will sustain the quality of life for the families of Local 17 and other trades.”

The power of a union-negotiated project labor agreement is on full display with the Suffolk Downs job: Labor, with the help of former Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and Mass. State Senator (former City Councilor) Lydia Edwards, worked hard to ensure strong equity and local hire requirements are included in the project’s short- and long-term future.

As part of the PLA, HYM committed to providing $2 million in investments to support employment pipelines that will help local residents enter family-sustaining, union careers, both during construction and as part of Suffolk Downs’ future workforce. That includes $1 million in new funding to support the Building Pathways pre-apprenticeship program, in which 90% of enrollees are people of color and 43% are women, and allows direct employment of graduates from Building Pathways.

“Having this PLA in place will help with the growth of the local,” Cody concluded. “Through community standards in place within the PLA, our involvement with various community groups in the area, our outreach to trade schools and career fairs in the city and even on the grounds of the project itself provided by the developer and our partnership with them throughout this whole process. We are hitting the streets and visiting workers, letting them know what a union is all about.”

Members planning to attend one or both of the UTU’s regional meetings this summer can now complete their registration online through the UTU website.

The secure pages on the UTU website provide for safe and convenient registration. There’s no need for filling out a paper registration form or finding a postage stamp.

UTU regional meeting registration and hotel information, as well as web links to make hotel reservations online, can be accessed by visiting www.utu.org and clicking on the “Meetings” box on the bottom of the UTU homepage. Links to the host hotels, city visitor bureaus, and online car-rental and airline-discount information are also available.

Regional meetings will be held July 1-3 in Boston and July 29-31 in Anaheim, Calif.

Each regional meeting will run for 2-1/2 days, ending early on the afternoon of the third day. The evening of the first day has been left unscheduled so you, your family and friends will be free to explore and enjoy the many offerings of the regional meeting cities.

All those attending the regional meetings must be registered in order to attend any planned social function. Children ages 11 and under who are pre-registered are complimentary.

The pre-registration fee for the 2013 regional meetings is $150 per member, spouse or child over age 11, the same fee charged the last six years. Additional fees apply for the golf outings and family tours. You must make your own room reservations, and certain deadlines apply.

The $150 registration fee covers all workshop materials; a welcoming reception the night before the meeting; three lunches and one evening meal. Those wishing to attend only the workshops do not need to pay the registration fee. No one-day registrations are offered.

You may cancel your meeting registration 10 days prior to the first day of the meeting or the golf outing without penalty. Call the International at (216) 228-9400 or email PR_TD@smart-union.org immediately regarding any changes or cancellations.

If you choose to register by mail, you must submit a completed registration form listing each attendee, regardless of age. Complete payment in U.S. funds must be received at the UTU International, 24950 Country Club Blvd., Suite 340, North Olmsted, OH 44070-5333, by June 21 for the Boston meeting or by July 19 for the Anaheim meeting, or the registrant will be charged an on-site registration fee of $200.