Earlier this month — for the first time in nearly four decades — Plumbers and Pipefitters Local Union 25 hosted some of the trade’s top apprentices from across the state of Illinois during the 2019 Apprentice Contest. Organized by the Committee On Training and Education (COTE), 32 apprentices representing 14 unions competed in the categories of plumbing, pipefitting, HVACR, welding and sprinkler fitting. “It was a tremendous honor to host this year’s COTE Apprentice Contest in our state-of-the-art training center at Local 25,” said Matt Lienen, business manager. “This two-day competition... Read More

The magnificent, massive 55-foot skeleton of a rare Finn whale will be displayed in the atrium of the finished Umbeck Science and Mathematics Center in Galesburg’s Knox College, but in the midst of the complex’s construction, it’s the backbone of hard-working Local Union 25 craftsmen who are creating the building’s solid foundation. Over two dozen union members are hard at work on the $43 million, 30,000 square foot project, aiming for a finishing date of Thanksgiving 2019, and in an edifice dedicated to the study of science and mathematics those union workers are utilizing their skills... Read More

It’s clear as glass that Local Union 25 has made a white-hot impact on one of the most unique art spots in the Quad-Cities, Hot Glass. The gallery at 104 Western Davenport, in the Davenport Printing Company building, will be celebrating its renovation and expansion with a grand re-opening featuring renowned glass artists John Miller and Alex Stisser from 5 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1, and a look around its amazing studio gives area art fans a mirror into the craftsmanship of the union workers that made this renewal a reality. “We’re just stunned and so grateful to all the folks from Local... Read More

Ask Dino Leone, the president of the Quad-City Federation of Labor, what unions have done that goes unrecognized by most people and he answers with a list of accomplishments that is staggering in its scope. “Legislatively, we have been able to pass laws that have benefited all workers, such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment benefits, public education, workers’ compensation, FMLA (the Family and Medical Leave Act), minimum wage, OSHA (the Occupational Safety and Health Administration), the Fair Labor Standards Act, prevailing wages, civil rights and the list goes on,” says... Read More