BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — In a significant development for Alabama’s construction labor force, the Association of Skilled Trade and Transportation Unions (ASTTU) has formed a strategic alliance with the Alabama State Building and Construction Trades Council (ASBCTC). This partnership is designed to strengthen protections, enhance benefits, and provide long-term support for union Members across the state.

The collaboration unites two key labor organizations under a shared mission of advocacy, empowerment, and solidarity for skilled trades workers. With this alliance, ASTTU and ASBCTC plan to launch joint initiatives focused on boosting union engagement, improving worker benefits, and reinforcing the vital role of organized labor in Alabama’s economy.

“This collaboration reflects our shared belief that when unions work together, we're stronger,” said Carl Galdine, Director of Membership and Benefits at ASTTU. “ASTTU exists to support unions and protect Members. This alliance creates new opportunities to do exactly that by helping Alabama's skilled trades workers access critical benefits, advocacy, and national-level support tailored to their needs.”

ASTTU brings to the table a suite of voluntary benefits designed to reinforce the financial security of workers. These include Disability Income Protection, medical expense coverage, and guaranteed-issue life insurance—offered without cost or administrative burden to ASBCTC Member unions. These resources allow local union leaders to enhance Member support while retaining autonomy at the local level.

The ASBCTC, which represents skilled trades from across the construction sector—ranging from electricians and ironworkers to plumbers and operating engineers—amplifies the alliance’s reach. As a multi-union organization, its influence spans every major construction craft in the state.

“Our Council is committed to creating more work opportunities, achieving living wages, and protecting the benefits our Members and all construction workers rely on,” said Bill Blackman, President of the Alabama State Building and Construction Trades Council. “This alliance with ASTTU strengthens that mission by expanding access to valuable benefits and reinforcing the economic security of Alabama's skilled trades workforce.”

The timing of this alliance is especially notable in the context of Alabama’s status as a right-to-work state, where organized labor faces heightened challenges. Despite those hurdles, the partnership signals an effort to expand union strength, improve Member retention, and increase the visibility of labor in both rural and urban areas of Alabama.

Beyond benefits administration, the alliance sets the stage for broader collaboration on labor standards, workforce development, and union advocacy. ASTTU’s partnerships with safety, education, and worker rights organizations further connect Alabama’s construction workers to a national network of support.

As both organizations look to the future, their united front sends a clear message: labor is adapting, organizing, and mobilizing to better serve workers amid a rapidly evolving economic landscape.

The ASTTU-ASBCTC alliance is part of a wider national trend, in which unions across sectors are forming coalitions to tackle shared challenges and champion worker rights.

Originally reported by Association of Skilled Trade and Transportation Unions in PR Newswire.