BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — More than 1,000 union tradeswomen joined together for the largest-ever gathering of women construction workers in Boston Saturday.
Women Build Boston 2023 was held at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, a venue Jenaya Nelson of Local 223 helped build.
"The building that we’re in today, the convention center, I was on this job when it was just plain, flat land, and to see it go from nothing all the way into a big building is huge," Nelson told WBZ NewsRadio. "And it’s a good feeling when I drive by like, Wow, I was a part of that."
Nelson joined the union over 25 years ago when she was a single mom working odd jobs.
"I was in the welfare office," Nelson recalled. "I had seen a little piece of paper saying they were looking for women in construction. I didn’t really think I was capable. I was up for the challenge and I’m super happy that I did so, because it was a game changer."
Nelson added that thanks to her steady, paying job and benefits, she was able to buy a house and pay for her children's braces with her dental insurance.
"I have a pension and annuity, and so I have a savings for when I retire," Nelson beamed.
Her fellow tradeswoman Shamaiah Turner also had time to reflect on the changes in her working life and the industry. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of women in construction reached an all-time high of 14.3% last year. When Turner joined Sheet Metal Workers Local 17 eleven years ago, 1% of workers in the SMART Northeast Regional Council were women. Now, it is 3%.
"Within my own local, when I started there were about five women, and now there’s about 50 of us," Turner told WBZ. "It may seem like a small percentage, but it is a big deal."
Turner noted that the culture of construction has changed as well when it comes to how men treat women.
"Most of the men I’ve worked with have been very respectful," Turner said. "I mean, once in a while you get one of those kind of guys where it’s just like, Come on, guy, we’re over that, it’s 2023."
WBZ's Suzanne Sausville (@WBZSausville) reports.
Follow WBZ NewsRadio: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | iHeartmedia App | TikTok