Milwaukee childcare pilot program supports construction trade workers

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Milwaukee has been selected as one of two cities for the TradesFutures Child Care Pilot Program. The program, which gives aid to skilled trades workers, is meant to lift barriers from working parents and address the ongoing childcare issue the American workforce faces.

TradesFutures supported empowHER and the Milwaukee Building & Construction Trades Council to form Building Blocks, a pilot childcare program that gives some financial assistance to 10 trades people with kids 4 and younger for 12 months. A similar voucher pilot program to support access for women in the trades is ongoing in New York City.

When taking care of children and working full-time, both construction and the general workforce are faced with mounting expenses, according to TradesFutures. The construction industry has unique challenges because of its long operating hours and constant movement. The support is significant for the growing number of women in construction who face challenges entering the male-dominated field.

In Milwaukee, both men and women from different trades and skill levels were enrolled in assistance, said Kilah Engelke, who is on the board of directors at empowHER. The organization selected enrollees who were on the verge of giving up an apprenticeship or dropping out of the trades because of inadequate childcare, she added.

“It was potentially life-changing that it allowed them to continue to pursue their apprenticeships, work as tradespeople and fulfill the requirements expected of them as a tradesperson,” Engelke said.

Tradespeople who benefit from pilot program praise its results

Recipients had to be employees of a signatory contractor, be a union member in good standing and have a child who was 4 years old or younger, Engelke explained. Some recipients had multiple children, with at least some around daycare age. Members using care centers that weren’t registered to the program could only get a one-time stipend.

Molly Daley, a sprinkler fitter apprentice and union member, said the program helped her enter a trades career by supplementing daycare costs.

With a background in retail design, she decided to start anew after the pandemic. With one child and married to someone already in the trades, she found it was a challenge to find daycares that would open before 6 a.m.

“It was imperative that our daycare provider and finances were aligned; Building Blocks helped us do that. Being a non-traditional apprentice, they made the transition to the trades easier. I want to see this program help and encourage other parents, especially women, to make the transition. If parents are apprehensive to make the change due to the provider search and finances, Building Blocks is there to help. It’s programs like this that can make the difference,” Daley added.

Milwaukee on the national stage for workforce innovation

At first, Milwaukee pursued being a near-site program, using partner daycares near ongoing projects such as the Baird Center, before settling on becoming a voucher program, explained Dan Bukiewicz, president of the Milwaukee Building & Construction Trades Council. However, when the pilot found most construction workers weren’t willing to change their daycare provider, they opted for a voucher-based option tied to project labor agreements instead.

TradesFutures, which is an arm of the North American Building Trades Union (NABTU), is the organization funding the program in Milwaukee and New York City, Bukiewicz said. “It was a great opportunity, and nice to see Milwaukee being mentioned with cities such as New York, Los Angeles and Chicago,” he added.

In early 2021, the Building Trades and empowHER used most of the year to draft a proposal and plan for NABTU. A year later, they were awarded the program and notified at NABTU’s national legislative conference held in Washington. Bukiewicz called this a great opportunity.

While the program is in its fledgling stage, both organizations are watching for the needs of workers and budgetary demands, Bukiewicz noted.

“This is really helping not only sustain our workforce but help people complete their apprenticeships, or, more importantly, if they’re finished with their apprentices, make work every day. When something happens to your child, it becomes first and foremost the most important thing in life. We understand work will be second to that, but we want to try and make sure everyone can be at work with peace of mind. That’s why we set this up,” he added.