Anthony Abrantes, Assistant Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters (EASRCC), and Cyndie Williams, Executive Director of the Carpenter Contractor Trust (CCT), joined America's Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the Labor Lounge podcast and its role in connecting members and union allies.
Abrantes oversees a territory spanning seven Northeastern states, managing approximately 43,000 union carpenters, 18 training centers and 25 Local Unions. His path to leadership began after he joined the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America in 2004. Abrantes rose through the ranks from organizer to his current executive role with EASRCC in 2022.
Williams entered the trade in the late 1990s, a time when few women were in the Carpenters Union. Despite facing challenges in a male-dominated field, she became a teacher and leader within the union. Now, as Executive Director of the CCT, she focuses on marketing and industry connections.
The Labor Lounge podcast aims to control the narrative around unions and construction, countering misinformation with authentic stories from the field. Abrantes emphasized the importance of unions telling their own story. Their goal is to challenge the common misconception that unions only serve their members, and instead want to highlight their broader societal impact. Williams noted the podcast's role in educating listeners about the construction industry's value by speaking with their union contractors about the importance of having a Union Carpenter on the job.
Find the premiere episode of Labor Lounge on major podcast platforms, including iHeart, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube. New episodes are released monthly.
To hear more from Abrantes and Williams about the Labor Lounge podcast, listen to the show above.