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Season 6, Episode 4

Workforce development is changing in the Parkersburg-Marietta region

PMBTC Gray

 

Guest Name:


Buddy Malone

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Buddy Malone, Business Manager of the Parkersburg-Marietta Building and Construction Trades Council (PMBTC), joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the region’s workforce development programs and the state of the construction industry along the Ohio and West Virginia border.

With thirty years of experience in the building trades, Malone brings a wealth of knowledge to the conversation. He was a member of the Iron Workers Union before changing his career path and joining the Millwrights Union. He served in leadership in both unions before eventually becoming the Business Manager of PMBTC, which covers eight counties in Ohio and eight counties in West Virginia. 

Malone highlighted a workforce development program in New Lexington, Ohio, that's changing the curriculum for pre-K through 12th grade. This program takes place every Friday afternoon and focuses on workforce development activities and introducing students to various career paths and essential skills. Since its beginning in 2018, the program has had a positive impact on the students' lives. Malone said that graduation rates increased from 78 percent in 2018 to 95 percent in 2024, and disciplinary issues decreased. Malone attributed the improvements to the collaboration between students from different backgrounds.

Malone said the program's holistic approach is reason for most of its success. Students can learn about social media marketing, use drones and experience medical training, so they are more engaged in their education. Malone added that students are becoming more employable after they graduate, which is more important now when talent is difficult to find across most industries. Promoting the trades and workforce development programs is key to building a stronger labor movement, and he believes this program should be replicated nationwide.

Listen to the full episode to hear more from Malone about the state of the construction industry and the programs shaping its future.


America’s Work Force is the only daily labor podcast in the US and has been on the air since 1993, supplying listeners with useful, relevant input into their daily lives through fact-finding features, in-depth interviews, informative news segments and practical consumer reports. America’s Work Force is committed to providing an accessible venue in which America's workers and their families can hear discussion on important, relevant topics such as employment, healthcare, legislative action, labor-management relations, corporate practices, finances, local and national politics, consumer reports and labor issues.

America’s Work Force Union Podcast is brought to you in part by our sponsors: AFL-CIO, American Federation of Government Employees, American Federation of Musicians Local 4, Alliance for American Manufacturing, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes-IBT, Boyd Watterson, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, Communication Workers of America, Mechanical Insulators Labor Management Cooperative Trust, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 50, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Crafts, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 6, Ironworkers Great Lakes District Council, Melwood, The Labor Citizen newspaper, Laborers International Union of North America, The National Labor Office of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, North Coast Area Labor Federation, Ohio Federation of Teachers, United Labor Agency, United Steelworkers.

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