For Fendt, union cause labor of love

Pam Fendt’s understanding of the benefits of union representation did not come through the usual route.

Rather than learned on a job site alongside other blue-collar workers, the current Research Director for the Wisconsin Laborers’ appreciation for unions began when she was studying under Mark Levine at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Levine, a professor of history, economic development and urban studies, was a founder of the campus’s Center for Economic Development and ran it for years.

Fendt said Levine instilled in her a sense of how “our economy was the strongest before pre-deindustrialization, when we had lots of manufacturing. And most of it was under union representation. And then we’ve had this decline in unionization.”

Graduating with a degree in urban studies, Fendt soon found a job at the Center for Economic Development. There the projects she worked on included a “livable neighborhoods” initiative and an eventually successful attempt to tighten Milwaukee’s Residents Preference Program so that it mandates 40% of the hours worked on projects receiving public money go to local residents. That was up substantially from the previous requirement of 25%.

It was that work that put Fendt in touch with representatives of the building trades. She joined the Laborers International Union of North America in 2010 and quickly came to appreciate the work her members do.

“They always say the laborers are the first on the job and the last on the job,” Fendt said. “Someone told me laborers take away the gates at Churchill Downs and we cut the topiary at Epcot center.

Laborers are gravediggers and they do sewer and water, heavy and highway, asbestos abatement, hazardous-materials cleanup and vertical construction.”

Tony Neira, business manager at LiUNA Local 113, said the admiration is mutual.

“Pam is very proactive, always ready and willing to take on any task, has a great work ethic, is quick to show initiative, is a great researcher and bring a unique perspective,” he said.

Since coming to the laborers, Fendt has only become more involved in the union cause. She is now president of the Milwaukee Area Labor Council, which represents working men and women throughout the Milwaukee metropolitan area.

Her efforts to recruit more women into the trades often brings her to career fairs and similar events throughout the state. She also helped to found a group called empowHER, which not only seeks to recruit women into the industry but also to provide them with advice and training needed to advance their careers.

Contrary to popular perceptions, Fendt said, women have long had a place in the construction industry.

“Some of our pioneers are even retiring now,” she said. “But there’s always room for more. I think part of it is demystifying it. It’s telling a young woman what the job entails so they understand. So maybe digging a tunnel for a sewer project might not sound appealing, but there is a lot of different varieties of what people can do.”