CISCO honors Chicago Housing Authority as 2018 Public Body of the Year

CHICAGO (May 7, 2018): The Chicago Housing Authority was honored as the 2017 “Public Body of the Year” by the Construction Industry Service Corp. (CISCO) Friday at the Pride in Construction Awards for entering into the agency’s first-ever Project Labor Agreement (PLA).

The PLA was forged in cooperation with the Chicago and Cook County Building and Construction Trades Council, which represents about 100,000 men and women from 20 affiliated organizations in the union construction trades in the Chicagoland area. The partnership is aimed at providing CHA residents with access to training, union apprenticeships and jobs. The goal is to give them the opportunity to join Chicago area unions and take advantage of the high-paying jobs while helping them build capacity and experience as they work in the building trades.

CHA Board Chairman John T. Hooker and CHA CEO Eugene E. Jones, Jr., thanked CISCO for the great honor.

“Organized labor has helped build Chicago into the world-class city that it is for residents and visitors alike,” Hooker said. “We have

marked a new chapter in labor relations, one that has made one of our chief goals a reality: to enhance the participation of CHA residents in the labor force and to provide training and skills improvement opportunities for them.”

Jones, Jr., said: “This is a historic day for CHA, our contractors and residents and is another example of how CHA is finding new ways to create a better future for our residents so they can gain greater economic self-sufficiency. I am proud that we have forged this partnership with the unions. For too long, CHA residents did not have access to union apprenticeship programs and the high-paying jobs that they ultimately provide. The PLA will change that and open the door to greater economic and career opportunities.”