LiUNA Local 242 opens Northwest Laborers Training Facility in Des Moines

Laborers' International Union of North America Local 242 opened the Northwest Laborers Training Facility in Des Moines on May 9, 2025, calling the new center a regional hub for apprenticeship training and workforce development.

Dale Cannon, secretary-treasurer of LiUNA Local 242, said the facility reflects the union’s long-term investment in members and their families. "We're not just investing in facilities, we're investing in people," Cannon said, calling the center a "launch pad for future generations of laborers."

Eric Jones, president and CEO of Foushee Construction, the project's general contractor, praised on-site field leadership and thanked Local 242 and the design team for the partnership that delivered the building. "Construction is very much a team game," Jones said, naming the superintendent and project staff who led the work.

Andrea Ornelas, an assistant political director for Local 242 and a graduate of the apprenticeship program, described how the training changed her family's economic prospects. "This isn't just concrete. This is a foundation for the future," Ornelas said, describing stable wages, health care and retirement as outcomes of an apprenticeship career.

Donald Constantine, chief executive of Sound Transit, framed the center as part of a regional pipeline for workers who will build light-rail extensions and other projects. He said the facility will help supply skilled labor across King County and the Puget Sound region.

Officials and speakers at the event framed the building as a practical response to a shortage of skilled workers and as a model for replicable training partnerships. Former state senator Karen Kaiser said the state has "almost 30,000 apprentices" and that the Des Moines facility will accommodate roughly "700 apprentices just in this building." Kim Schrier, a member of Congress attending the event, said the center's expansion (she noted a 20,000-square-foot increase) helps create "earn while you learn" opportunities for students and commuters from across her district.

The event included a ceremonial ribbon cutting and an invitation for attendees to tour the facility and sign a commemorative ribbon. City and regional officials, building trades representatives and contractors said they expect the center to train hundreds weekly and to strengthen local hire and apprenticeship pipelines for upcoming infrastructure and transit projects.

Photographs and a public reception followed the ribbon cutting; a separate bill signing for worker-protection legislation took place later in the program.