Organized Labor Leaders, HUD Officials Tour New Orleans Steel Plant That Helps Rebuild...

Organized Labor Leaders, HUD Officials Tour New Orleans Steel Plant That Helps
Rebuild Neighborhoods Devastated by Hurricane Katrina

Public-Private Collaboration Trains Workers, Helps Them Rebuild Their
Communities

NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Labor leaders joined with the
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to celebrate the
success of Advanced Steel Homes, LLC and the Gulf Coast Construction Careers
Center (GCCCC). These two entities have forged a collaboration to help
rebuild homes in areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

Advanced Steel Homes, LLC is a manufacturing facility specializing in
affordable and erection-ready steel construction, producing steel wall panels,
floor and roof trusses, and other steel products. The plant employs workers
from the GCCCC, a union-sponsored, pre-apprenticeship program.

A HUD delegation toured the plant with labor leaders on Friday. The plant,
which is organized by the New Orleans Metal Trades Council, AFL-CIO, builds
single family, multifamily and commercial buildings. Advanced Steel Homes has
designs of their own but also can customize the panels to any developer's
architectural plans. At full capacity, the plant could provide 300 union
factory jobs.

"This plant is a great example of what can happen when the public and private
sectors work together with the community," said Ron Ault, President of the
Metal Trades Department, AFL-CIO. "Many entities came together to make this
happen. We are proud of the homes that have been built, and we are proud of
the men and woman who have completed the GCCCC training and are now making a
difference in their communities."

Some workers at the plant are graduates of the GCCCC, which was developed by
the Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO, to provide economic
opportunities for people impacted by Katrina, as well as increase the supply
of affordable housing. The program is also supported by a consortium of
national and local organizations including the Kellogg Foundation, the AFL-CIO
Investment Trust Corporation, the Louisiana Works Workforce Commission and the
Louisiana Department of Labor. The GCCCC is designed to prepare young New
Orleans residents for jobs and careers in the construction industry. The
program has graduated some 400 students since it began operations in June
2007.

"The Center focuses on three critical success factors - workforce development,
worker services, and contractor services," said Art Lujan, Executive Director
of the Gulf Coast Construction Careers Center. "The blueprint for the center
was developed by national and local construction industry leaders including
contractors, academics, union representatives, project owners, affordable
housing advocates, and investment experts."

Mr. Lujan noted that the Center, as well as the work that its graduates have
done at the plant, demonstrate the connection between job training and
community development.

"We have a growing population of people who are unemployed. The apprenticeship
program gives people the training they need to get jobs and make contributions
to their communities," Mr. Lujan said, adding that the Advanced Steel Homes
panelized housing plant is one of few unionized steel fabrication plants in
America.

The group from HUD included: Helen R. Kanovsky, General Counsel; David
Stevens, Federal Housing Commissioner; Mercedes Marquez, Assistant Secretary,
Community Planning and Development; Sandra Henriquez, Assistant Secretary for
Public and Indian Housing; and John Trasvina, Assistant Secretary, Fair
Housing and Equal Opportunity; and Rafael Bostic, Assistant Secretary, Policy
Development and Research.

Contact:
Mike Arnold
202-552-2370

SOURCE AFL-CIO Investment Trust Corp (ITC)

Mike Arnold of AFL-CIO Investment Trust Corp (ITC), +1-202-552-2370