ABOVE: Over 500 first-year apprentices were sworn in as Steamfitters UA Local 602 members on September 1st. Photo: Steamfitters UA Local 602 Facebook page.
The demand for skilled trade labor across the Mid-Atlantic region continues to reach unprecedented heights. Driven by a surge in data center development, regional infrastructure projects and energy sector expansion, local building trade unions are welcoming historically large classes of new apprentices.
Nowhere is this transformation more clear than at IBEW Local 24 and Steamfitters UA Local 602, where recent late-summer orientation and swearing-in ceremonies shattered previous enrollment records.
Steamfitters Local 602 Swears In 500+ Apprentices in Historic Night
Steamfitters UA Local 602 achieved a historic milestone on September 1st, when it swore in 525 first-year apprentices in a single evening. The class nearly doubled Local 602’s previous record high of 300 new members.
“It was exciting to see all those young people come in,” said Local 602 Business Agent Kevin Brown. “We have the workload and we need the workers to come in and we need to start training skilled people… As this country moves forward, the infrastructure in this country has to be moving forward.”
“It was exciting to see all those young people come in. We have the workload and we need the workers to come in and we need to start training skilled people.”
– Kevin Brown, Business Agent
Steamfitters UA Local 602
“It was exciting to see all those young people come in. We have the workload and we need the workers to come in and we need to start training skilled people.”
– Kevin Brown, Business Agent
Steamfitters UA Local 602
Steamfitters UA Local 602 Business Agent Kevin Brown. Photo: Michael Blain.
To accommodate a growing membership that now exceeds 7,000 tradespeople, Local 602 has invested heavily in facility expansions. The union built a seven-story parking garage and split training operations between campuses in Manassas, Va., and Maryland.
Brown says workload demand at Local 602 is heavily driven by the data center sector, which employs roughly 2,000 to 3,000 members, and includes four specialized fabrication shops operating across the region. Upcoming opportunities also include major public landmarks, such as Washington D.C.’s RFK stadium redevelopment project.
The incoming apprentice class represents a wide array of backgrounds, said Brown, including high school tech graduates, mothers, workers who felt stagnant in non-union roles, and career changers looking for stability.
“Five years is not long to turn your life around,” Brown emphasized, referring to the length of a Local 602 registered apprenticeship. “The trades have always been a great opportunity, a great chance to earn a living, a good living and benefits.”
IBEW Local 24: Outgrowing the Hall with 300 New Apprentices
IBEW Local 24 encountered a unique challenge during its first-night orientation in late August: It could no longer fit all its new apprentices in a single room.
“We don’t have enough space. We just cannot do it,” explained Local 24 Training Director David Springham. “It’s a sign of the future where our class sizes are as big as they’ve ever been. It doesn’t seem like it’s going to slow down.”
“It’s a sign of the future where our class sizes are as big as they’ve ever been. It doesn’t seem like it’s going to slow down.”
– David Springham, Training Director
IBEW Local 24
“It’s a sign of the future where our class sizes are as big as they’ve ever been. It doesn’t seem like it’s going to slow down.”
– David Springham, Training Director
IBEW Local 24
IBEW Local 24 Training Director David Springham speaks with an attendee at a job fair in 2025. Photo: Michael Blain
In total, Local 24 brought in an official total of 300 new apprentices into union membership across all programs. The surge was anchored by 275 Baltimore Inside Wireman apprentices attending orientation, as well as low-voltage Voice, Data, Video (VDV) telecommunications apprentices and apprentices on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
The increase also appears to reflect growing numbers of workers leaving non-union jobs for new union opportunities. Springham estimates that one-quarter to one-third of Local 24’s incoming class arrived with prior non-union construction experience. The class also reflects a broad cross-section of the community — ranging from 18-year-old high school graduates to mid-career changers, including a former town postmaster general.
The growth is fueled by major regional developments. Beyond data center expansion in the region, key projects include TradePoint Atlantic, the Frederick Douglass Tunnel, and, in the near future, lighting and traffic signaling work on the Key Bridge rebuild.
“It’s a great time to be a tradesman,” said Springham.