MADISON, Wis. – This Labor Day, the Wisconsin Building Trades Council is honoring generations of working people whose skill, determination and solidarity have built Wisconsin’s communities, strengthened its economy and advanced dignity and fairness on the job.

“Labor Day is a chance to recognize the people whose work keeps Wisconsin moving and to remember that the progress workers enjoy today did not happen by accident,” said Emily Pritzkow, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Building Trades Council. “In the building trades, that legacy lives on through strong unions, safe jobsites and career pathways that give people the opportunity to learn a skill, support a family and retire with dignity.”

Wisconsin’s leadership in worker training runs deep. In 1911, Wisconsin enacted the nation’s first modern apprenticeship law, establishing a model that paired paid, on-the-job training with classroom instruction. Wisconsin’s system later helped shape the federal National Apprenticeship Act of 1937, and registered apprenticeship remains a cornerstone of the building trades today.

For more than a century, working people have built the roads, schools, hospitals, homes and infrastructure that move Wisconsin forward. This Labor Day, the Council encourages Wisconsinites to celebrate those contributions and recommit to ensuring the next generation has access to safe, family-supporting careers and world-class training.