Study Finds Maternity Benefits for Construction Tradeswomen Financially Feasible
By Jenn Goodman, Construction Dive
At a 2016 conference for women in construction, iron worker Bridget Booker stood up and recounted how, as a second-year apprentice, she miscarried after a very heavy day on the job. Booker told the audience she felt she had had no option but to continue to work when she became pregnant. Without work, she would not only have lost her earnings, but also her health insurance.
She also saw no option to be open about her pregnancy or ask to be shifted to less strenuous work: She was certain, based on her experience on that worksite, that she would have lost her job.
A year later, Booker's experience led the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers union to become the first trade group to introduce a paid leave benefit for pregnant women and new mothers.
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