Annual Omaha Labor Day Parade honors those working to rebuild downtown

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - Union work crews have changed the look of downtown Omaha -- giving Gene Leahy Mall a new look, building more housing downtown, taking the city back to the river with the RiverFront project, and working to change the city’s skyline as crews build Mutual of Omaha’s new tower.

“Work’s been really good,” said Mark McColley with Steamfitters and Plumbers Union Local 464. “We’ve got a lot of work going on around the area, so we really needed people. We’ve really increased our membership.”

“Our numbers are up,” said Brett DeHart with Steamfitters Local. “When I started, there were probably 800 members. Now we’re up to almost 1,400, so we’ve seen a lot of growth in the last 20 years.”

Omaha’s Local 464 makes up a big chunk of the annual Labor Day Parade. Thousands of people came out to show their appreciation for Omaha’s labor force.

“There have been some polls done that given the opportunity, 70% of the people in this country would join a labor union,” said Danny Avelyn with Teamsters Local 554.

DeHart is the business manager of Steamfitters Local. He said his union does much more than build buildings -- they also build relationships in the community.

“We do an event we call Heat’s On every year where we go look at furnaces for retired people, you know, people who can’t afford that kind of stuff, and we just try to be involved in a lot of projects,” he said.

Monday, Omaha celebrates all that organized labor does for the community. Some of the unions marching have been in the parade for decades, and they continue to be a major force behind the growing metro area.

“It’s very important to us that people know what we do in all the projects across anywhere from downtown to west Omaha, south, north...every project we’re pretty much involved in.”

Penny Burt has been a part of this Labor Day show for decades. She tells 6 News the labor union is a big part of her family.

“It’s put food on the table and built us a house,” Burt said. “My husband has been in a secure position for many years and we’re going on 30+ years in the steamfitters.”

Penny’s husband, Lee, got into the Steamfitters Union 35 years ago. He says the union and the benefits that came along with it allowed them to live a comfortable life.

“My wife stayed at home with our three kids,” Lee said. “I was able to work and still afford to be able to live. I mean, we didn’t live like kings, but we made it, and so it was really nice to be able to do that.”

Now, Lee is retired and enjoying the benefits of working in a strong labor union.

“It’s really nice to be able to work all these years and then to retire and be fairly comfortable,” Lee said. “To not have to worry about money every day. I still got good health insurance through the union, even though I’m retired.”

Now, Lee’s son, Kevin, is a steamfitter following in his dad’s footsteps.

“I was raised in a union home,” Kevin said. “Everything that it stands for. It’s building the middle class. That’s what it’s all about. Being able to have as many kids as we do and still sustain life is fantastic.”

Kevin has a wife and three children of his own. He says getting into the trades instead of going to a four-year college allowed him to get a good job and start a family.

“It’s really hard now to go to college and actually produce something outside of college,” Kevin said. “In the trades, they train you on the job and you get through at the end of it and you’re making good money.”

And with three children, Kevin will need good money. He tells 6 News that the Burt family is a union family and maybe one day his youngest son, Wyatt, will follow in his footsteps.

“We’re all in the trades,” Kevin said. “Every single one of us. My brother, me of course, and hopefully, my little one someday follows in my footsteps, but whatever he wants to do.”

Two-month-old Wyatt has plenty of time to think about that.