The 15th Annual North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) Tradeswomen Build Nations (TWBN) Conference took place in Chicago, Illinois at the McCormick Place Convention Center from September 19-21, 2025. Almost 6,000 tradeswomen, advocates, and industry leaders gathered in the largest assembly of craft workers in the world! IBEW made an impressive showing of almost 800 members in attendance.
This year’s theme: “She’s not waiting. She’s leading.” set the tone of empowerment for enthusiastic participants.
A total of twenty-six IBEW 9th District members from IBEW Local 11 arrived on Thursday afternoon to assist IBEW Director of Civic & Community Engagement, Jennifer Gray, her staff, and other IWC members in preparing swag bags for IBEW members. Items included the 2025 IBEW Policy Brief, t-shirt, coin, stickers, magnet, and thunder sticks.
On Friday, several delegates participated in a Tradeswomen’s Fishing Event sponsored by Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA) available to the first 300 participants at William Powers State Recreation Area from 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. TWBN registration opened at 8:00 a.m. accompanied with an adjacent Exhibit Hall including various union booths and vendors. IWC members staffed the IBEW registration and coordinated swag bag distribution.
IBEW 134 graciously welcomed all IBEW Delegates to Chicago by hosting a welcome reception at their Local Union Hall offering food and drinks from 2:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. Following the reception, delegates returned to the McCormick Place Convention Center to enjoy more food and drinks and live entertainment hosted by TWBN as part of their Opening Reception from 5:30pm – 7:00pm.
On Saturday, breakfast was available starting at 6:30am and up until the start of the plenary session at 8:00am. As part of the program routine, IWC members assisted in Sergeant of Arms duties during the plenary and banner parade. The conference Emcees opened with the traditional trade unions “shout out” as a way of acknowledging and recognizing those present in the room. The Emcees introduced NABTU President, Sean McGarvey, along with other speakers being individually introduced by union women with inspiring stories, including IBEW member Sidney Jablonski, IBEW Local 99, who introduced AFL-CIO President Liz Schuler.
After the opening plenary, the traditional banner parade led tradeswomen outside of the Convention Center to march down the streets of Chicago from 10:15am – 12:00pm. All IBEW members wore matching blue IBEW t-shirts while carrying thunder sticks displaying the IBEW logo for high visibility. Members proudly marched, chanted, waved their thunder sticks, and distributed IBEW stickers and extra thunder sticks to neighborhood children eagerly watching the parade alongside their families.
Once the parade concluded, boxed lunches were made available to attendees as they proceeded to their workshop of choice. Of the 17 workshop breakout sessions from 1:15pm – 2:45pm, three 9th District IBEW delegates led in conducting workshops. Rachel Shoemake, Assistant Business Manager, IBEW Local 302 and I representing Local 11 participated as part of the panel “Building Strong Voices: Communications & Leadership & Influence for Women in Construction.” Lyseria Kursave IBEW 569, participated on the panel, “LGBTQIA In The Workplace.” In addition, Sabrina Westfall IBEW 1, participated on “Beyond the Hardhat: Expanding Career Pathways for Women in the Trades.”
From 3:00pm – 4:30pm, IBEW members gathered in a space for the IBEW Caucus led by IBEW Director Jennifer Gray. Speeches were delivered by Jammi Ouellette, Senior Assistant to the International President, Liz Schuler, AFL-CIO President and IBEW member, Robert Corona, IBEW Local 11 Business Manager, Concetta Defa, IBEW 354 and Julie Strzempka with Center for Energy Workforce Development, and a panel with IWC members Erin Sullivan, IBEW 3, Meagan Olmstead, IBEW 2228, Sarah Faber, IBEW 499, and me with IBEW Local 11. At the conclusion of the caucus, a group photo was captured by IBEW Media.
On Sunday, breakfast was once again available from 7:30am – 8:30amwith the plenary session starting at 8:30am. Guest speakers took the stage, including Illinois Governor JB Pritzker to deliver the closing speeches from 8:30am – 10:30am. Following the speeches, the conference emcees announced the 2026 conference dates of October 9-11, 2026 in Houston, Texas. Workshops convened from 10:45am-12:30pm including a repeat of 17 breakout sessions from the day prior.
As I reflect on having attended my first Tradeswomen Build California in 2002, which grew into the Tradeswomen Build Nations as we know it today, it is exhilarating to witness and partake in the massive progress of tradeswomen empowerment that has developed over the years. The conference continuously evolves into an inclusive environment welcoming women across all trades and the growing number of IBEW women participating serves as powerful evidence of the conference’s success.
It is difficult to describe the energy of this conference, and as I often say, “You have to be there and experience it, to understand.” Tradeswomen leave this conference invigorated, motivated, and energized to become more involved and committed and eager to learning more. When I asked the women of the IBEW Caucus to raise their hands if they had a women’s committee, I was happily surprised to see the majority of the room raise their hands. I would argue that IBEW women that attend TWBN are more likely to become activists in their Local Unions and actively participate in forming a women’s committees for ongoing support and growth.
For these reasons, and in appreciation for the impact these conferences have had on me personally and professionally over the years, I would strongly recommend and highly encourage all IBEW Local Unions be in support of sending as many women delegates as possible. It is a well worth investment that ultimately yields positive returns for the entire IBEW.
