New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
(Left to Right- David Araujo, President of the Southeastern Massachusetts, Cape Cod and Islands Building Trades Union; New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell; Matthew Morrissey, New Bedford Wind Energy Center Director; James Pimental, Organizer -Bricklayer and Allied Craftsmen Union Local 3 Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island)
At a meeting of the Painters and Allied Trades Union in Downtown New Bedford, Mayor Jon Mitchell and Wind Energy Center Director Matthew Morrissey were each presented with the George W. Ripley II Memorial Award in recognition of their contributions to building “working relations between labor and management” and for pursuing “true economic development that improves the living and working conditions of communities throughout Southeastern Massachusetts.”
“We wanted to recognize the Mayor and Matthew Morrissey for their leadership in developing a new industry in southeastern Massachusetts and the state which will benefit the working men and women of this region. We all know that we have a long way to go, but it takes a forward thinking approach, like Mayor Mitchell’s, to bring a project of this magnitude to fruition. His support of the project labor agreement on the South Terminal Project and of the building trades more generally has been outstanding,” said David Araujo, the president of the Southeastern Massachusetts, Cape Cod and Islands Building Trades union.
“I am honored to receive the George W. Ripley II Memorial Award. Job creation has been the top priority for my administration and it will continue to be so long as I am mayor. The offshore wind industry in particular offers an opportunity to build the city and the region’s economic base like none other we have seen in the last century or so. I am pleased to have worked with the unions to support the project labor agreement and I look forward to the point in time when the jobs associated with the project become available,” said Mayor Mitchell.
Director of the New Bedford Wind Energy Center, Matthew Morrissey remarked, “I am deeply grateful to have been selected for this recognition, especially because I have known several past recipients and their significant achievements. It is truly an honor. The project labor agreement between the state, building trades and the contractor on the construction of the New Bedford marine commerce terminal is only the beginning of what can be a period of real union membership increases for good paying job opportunities in the trades for New Bedford residents.”
