(NIAGARA FALLS) - The New York State Building & Construction Trades - whose statewide Union membership totals around 200,000 - has endorsed the Democratic Gubernatorial Ticket of New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and Rochester Mayor Robert Duffy, Painters District Council 4 Business Manager Daniel Boody tells WNYLaborToday.com.

The gubernatorial endorsement for the Cuomo-Duffy ticket came as the New York State Building Trades wound up its annual convention that was held earlier this week in Niagara Falls.

Niagara County Building & Construction Trades Council President Clyde Johnston, Jr. - who addressed the more than 300 attendees who gathered at the Niagara Falls Conference Center - told WNYLaborToday.com this afternoon that Statewide Building Trades President Edward Malloy was also re-elected to another three-year term.

"I welcomed those Union Representatives to Niagara Falls and impressed upon them that much that has been constructed in the city and across Niagara County has been 'Built Union,' including the Niagara Falls Conference Center and the Seneca-Niagara Casino," Johnston said.

Also addressing the New York State Building & Construction Trades Council - among others - was New York State Labor Commissioner Colleen Gardner, Rochester Mayor/Democratic Lieutenant Gubernatorial Candidate Duffy and Buffalo Assemblyman Sam Hoyt.

The New York State Building Trades last held its statewide convention in Western New York in 1992 in Buffalo.  For the past two years, the State Building Trades has held their annual convention in Cooperstown, and previous to that in Saratoga.

The decision was made to come back to Western New York after two area Building Trades Executive Board Members - the Painters' Boody and Donald Winkle, Jr., business manager for the Buffalo-headquartered Elevator Constructors Local 14 - successfully lobbied the state group.

Malloy's re-election as president of the statewide Building Trades organization was a bit of a Western New York homecoming.  It was back in '92 at the Buffalo-held constitutional convention that Malloy was first elected president of the New York State Building Trades.

During an interview with WNYLaborToday.com earlier this year, Molloy said the State Building Trades were dealing with a number of concerns these days, including unemployment within the construction trades and the lack of state movement on releasing funding for a number of high-profile construction projects across New York.

"We're very concerned about unemployment in the construction industry, which is based on the economy.  When the economy starts to slow, the downside occurs in capital budgets - so we get a double-whack.  We're meeting with those in Albany to generate jobs, but it looks like during the first and second quarters of this year, we'll be tightening our belts just like everyone else," Molloy said.

In regards to Industrial Development Agency (IDA) Reform, the president of the State Building Trades said the fight to preserve Prevailing Wages and Living Wages in IDA-financed projects goes on, as well as the State Trades' campaign to reform the IDA system.

"I would probably say more and more of the money that is being used (to build) these IDA-financed/taxpayer-financed construction projects across New York, which collectively are over one-billion dollars, is also being used to pay people who are coming in from out of town," instead of employing local construction workers, Molloy said.  "Like anything else, our first move is to protect jobs.  But right now, IDA Reform is considered to be on the backburner in Albany and Governor Paterson has looked to have backed off on it."

On another note, Molloy remained positive about the landmark Green Jobs/Green New York Act that Governor Paterson signed into law last year, which will not only stimulate investment in weatherization and energy-efficiency improvements for residential and commercial buildings, but could mean the creation of thousands of new jobs for Unionized Building Trades Workers. 

The Green Jobs Act has been created to provide efficiency upgrades to an estimated one million homes and businesses over the next five years, as well as creating more than 10,000 new jobs. Seven-million dollars from the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance has initially been awarded to New York City and 11 counties - including the Upstate New York counties of Chautauqua and Monroe - to launch the new Green Jobs Corps program.

"There's a lot of talk about in Albany these days about 'Green Jobs' and it is a tremendous opportunity for the Building Trades," he said.