After 3+ years of Mayor Wu, Union Leaders Say “Our Brothers and Sisters are Sitting Idle” and that Josh Offers Hope

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BOSTON, MA / Earlier this evening at a meeting with hundreds of union members in attendance, Laborers Local 22 enthusiastically endorsed Josh Kraft for Mayor of Boston. Laborers’ Local 22 – the largest Laborers’ Local in New England – represents more than 3,000 workers who proudly build Eastern Massachusetts. Their members are skilled, experienced union Laborers trained to work safely in building and other heavy construction. 

”Many of our members live in the city of Boston, and they work hard. And before them, our forefathers worked hard to build the schools, skyscrapers, roads, bridges, and tunnels that keep our communities connected and working. But under Mayor Wu, projects are stalled in Boston, and our brothers and sisters are sitting idle,” said Daniel Ottaviano, Business Manager at Laborers Local 22. 

“It is time for leadership in Boston that listens to the cares and concerns of the people and supports practical solutions to the problems facing our city,” added Ottaviano. “Josh Kraft is that leader, and for the first time in years, we have hope. Hope that construction will start moving again. Hope for jobs so our members can get to work. Hope for a better future.”

According to the city’s website (BPDA), reporting contractors worked two million fewer hours in 2024 than in 2019. 

“While Laborers Local 22 endorsed Mayor Wu last election, we have been disappointed by her lack of responsiveness to our leadership and her unwillingness to hear about the challenges our membership has faced due to her policy decisions. As the leader of this union, my sole focus is to provide work for my members, and to fight for them,” added Ottaviano.

“I am honored and grateful for the endorsement from Laborers Local 22. Getting projects moving again in Boston will be priority number one on day one,” said Josh Kraft. “Under Mayor Wu, projects have ground to a halt with costly new rules and mandates that make it too expensive to build. While other cities have continued to build and grow, Boston is stuck. We can and must do better.” 

This is Josh’s third union endorsement, following Iron Workers Local 7 earlier this week, and International Longshoremen Association in March.

About Josh 

Josh Kraft has spent his 35 year career working in disadvantaged communities in and around Boston. He was most recently President of the New England Patriots Foundation, and for three decades he worked with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston, including 12 years as its President and CEO.

Josh’s commitment to service began with his first job out of college as an outreach coordinator at a South Boston nonprofit. There he was responsible for making sure at-risk youth attended school in the morning, regularly visiting their families at home. It was in this role that Josh saw firsthand truancy, addiction and domestic violence, but also what is possible for communities when like minded individuals engaged in a common goal.

In 1993, he founded the Boys & Girls Club in Chelsea at a time when the city and its schools were in state receivership. Located in the basement of a public housing development, Josh went door-to-door raising money from local businesses to rehabilitate the facility and organize and fund a summer basketball league coached and refereed by local police officers he had personally recruited. Josh would serve as executive director of the Chelsea Boys & Girls Club for the next 15 years, building and managing an extremely loyal staff and deeply engaged local Board, leading major local fundraising campaigns and piloting innovative programming to create a safe haven for thousands of young people in one of Massachusetts’ most underserved communities.

Unanimously selected to serve as the Boys & Girls Club of Boston’s President and CEO in 2008, Josh fostered a community of more than 200 program partners throughout Boston and Chelsea, doubling the club’s budget to $26 million and leading a five-year campaign which raised nearly $132 million. During his tenure, Josh doubled the organization’s membership, deepened its impact and expanded its reach to Boston’s Jamaica Plain, Roslindale, and Mattapan neighborhoods.For more on Josh and the campaign, visit www.joshforboston.com

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Media Contact:
Eileen O’Connor
eileen@joshforboston.com
617-806-6999