Wynn Boston Harbor officials announced this week that they would officially be lifting the hiring freeze that was put in place very ceremoniously last February, kicking off the announcement with a series of building trades career fairs this month.
The first of the fairs will begin this coming Saturday, Sept. 10, in Malden and Cambridge. The South End and Roxbury fair will be held on Weds., Sept. 14, at 6 p.m. in the Reggie Lewis Center.
The news of lifting the freeze hasn’t been as splashy as the announcement of the freeze, but it has meant a great deal to the project.
“Wynn Boston Harbor will be a vibrant part of our local communities, so it’s only appropriate that it be built by residents who live in these communities,” said Bob DeSalvio, president of Wynn Boston Harbor. “With 10 million labor hours needed to build the resort, there are a variety of union construction jobs to fit all levels of experience and skillsets. We particularly encourage local women, veteran and minority job-seekers to attend as subcontractors staff up to fill our project’s 4,000 construction positions.”
Other pre-construction fairs have been held in the past, but this is the first time, Wynn officials said, that fairs have been held with Suffolk Construction and the Building Trades Council on site. There will also be business agents, union leaders, and trades such as plumbing and pipefitters and electrical – to name a few.
Already, there are several hundred workers on the site, but there will likely be an additional 200 by the end of the year.
Wynn officials said that many contractors bring their own workforces, and some 4,000 construction positions are already filled, but certainly there is a great need for more interested people to get into to the pipeline so that they can fill the labor needs on such a large project that is to last until 2019.
Most companies that bring a workforce with them to the job will likely be very interested in adding to that workforce.
Those who are already in a union and want to work on the Wynn job are also invited to come to the fairs as it will be the best place to talk to those farming out the work.
The fairs will be on the following dates and times:
- Sat., Sept. 10, 9-11 a.m., Malden High School
- Sat., Sept. 10, 2-4 p.m., 90th Annual Italian Festival in Cambridge
- Tues., Sept. 13, 6-8 p.m., Medford High School
- Weds., Sept. 14, 6-8 p.m., Reggie Lewis Center (Roxbury/South End)
- Sat., Sept. 17, 9-11 a.m., Chelsea High School
- Sat. Sept. 17, 2-4 p.m. Everett Village Fest, 10 Santilli Highway
- Weds., Sept. 21, 6-8 p.m., Bunker Hill Knights of Columbus (Charlestown).