(ALBANY) - While dealing with concerns over unemployment, very little movement on approval of public construction projects and fighting for reform of the state's many Industrial Development Agencies (IDAs), New York State Building & Construction Trades President Edward Malloy is looking forward to holding the Trades' statewide convention in Niagara Falls this summer - where he wants those in attendance to spend their money on the American side.

"When you look around the state, there's the hotel and casino that was 'Built Union' in Niagara Falls.  The area has a lot to offer to and I agreed it would be a great place" to hold the State Building Trades' annual and constitutional convention, Malloy told WNYLaborToday.com in a telephone interview from his Albany office.  "There's a lot of excitement and we're looking forward to it.  We'll be bringing a lot of people with us up there and we're telling them if they're going to spend their money, do it in New York State (and not Canada).  We usually spend around a half-million dollars during our convention."

The New York State Building Trades last held its convention in Western New York back in 1992 in Buffalo.  It's anticipated more than 300 individuals, with the majority being Union Representatives, will attend the convention to be held at the Niagara Falls Conference Center - located adjacent to the Crowne Plaza Hotel and across the street from the Seneca Niagara Casino - from June 6th through the 9th. 

In a bit of a Western New York homecoming, its anticipated Malloy will be re-elected as president of the statewide Building Trades organization - whose statewide Union membership totals around 200,000.  It was back in '92 at the Buffalo-held constitutional convention that Malloy was first elected president of the New York State Building Trades.

"I'm coming back for the grand finale," Molloy joked.

During his interview with WNYLaborToday.com, Molloy said the State Building Trades are 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've 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 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," he said.

On another note, Molloy remains 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.