{"id":41576,"date":"2026-06-22T13:24:42","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T17:24:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/?p=41576"},"modified":"2026-06-22T13:24:42","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T17:24:42","slug":"wellness-center-gives-ua-local-7-new-edge-in-recruiting-skilled-workers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/06\/wellness-center-gives-ua-local-7-new-edge-in-recruiting-skilled-workers\/","title":{"rendered":"Wellness Center Gives UA Local 7 New Edge In Recruiting Skilled Workers"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
UA Local 7 President Ed Nadeau stands inside the union\u2019s new Health and Wellness Center in Latham, where Marathon Health provides no-cost primary care for members, retirees and their families.
Courtesy UA Local 7<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Paul Post<\/p>\n

When a key player is sidelined by injury, the whole team suffers.<\/p>\n

Just ask the Yankees, who have been without superstars Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Max Fried for extended periods this year.<\/p>\n

The same holds true in business, which explains why United Associated Local 7 recently opened a new Health and Wellness Center for its 1,400 active and retired members and their families.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we can get everybody in the habit of getting a yearly physical we can catch stuff early and at the end of the day, save money,\u201d said Ed Nadeau, union president and business manager.<\/p>\n

For example, prediabetes might be stopped from becoming full-blown diabetes, or someone at risk of a heart attack or stroke could turn things around with a healthier diet and exercise.<\/p>\n

A survey of 180 union apprentices found that very few had a primary care doctor.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat kind of lit the fire, that we need to have our own place,\u201d Nadeau said. \u201cIt\u2019s tough to get a primary care doctor in today\u2019s world. They tell you quite often that they aren\u2019t taking new patients.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span>The union had $16 million in insurance claims last year alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have members who think the emergency room is our primary care doctor,\u201d Nadeau said. \u201cWe\u2019re paying way more in pricing because they\u2019re going to the emergency room for non-emergency room visits. If we can get those people to go the Health Center, we should be able to save a few hundred thousand dollars right there.\u201d<\/p>\n

UA 7 represents skilled plumbers, steamfitters, pipefitters and sprinkler fitters. It has jurisdiction over work sites, training and apprenticeship programs in 10 counties: Albany, Columbia, Fulton, Greene, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Schenectady, Schoharie and parts of Hamilton and Saratoga counties.<\/p>\n

Nadeau wants to build a coalition of other Capital Region trades unions, such as electricians, bricklayers and sheet metal workers, and open more medical centers modeled after UA Local 7\u2019s.<\/p>\n

It began welcoming patients in February and is located at Capital Region Health Park, 6 Wellness Way in Latham.<\/p>\n

The center is staffed by a nurse practitioner and medical assistant, providing no-cost primary care. They are employed by Marathon Health, which operates 700 health centers across the U.S., with corporate offices in Indianapolis and Burlington, Vermont.<\/p>\n

The 2,500-square-foot facility has four exam rooms and a blood-testing lab.<\/p>\n

Nadeau said plans are in the works to have a full-time dentist as well.<\/p>\n

The Health and Wellness Center is open to the union\u2019s signatory contractors, too. \u201cWe\u2019re encouraging them to use it,\u201d Nadeau said. \u201cTheir office personnel from project managers to people doing payroll are just as important to the industry as we are. We\u2019re trying to make everybody better.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to its health and cost-saving benefits, the medical center is expected to be a valuable tool for recruiting new union workers.<\/p>\n

UA 7\u2019s membership roll has increased about 33%, from 650 to 1,000 active workers, in the past 20 years. Nadeau said the union has been successful at recruiting young people with a variety of tactics.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been to every high school career fair, we have a great relationship with all the BOCES programs in our jurisdiction and we partner with Hudson Valley Community College,\u201d he said. \u201cWe also do radio ads for Yankee games (104.5-FM), television commercials and online.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe aren\u2019t struggling to recruit young people,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat we need is journeymen plumbers and pipefitters that have experience. We introduce ourselves whenever we see somebody working in the industry who\u2019s not in Local 7.\u201d<\/p>\n

Young people starting out in the union\u2019s five-year apprenticeship program earn $50,000 to $60,000 per year, in addition to $20,000 in benefits. After completing the program, they can expect to make more than $100,000 per year, Nadeau said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great industry, a great career,\u201d he said. \u201cI also think building trades are going to be one of the last trades that offers a pension plan. Health insurance and all our benefits are second to none.\u201d<\/p>\n

Work opportunities are almost endless as UA 7 is involved with major jobs throughout the Capital Region, such as the $1.7 billion Wadsworth Center and DOT Testing Lab at the State Office Building Campus in Albany; a $675 million NanoFab Reflection semiconductor research and development facility at the Albany NanoTech Complex; and Regeneron projects in Saratoga Springs, Rensselaer and the Port of Albany.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a lot of small projects now, too, that used to be non-union and are now union,\u201d Nadeau said. \u201cLocal 7 has over 200 HVAC service techs doing mostly commercial service work. The opportunities are amazing here. There\u2019s never been a better time to be in Local 7 than right now.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Paul Post When a key player is sidelined by injury, the whole team suffers. Just ask the Yankees, who have been without superstars Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Max Fried for extended periods this year. The same holds true in business, which explains why United Associated Local 7 recently opened a new Health and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":41578,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-building-trades"],"yoast_head":"\r\nWellness Center Gives UA Local 7 New Edge In Recruiting Skilled Workers - Saratoga Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2026\/06\/wellness-center-gives-ua-local-7-new-edge-in-recruiting-skilled-workers\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wellness Center Gives UA Local 7 New Edge In Recruiting Skilled Workers - Saratoga Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Paul Post When a key player is sidelined by injury, the whole team suffers. 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