News

Nicole Grodner, Local 290 business representative was chosen as an honoree for the 2024 Diversity in Business Awards by the Long Island Business News.

The Diversity in Business Awards highlight the outstanding achievements of professionals who actively support the growth of diversity and equality in the community.

Grodner began her career as an apprentice with the Carpenters Union in 2007. Upon graduating from the apprenticeship in 2011, she served as a shop steward and mentor before being hired on as staff in 2016.

Today, she is the New York State Chairwoman for the Sisters in the Brotherhood, a member of the Oyster Bay-North Hempstead-Glen Cove Workforce Development Board, a delegate for the Building and Construction Trades Council of Nassau and Suffolk Counties, recording secretary for Local 290 and a trustee on the North Atlantic States Carpenters Training Fund.

As part of her role as New York State Chairwoman for the Sisters in the Brotherhood, Grodner facilitates a training program designed to recruit women with little to no experience in carpentry and provides them the skills, knowledge and confidence to start a career with the Carpenters Union. This aligns with the council’s goal of creating a more diverse workforce within The North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters.

“We believe our membership should reflect our communities. One way to achieve this goal is to actively seek women for our Sisters in the Brotherhood Pre-Apprentice Program,” Grodner says.

For the past several years, she has educated diverse communities throughout New York regarding a career in carpentry, with a goal of recruiting more women into the Carpenters Union through the Sisters in the Brotherhood Pre-Apprenticeship Program.

The program, an introduction into carpentry, provides women of all backgrounds with little to no experience the opportunity to succeed as a union carpenter.

She notes the program has been instrumental in recruiting more than 150 women, stating: “As a union carpenter, you are provided great wages and benefits, and when we have more women coming into the organization, it provides them with a sustainable career and is great for the community as a whole. On a larger level, more education and awareness for the program means more female recruitment, and more diversity in a traditionally male-dominated industry.”

In her spare time, Grodner enjoys giving back to her community, and encourages others in her field to do the same; each year she coordinates with the Wreaths Across America event to organize Local 290 members to volunteer their time to remember the fallen, honor those who serve and teach the next generation the value of freedom. She has helped to organize local food drives and fundraisers for the Long Island Cares Harry Chapin Regional Food Bank, as well as organizing members to volunteer time assisting Island Harvest with community food distribution events. She also lent her skills and time to replace roofs on a house and a church in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria devastated the area.

She considers herself fortunate to be given a platform, which allows her to educate and inspire diverse members of the community towards a career in the Carpenters Union.

Congratulations on your worthy recognition and for your invaluable contribution to the union and the industry, Nicole!