Dear President Obama

Dear President Obama:

With your recent State of the Union address you laid out a plan for prosperity...a vision for growth...an ambition for an #economy that is #inclusive and built to last. The Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters supports this blueprint of achievement and excellence, and of #innovation and revitalization. While the Obama administration is setting its sights on an “America that is Built to Last,” the Chicago Regional Council and its labor management

committee are doing their part to reinforce your vision through Built to Last® – The Green Home. We welcome the opportunity to have you leverage what we are doing to promote #energyefficiency, green construction, #environmentalsustainability and advanced training in energy rating and insulation techniques.

During this campaign season we enthusiastically invite you to visit the site of our Green Home, which we’re building to #LEED specifications, and one of our Carpenter Apprentice & Training Centers. Our Certified Energy Analysts (CEAs), journeymen and apprentice carpenters will be working closely with the city of Chicago, Mayor #RahmEmanuel and the Chicago Workforce Investment Council on the emerging market of energy efficiency and sustainable construction and retrofit. These priorities underscore your blueprint commitment while directly reducing energy waste and cleaning our environment. In addition, we foresee this collaboration culminating in not just job opportunities but careers for Chicago’s inner-city citizens.

Built to Last® – The Green Home is tentatively scheduled for its national #PBS television premiere in late 2012. You can follow along as we build the home by visiting the show’s website at www.BuiltToLastTV.com. More broadly, you can follow the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters at www.CarpentersUnion.org to learn more about how we are Uniting Craftsmanship with Technology for a Sustainable Future.

To symbolize our commitment to the #Obama administration and its Built to Last #economic blueprint, please accept this Built to Last® hat. The economic turmoil our commercial construction and residential home building markets have endured these past few years is well-documented, yet your inspiration and ambition instill #fortitude and resiliency in our members to stay trained and prepared for a better day. Your staff is invited to contact my office at 312-XXX-XXXX so we can arrange for you a tour of one of our training centers and a visit to our Green Home construction site.

We hope you include the Carpenters on the 2012 campaign trail!

Sincerely yours,

(Written by Don Scott while employed as Carpenters' Communications Director)