Labor Leaders Discuss Opportunities for Youth

May 20, 2026

Mercy Home recently hosted approximately 25 leaders from several Chicago area labor and construction unions to strengthen our partnerships with Labor and provide meaningful workforce development opportunities for our young people.

Mercy Home Presidet Fr. Scott Donahue called the size and scope of the gathering “historic” in its potential to result in a sustained collaboration that will put young people on supportive and successful paths. He called the meeting “a significant opportunity to build a stronger, more intentional partnership between Mercy Home and organized labor, rooted in our shared values of dignity, opportunity, and pathways to stable, meaningful careers.”

Indeed, the sheer number of union representatives who came to the Home to learn more about our work and how they might play a greater role was unprecedented. The meeting brought together leaders from the Chicago Federation of Labor, Laborers District Council, The Chicago & Cook County Building and Trades Council, Plumbers Local 130, IBEW Local 134, Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council, Construction Industry Service Corporation, and Cement Masons Local 502.

Bob Reiter and Don Villar from the Chicago Federation of Labor welcomed fellow leaders, setting the agenda by noting organized labor’s role in creating opportunity and building strong communities in Chicago, and how Mercy Home shares those goals.

Fr. Scott, along with Mercy Home COO Joe Wronka and Vice President of Education and Career Resources Liz Tomka, LCSW, gave guests an overview of the Home and discussed our tradition of preparing the young people in our care to become fully independent and self-sustaining long term.

“Mercy Home’s mission extends beyond meeting the immediate needs of the young people in our care,” Fr. Scott said. “Our goal is to ensure that every young person leaves us with a clear and achievable path forward, whether through higher education, vocational training, or direct entry into the workforce.”

He then invited a conversation about the ways that union leadership in the room may provide opportunities that can help our young people build stable careers while contributing to the skilled workforce Chicago needs to grow and thrive long term.

Laborers Business Manager James P. Connolly likened the partnership to “the tumbler that unlocks the door.”

The enhanced collaboration that promises to result from the meeting, Fr. Scott said, will produce “good fruit going forward.” He said, “A collaboration between the unions our guests represent would build pathways that lead to real skills, real jobs, and real futures for the young people who depend on us.”

Fr. Scott thanked board members who attended, including Board of Regents member Mary Dempsey and Leader Council Chairperson Bridget Gibbons, whose advocacy for the Home resulted in the overwhelming turnout and positive reception. He also thanked Rev. Clete Kiley who encouraged leaders to participate. Kiley serves as chaplain and special advisor to the Chicago Federation of Labor.

After the meeting, guests enjoyed a tour of our Daley Home, which closed during the pandemic and will reopen soon to care for 18-21-year-old young men with a key focus on helping them attain and retain employment.  Last fall’s Lux Gala helped raise funds to support the reopening and the resulting extension of Mercy Home’s full-time care to more young people.

While the focus of the day was on enhancing and expanding a partnership with labor and employment opportunities for our young people, the Home has enjoyed productive partnerships with representatives of union labor for many years. Numerous unions have opened the doors to their training sites or headquarters to give our young people a glimpse of what a career might look like in their respective trades. Many have also provided sponsorship support for fundraising events over the years, including Ringside for Mercy’s Sake, March for Kids, the Lux Gala, and the Graduates’ Luncheon. 

For its part, the Home has championed rights and dignity of working people. In 2023, for example, Mercy Home hosted a conversation about the challenges facing Chicago’s hospitality industry and to develop a shared vision for the future. That meeting was part of a multi-year initiative that was inspired by Pope Francis and was cochaired by Rev. Kiley.

Fr. Scott, who served as director of vocations for the Chicago Archdiocese for 10 years, also received a 2021 award at Mundelein Seminary’s annual Rerum Novarum awards, which recognize leaders in labor,  business, government and public service who embody the ideals of the Church’s 19th century encyclical on the rights and duties of capital and labor. And he received recognition from the Irish American Labor Council, which provides annual support for our mission as part of its work on behalf of community organizations in Chicago.