Malik Johnson decided to pursue a construction path after learning about a program in high school. He started his career as a concrete laborer and switched to pipe fitting after a pandemic layoff.

The nation’s pipe fitting and plumbing union is throwing its weight behind presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in the race for the White House, despite the former vice president’s ...

BLOOMINGTON — If you’re driving down the road and see a large building going up, laborers from Plumbers and Pipe Fitters Local 99 have their hands in it. That is, of course, along with carpenters, ...

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Malik Johnson, a 29-year-old union pipe fitter in St. Louis. It has been edited for length and clarity. When my parents bought me toys as a child, ...