A national agreement designed to transition U.S. union construction workers into the offshore wind industry was announced Wednesday. North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) announced the landmark initiative in collaboration with Ørsted, a global leader in offshore wind development. "The partnership will create a national agreement for Orsted’s current portfolio of work including Maryland and Virginia," said Stephen W. Courtien, president of the Baltimore/DC Building Trades. "This is a very large step in the right direction for us," Courtien added, noting that it has been years in the works with many allies "supporting and working to make this happen from sending members to testify at hearings, attending rallies, speaking to stake holders about the benefits of the Building Trades and by showing that our apprenticeships are nimble and finally showing that we have the best workforce development and recruitment in the State of Maryland." NABTU president Sean McGarvey added that "Our highly trained men and women professionals have the best craft skills in the world, and now will gain new experience in deep-water ocean work."