Roofers local’s new secretary-treasurer breaks ground as first woman elected to office

July 21, 2021 by

July has been a winning month for Samantha Schanus.

The journey-level roofer from Mora was among four Tradeswomen Heroes award winners named this month by North America’s Building Trades Unions. The monthly award highlights outstanding achievement within the ranks of the Building Trades’ affiliate unions.

And just days after receiving the honor, Schanus was sworn in as the new secretary-treasurer of Roofers Local 96, becoming the first woman to serve as an officer of the local union since its founding in 1929.

“It definitely shows we are a diverse local, and everyone’s equal,” Schanus said, pausing for an interview during her lunch break on a job at Fairmont Elementary School last month. “Anybody can hold a position, as long as they can do the job. To me, it’s a special position to be in, to have that title.”

Schanus, 30, reflected on her accomplishments since joining the Roofers union five years ago – and some of the challenges she faced along the way – in this interview, which has been lightly edited for space and content.

UA: Congratulations on the award. How did you find out you’d won?

SS: Local 96 nominated me, and they only told me after the nomination had already been sent in. Honestly, it was a privilege to be nominated, and it was even more exciting I was chosen. I never really thought that all the things I was trying to do were all that recognizable, and it was nice to know people saw the effort I put in.

UA: How did you decide to join Local 96 and pursue a roofing career?

SS: I tried out all different kinds of trades through a pre-apprenticeship program. I initially wanted to be a Laborer, but at the time they didn’t need me. So I called the Roofers.

I liked the brotherhood, and I especially liked the work. It was awesome to be physical and active and hands on.

UA: What was the reaction of family and friends to your decision?

SS: My dad wasn’t very happy. He’s a 49er (operating engineer) and wanted me to do something less invasive on my body like he does. And I think he wanted me to be a part of his working life, too. But after he could tell I enjoyed the work, he was happy for me. He was proud. Nobody ever discouraged me from working construction.

UA: How many other women typically are on the job site with you?

SS: I’m pretty much always the only one, and it’s been that way for the last two or three years. I’ve only worked with one woman before. There are days when it would be nice to have someone I could relate to other than the guys, but for the most part they’ve been very kind. I’ve had a couple incidents, but I’ve made some good friendships, good relationships too.

UA: Looking back, is there a moment when you knew you’d made it as a roofer?

SS: After my first job at a school in Eden Prairie. It took us three months to finish it and was definitely one of the worst jobs I’ve been on. It had all different kinds of personalities, I guess you’d say. I had days when I didn’t know whether to cry or quit. When I made it through that all on my own, that’s when I knew I would be making a career out of this.

UA: What do you like about working union?

SS: I like the teamwork. I like the physical, hands-on work of constructing something.

With the brotherhood, I like just knowing somebody has your back. Unions make a big difference that a lot of people don’t realize. Union wages set everyone else’s wages. Union benefits create a competitive market, so the employers who aren’t union have to do better.

It’s nice to be behind the scenes in making things better for people who aren’t in the union – and for the current brothers and sisters I have.

UA: Is that why you wanted to run for office?

SS: I always wanted to be more involved. I asked somebody to nominate me, and, low and behold, I got the position. I couldn’t have done it without all the people on the crew that helped me out, that were on my side.

UA: What would you tell other women considering a career path like yours?

SS: Don’t get discouraged until you make it to the end of your worst day. Then you can make a decision if you want to stick it out or not. It’s hard in construction. You’re going to get a lot of negativity and a lot of BS, but it can also be rewarding, too.

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Outnumbered on the job site, tradeswomen find camaraderie, support via new ‘Lean In Circles’

June 18, 2021 by

Minnesotans from the United Association participating in the 2019 Tradeswomen Build Nations conference gathered on the steps of Ascension House in Minneapolis for a photo after volunteering inside.

Building Trades unions in the U.S. and Canada have launched a peer mentorship and training program to help tradeswomen thrive in an industry historically dominated by men.

Lean In Circles for Union Tradeswomen, a partnership between unions and LeanIn.Org, brings tradeswomen together in small groups – virtual gatherings during the pandemic – to connect, share advice and learn new skills.

Lakeville resident Jean-Marie Baudhuin, a member of Twin Cities-based Laborers Local 563, serves as co-chair of a circle that brings together 13 “fabulous” tradeswomen from several states. She said she looks forward to the meeting each month.

“We’re open, confidential and respectful of each other,” Baudhuin said. “We can share things that have happened to us on the job site. We bounce off each other different things that are going on and how we can support each other.

“I think that’s extremely beneficial for women.”

Jobs in the unionized construction trades guarantee fair pay and are in high demand. They offer an earn-as-you-learn training model and family-supporting benefits.

Still, less than 4% of construction workers are women.

In recent years, Building Trades unions have expanded efforts to recruit women into their apprenticeship training programs – and to support women throughout their construction careers. The idea for a mentorship and peer-support program grew out of feedback from participants at the union-sponsored Tradeswomen Build Nations Conference in Minneapolis two years ago.

Today, some 700 tradeswomen participate in 76 Lean In Circles across the U.S. and Canada, and organizers are hoping more women will join as awareness spreads. Tradeswomen can find circles that work for them at leanin.org/tradeswomen.

“Increasing opportunities for women in our unions is incredibly important, and we want to provide them with all the tools needed to be successful,” Brent Booker, secretary-treasurer of North America’s Building Trades Unions, said. “This includes being an ally and supporting women at all levels of the construction industry.”

Peer-support “circles” connect thousands of women across the world who work in a wide range of industries, according to LeanIn.Org, a nonprofit backed by Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg, author of a 2013 book with the same name. The model offers women a space to share career-related challenges, give and get advice, and find support.

Jean-Marie Baudhuin is a member of Laborers Local 563 who participates in Lean In Circles for Tradeswomen.

“Unions are all about collective voice, and this innovative program offers the perfect opportunity to enhance that solidarity,” AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler said. “Connecting with other women in similar situations and sharing strategies through networks is invaluable.”

Baudhuin describes her circle as both supportive and informative.

Each monthly meeting covers a specific topic. Sometimes, the conversation focuses on practical matters, like where to find work clothes and boots that fit women comfortably.

Other times, the conversation is more reflective, with tradeswomen discussing challenges they face working in a male-dominated industry and how gender bias can play out on a job site. Participants share practical advice for coping, responding and advocating for themselves.

“Often you’re the only woman on a crew,” Baudhuin said. “And the experience really depends on that crew, whether they’ve worked with women before, whether they know you belong or whether they look at you like you’re taking some guy’s job.

“All of us, without exclusion, have had incidents where we have been sexually harassed or dealt with inappropriate behavior or just felt isolated because we are women.”

By providing greater opportunities to share advice and support, organizers hope more women who try out a career in the trades stick with it. LeanIn.Org reports that 90% of tradeswomen participating in a circle say they are building strong connections and bonds, while also gaining leadership, moderating and organizing skills.

Baudhuin counts herself among them.

“We’re all trying to prove ourselves, and sometimes we question ourselves and whether we belong,” she said. “In sharing, we realize this isn’t a personal thing, but a systemic thing that’s working itself out over time.”

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St. Paul Park refinery picks fight with Building Trades unions, too

March 25, 2021 by

Pipefitters Local 455’s (L to R) Troy Heidrich, Dan Clark and Jacob Bear demonstrate outside the Marathon refinery in St. Paul Park.

Teamsters aren’t the only union members Marathon is looking to replace with nonunion, out-of-state workers at the St. Paul Park refinery.

They aren’t the only ones fighting back, either.

Earlier this month, several Building and Construction Trades unions began setting up banners around the refinery, publicly shaming Marathon for turning its back on Minnesota contractors and tradespeople – and for putting the safety of St. Paul Park and surrounding communities at risk.

Although some of the banners are within shouting distance of locked-out Teamsters’ picket lines, the two disputes are not connected. Both reflect a troubling disregard for community safety on Marathon’s part, however.

“Marathon has been going down this pathway for a long time,” Don Mullin, executive secretary of the St. Paul Building and Construction Trades Council, said. “They’ve been taking on efforts to be anti-organized labor because that’s the way they do it in other states.”

Laborers Local 563’s Sarah Monkey, Stephen Cruz and Jade Monkey, Sarah’s daughter
Ironworkers Local 512’s Ted DeSantell (L) and Nate O’Reilly
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 110’s Matt Walker, Dick Schmitt and Nick Rosenberg;

The dispute heated up this year after Marathon informed a union contractor there was no work forthcoming at the refinery, despite a scheduled maintenance turnaround beginning in late April. Turnarounds involve dangerous work, Mullin said, and can mean hundreds, even thousands, of jobs for tradespeople at a refinery like the one in St. Paul Park.

But rather than trust that work to highly skilled tradespeople who live and work in the area, Marathon is cutting costs by bringing in workers from across the country.

Not only does that undermine Minnesota’s labor standards, Building Trades unions say, it calls into question the safety of work being done at the refinery, located near homes and businesses in St. Paul Park and Newport.

Mullin accused Marathon of scraping the “bottom of the barrel” for tradespeople, bringing them in from Texas, Louisiana, Kentucky and elsewhere. He said unions are taking a stand because Minnesota deserves better, and he encouraged members of the public to do the same.

“It’s disgusting what Marathon is doing,” Mullin said. “We need to write Marathon or call them and tell them this is the wrong way to handle their business. They need to be a good community partner. Right now they’re not.”

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49ers’ courses offer high schoolers ‘3-for-1’ credit opportunity

March 2, 2021 by

Local 49’s first-year apprentices earn anywhere from $24 to $34 per hour plus benefits, and receive their education at the union’s sprawling Hinckley training site, pictured above, at no charge.

Operating Engineers Local 49 is hoping a new partnership with Minnesota Virtual Academy will draw more high-school graduates into the union’s registered apprenticeship program – and help meet future demand for skilled, trained workers in the heavy-equipment industry.

At the start of this school year, instructors from Local 49 began teaching for-credit courses open to high-school students statewide through the online, public school’s Destinations Career Academy.

Fifty-three students signed up in the first semester, and interest in the program has only grown since then. This semester 117 students from 66 school districts in 39 counties are enrolled, with notably high participation among girls.

“I think there really is an appetite not only from students but from parents and schools to really provide a relevant, meaningful career opportunity,” said Jenny Winkelaar, Local 49’s director of workforce and development. “Most schools who learn about it are promoting it because they don’t have the resources to operate this kind of pathway on their own.”

Like other career-pathway programs in the construction trades, Local 49’s courses introduce students to work in the industry, with a focus on concepts and skills that will prepare them for success as an apprentice heavy-equipment operator.

Offerings include construction exploration, basic grade and construction math, and construction-equipment maintenance and fundamentals. A prep course for getting a commercial driver’s license is in the works for next fall.

Triple the credit

But what makes Local 49’s partnership with Minnesota Virtual Academy unique among pre-apprenticeship programs is the potential to earn credit not just toward high school graduation, but also toward a post-secondary degree and journey-level certification. Minnesota Virtual School’s Leslie Lewandowski called it a “three-for-one” deal.

“They get high school elective credit, college credit and also credit toward their registered apprenticeship program if they sign on with a signatory contractor,” she said.

That’s a draw for students like Cole Snidarich, who was among the high schoolers enrolled in first-semester courses.

“The courses were a great opportunity for me to learn if I would be interested in a career in the construction field,” he said. “I would definitely recommend these courses for other high school kids considering working in the construction industry.”

Enrollment is open to students from any school district in the state. They can participate from anywhere they find an internet connection, at any time and at no cost to the student.

Rich Krohn, an instructor for the program, said he has enjoyed introducing students to careers operating the heavy equipment that builds communities.

“Fourteen weeks into the class and I still get comments from my students saying what a great experience it has been,” Krohn said. “I encourage all high-school students to sign up for the class and see what a career as an operating engineer has to offer.”

Virtual, with a hands-on twist

In addition to online classes, students participating in Local 49’s course will have opportunities to try out the union’s heavy equipment simulators, putting the concepts they learn in the classroom to the test. Winkelaar said COVID-19 has put in-person events on hold for now, but the union and its industry partners are working on plans to stage hands-on learning events across the state.

That level of investment shows just how serious Local 49 and its signatory contractors are about recruiting the next generation of heavy-equipment operators. For the Minnesota Virtual Academy, the program is an opportunity to showcase a career with good wages and benefits that many students might not otherwise consider.

Local 49’s first-year apprentices earn anywhere from $24 to $34 per hour plus benefits, and they receive their training at the union’s sprawling Hinckley facility at no charge.

“As we’re looking at pathways we want to offer students, we want them to be in high-demand jobs, so we’re spending our resources on career paths that warrant the investment,” Lewandowski said. “There’s need in this industry.”

“Historically, we have known that unless you knew somebody in the industry or came from a rural area, you might not have a lot knowledge about what opportunities look like in the heavy-equipment operating industry,” Winkelaar added.

Making an informed choice is an important first step, said Tom McCrossan, a contractor who sits on the Local 49 apprenticeship board.

“It is critical that students in high school learn about our industry early to see that this industry has many career pathways to different areas in the construction field,” he said. “Taking these courses gives students a great foundation for being a heavy equipment operator as well as other facets of our industry.”

Learn more

• Visit local49.org/operating-engineers-career-pathway-program.

• School districts interested in arranging a virtual meeting with Lewandowski and Winkelaar to discuss the program should email llewandowski [at] mnva [dot] org or jwinkelaar [at] local49 [dot] org.

Filed Under: Politics, Union Events Tagged With: , , , , ,

March events: Expo to connect women with pathways into trades

March 1, 2021 by

Photo by Bre Ana Henry, an apprentice with Ironworkers Local 512.

Women in Construction Week runs from March 7 to 13, and local tradeswomen, in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI), will celebrate with a virtual event showcasing career opportunities available in the unionized trades.

The Women Building Success Info Expo is open to women statewide who are interested in learning more about construction careers. The free event will run from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. March 11, and participants can join by phone, mobile device or a computer with internet access.

The expo will begin with a panel discussion featuring representatives from the DLI, Apprenticeship Minnesota, Building Strong Communities and Women Building Success. Local tradeswomen will share their firsthand experiences with the earn-as-you-learn apprenticeship model and working in the construction industry.

After the panel, guests will connect individually with registered apprenticeship programs and event sponsors using interactive chat or video technology. They can even apply for an apprenticeship on the spot.

Registration is required. Find a link at metroregioninteractive.easyvirtualfair.com.

Labor Education Service rolls out spring courses

Enrollment is open for spring courses offered by the University of Minnesota’s Labor Education Service.

Offerings include “Basic Steward Training” and “Bargaining from Margin to Center,” as well as an abolitionist study group.

Registration is required. Click here to learn more.

History comes alive at the Freedom Library

The nonprofit, independent East Side Freedom Library in St. Paul is a hub of labor-history programming. To receive event notifications in your inbox, sign up for the newsletter.

Of note this month is a March 6 virtual discussion of Donna Haverty-Stacke’s book “The Fierce Life of Grace Holmes Carlson: Catholic, Socialist, Feminist.” It’s part of the ESFL’s History Revealed series, a partnership with the Ramsey County Historical Society.

Additionally, the ESFL is connecting students working on National History Day projects with mentors. To line up a Zoom session, email info [at] eastsidefreedomlibrary [dot] org.

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Workers Memorial Day: Walz issues proclamation, unions plan remote observance

April 28, 2020 by

St. Paul and Minneapolis Building Trades unions’ Workers Memorial Day observances on the State Capitol grounds, have been canceled this year due to COVID-19. (file photo)

Today is Workers Memorial Day, when unions of the AFL-CIO pause to remember workers who died as a result of workplace injury or illness, and renew the labor movement’s commitment to fighting for safe workplaces.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has forced unions to cancel their in-person observances, the crisis has given new urgency to the cause of worker safety.

Essential workers in Minnesota and across the country – many of them union members – are working every day to provide health care, emergency services and long-term care; keep our food chain intact; deliver the mail and other goods; care for and teach our children; build and maintain our critical infrastructure and more. And too often, they’ve been asked to do it without the personal protective equipment they need.

In a Workers Memorial Day proclamation issued today, Gov. Tim Walz recognized the importance of keeping Minnesota’s essential workers safe, and joined with unions in honoring their fallen members.

The Minnesota AFL-CIO, meanwhile, planned to livestream a remote Workers Memorial Day ceremony today at 6 p.m from its Facebook account.

St. Paul and Minneapolis Building Trades councils would have held their annual Workers Memorial Day event in the Workers Memorial Garden on the State Capitol grounds last Friday.

The following is a list of names that would have been read at that solemn ceremony – names of union tradespeople who died in the previous year as a result of work-related injuries or illnesses.

  • Cory Buerke, Cottage Grove, age 38, member of Bricklayers Local 1, construction accident.
  • Justin Duerr, Des Moines, Iowa, age 23, member of Laborers Local 563, auto accident
  • Tor Heglund, Waconia, age 43, member of Painters Local 386, auto accident on way to work.
  • Eric Koepp, Litchfield, age 48, member of Operating Engineers Local 49, construction accident.
  • Dennis “Denny” Moore, Clear Lake, age 82, retired Plumbers Local 15 business agent, Mesothelioma.
  • Mark Olson, Browerville, age 44, member of Operating Engineers Local 49, construction accident.
  • Zachary Pumper, Savage, age 34, member of Laborers Local 563, construction accident.

Their names would have been etched into white crosses, and representatives of their respective unions would have draped a black scarf over each cross as the deceased member’s name was called out, followed by the tolling of a bell.

The Dakota County Labor Assembly also canceled its ceremony, held each year at the Monument to Fallen workers in Lebanon Hills Cemetery in Apple Valley.

Filed Under: Community, Politics Tagged With: , , , , , ,

In victory for unions, Trump administration leaves construction out of new apprenticeship rule

March 30, 2020 by

Matthew Price (R), an apprenticeship instructor with the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters, led a crew of union apprentices in a community services project at the St. Paul Municipal Airport. (file photo)

Loud and clear, union tradespeople and their supporters delivered a message to the Trump administration last year: Don’t lower the bar when it comes to training, safety and labor standards in the construction industry.  

The administration listened. 

The U.S. Department of Labor last month issued its framework for expansion of a new apprenticeship model – Industry Recognized Apprenticeship Programs (IRAPs) – in several sectors of the economy. Following the recommendation of North America’s Building Trades Unions, the new rule does not expand the model to construction. 

As the administration weighed new apprenticeship rules last year, Building Trades unions mobilized a historic public response. Some 325,000 people submitted public comments opposing expansion of IRAPs in construction – more public comments than the DOL has ever received about a rule, according to NABTU. 

“We are pleased that their voices were heard and that the final rule recognizes the protections for, and success of, registered apprenticeship in the construction industry,” NABTU President Sean McGarvey said.  

“We thank those in the administration who supported the construction industry’s high-road training standards that empower workers to reach and remain in the middle class. We appreciate the time spent by all – especially our rank and file members – who petitioned their government during the public comment period.” 

Allowing IRAPs in the construction industry, unions argued, would have created a shortcut around the rigorous standards of registered apprenticeship, in which programs must register with a governing agency.  

The governing agency regulates how long apprentices must spend learning on the job site and in the classroom, setting standards that ensure apprentices get supervision, mentorship, safety training and, not least of all, fair pay.  

Under the IRAP system, private organizations can write their own standards for apprenticeship. That may fit the needs of other industries, unions say, but it would undermine high standards already in place for apprenticeship programs in construction. 

“Building Trades unions’ apprenticeship programs are the most successful model of skilled job training in the nation, and this ruling recognizes the unique role they play in the economy, preserving high standards for the entire construction industry,” International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers President Lonnie Stephenson said. 

Locally and nationally, construction apprenticeships make up the overwhelming majority of registered programs. Most are sponsored by unions, which, in partnership with their employers, invest $1.6 billion annually of private funds into apprenticeship training. 

Filed Under: Organizing, Politics Tagged With: , , , ,

With N-95 collection drive, nurses gear up for challenge ahead

March 25, 2020 by

MNA members and staff loaded the Teamsters Local 120 semi truck with N-95 masks and other personal protective equipment donated during their collection drive in St. Paul this week. (Facebook photo)

As the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Minnesota grows higher, prompting the state’s health care system to brace for a wave of hospitalizations, registered nurses are holding a collection drive at their union headquarters in St. Paul to stock up on personal protective equipment (PPE) and other supplies.

The public’s support in just the first two days of the drive, Minnesota Nurses Association President Mary Turner said.

“I think we got 30,000 masks on Saturday,” she said. “On Sunday we didn’t get quite as many, but we had a steady stream of cars… No one could go to church, so they came to visit the nurses instead.”

MNA plans to continue its collection drive each day through Sunday, from noon to 2 p.m., at 345 Randolph Ave. The union will work with the Minnesota Center for Emergency Preparedness and Response to distribute supplies where they’re needed throughout the state.

The union is accepting paper lunch bags, Tyvek hazmat suits, safety goggles, latex-free gloves, electric respirators, PAPRs and N-95 masks of both the medical and industrial variety.

MNA’s international union, National Nurses United, recently announced a partnership with North America’s Building Trades Unions, representing over 3 million skilled tradespeople. The organizations will work together to get N-95 respirator masks and other protective equipment to nurses during the pandemic.

That’s already happening locally, Turner said, as several Building Trades unions have made deliveries to MNA headquarters.

“I never knew how many professions used masks,” Turner said. “I kind of knew the nail industry did, but jewelers, artists – wow. Our hallways and conference rooms are filling up, and it’s great to see.”

For Turner, who works on the designated COVID-19 floor at North Memorial Hospital, the scene was an encouraging sign that Minnesotans understand we’re all fighting the pandemic together, even as health care workers ready themselves for work on the front lines at a time when so much – like the availability of testing and protective gear – remains unknown. She discussed the challenges ahead in this interview, edited for length and clarity, for The Union Advocate’s April 2020 issue.

UA: What are nurses seeing in their hospitals now?

MT: You’ve got the moratorium on any kind of elective surgery now, so places like St. Paul and Minneapolis Children’s hospitals are negotiating potential layoffs. Their census is way down, so nurses in some hospitals are not working, which is ironic. You’ve got a hospital like Bethesda in St. Paul, which – remember? – not even two or three weeks ago laid off 75 nurses. And now all of a sudden they’re going to have a COVID-19 floor, and all the nurses have found other positions, so they have to put ads out for traveling nurses. Not a lot of foresight on that situation.

But things are changing day to day, and to give them their due, hospitals are constantly having to adjust things. Floors are changing from step-down to an ICU or other care level, adjusting plans daily. That being said, you’ve got surgical floors and even ICU’s where managers are locking up N-95 masks, and deciding who gets masks and who doesn’t. And you’d better have a darn good reason if you want one.

I heard someone say on the news, though, that they’re encouraging people to make cloth masks for us to wear. This is not the dark ages! A little handkerchief is not going to save us. It’s almost insulting.

(MNA Facebook photo)

UA: It’s a bit alarming, isn’t it, that nurses need to hold their own equipment drive during a pandemic?

MT: People have gotten a little crazy with having stuff that they don’t need.

UA: MNA has tried to get hospitals to meet to discuss issues like this.

MT: And they’re not. It’s so frustrating. We’ve got managers who are locking up the supplies and only handing them out if you’ve got a good reason. They’re supposed to be consolidating and rerouting the supplies to where they’re needed. But here’s the problem: they’re not doing any testing! So nurses in the ICU and on the surgical floors are saying, “We don’t know who is and isn’t COVID-19 positive.” You can understand their angst and anxiety because no one knows who has it.

UA: Locally, MNA has been a leader in efforts to expand people’s access to paid sick time. We’re seeing the importance of that work now, aren’t we?

MT: I am very proud of the fact that as an organization we have been on the front lines of earned safe and sick time and $15 an hour. I’m also very grateful that our hospital, North Memorial, has stopped all visitors. Over the years, hospitals are wanting to be more welcoming and like a five-star hotel. So I’m happy that most hospitals have shut down that extra traffic.

UA: It does seem like some people have been slow to accept what’s required of us to slow the spread of coronavirus, things like social distancing. As a nurse, what do you say to those people?

MT: I was driving up toward MNA today, going by a little park area, and I saw people walking three to five in a group – and that’s not social distancing. And it’s going to force the governor to get more and more stringent. Nurses, on the job, we can’t social distance. We are going to get within inches of our patients. So it’s hard to grapple with the idea for us.

UA: And that’s why we need to get you the highest-quality protective equipment.

MT: Not a bandana, either. I would rather walk in with nothing or with a piece of typing paper across my face, because that is just insulting.

UA: For people reading this who might have to interact with the health care system in the next few weeks, what do nurses want them to know?

MT: If you’ve got symptoms that are light, where you’re not having a hard time breathing, stay home. Weather it out in lockdown. If you have a really high fever and can’t breathe, you need to go to the hospital, and it’s best that you let them know you’re coming. That’s where we can protect our emergency-room workers.

Filed Under: Labor Voices, Union Events Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Trades celebrate Women Build Success awards

February 27, 2020 by

Pictured after the Women Build Success awards ceremony are (L to R) Megan Ringwelski, Nancy Leppink, Peggy Flanagan, Amy Peterson, Clara Schiller, Connie Smallman, Rachel Malmer and Derra Range.

Union tradeswomen celebrated the most badass among them at a spirited awards ceremony in Minneapolis last night.

“Six women, selected from dozens of nominees for apprentice, journey worker and advocate of the year, took home honors at the Women Building Success Awards Ceremony.

Board members for Women Building Success include Jenny Winkelaar, Operating Engineers Local 49; Jennifer Mudge, IBEW Local 292; Carrie Robles, Laborers Local 563; Matt Fairbanks, Sheet Metal Workers Local 10; Tasha Lawrence Plumbers Local 34; Barry Davies, Ironworkers Local 512; Teri Stave, Elevator Constructors Local 9; and Barb Pecks, North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters

Two high-profile guests of honor handed out the awards: Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry Commissioner Nancy Leppink and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who encouraged tradeswomen in the room to continue building each other up, both on the job site and with events like the awards ceremony.

“Empowered women empower women,” Winkelaar said.

Advocate of the Year

Connie Smallman, a member of Operating Engineers Local 49 in her 33rd year working construction, received Advocate of the Year honors. Smallman co-founded Local 49’s women’s group, the first of its kind among Operating Engineers locals. Since then, she has helped other unions across the country launch women’s groups of their own.

“I used to be the only girl on the job site,” Smallman said. “The last job I worked on, I had the pleasure of working with over 50 tradeswomen. How cool is that?”

Honorable mention in the category went to Amy Peterson, a member of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 82. Terry Nelson, the council’s business manager, said Peterson works as an apprenticeship instructor with the Finishing Trades Institute of the Upper Midwest, and has trained hundreds of union apprentices in drywall finishing and thousands in workplace safety.

“She is always there to help other women,” Nelson said. “Amy has worked hard to get where she is, and she is always there for other women to help them make their way in the trade.”

Journey Worker of the Year

St. Paul Steamfitters-Pipefitters Local 455’s Clara Schiller took home Journey Worker of the Year honors. Jim Sloan, a business representative with the local, said Schiller “consistently proves to be one of our local’s most vocal and dedicated members.”

Schiller puts in extra time both with the local, as an apprenticeship instructor, and in the community, exposing underrepresented communities to opportunities in the union trades. “She embodies what it means to be a union tradeswoman,” Sloan said.

Schiller offered words of encouragement to union tradeswomen in the banquet room. “Remember your heart out there on the job,” she said. “Remember who you are.”

Honorable mention in the category went to Derra Range of LIUNA Laborers Local 563. Sixteen years after leaving her job as a hairstylist, Range now works as a foreman on the job site, Local 563 Business Manager Joe Fowler said.

Range told Fowler she earned the respect of her all-male crews the old fashioned way: “by working my ass off five times harder than most everyone else.”

Apprentice of the Year

Megan Ringwelski, in her fourth year of training with Sprinklerfitters Local 417, was named Apprentice of the Year. As an example of the dedication she brings to the craft, Local 417 Business Manager Trinidad Uribe III said Ringwelski recently continued working into the eighth month of her pregnancy.

“They literally had to pull her away from the tools,” Uribe said. “She’s a hard worker and dedicated, to say the least.”

Honorable mention in the category went to Rachel Malmer, a member of Local 110 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

Local 110’s business manager, Jamie McNamara, said he nominated Malmer for the award, in part, because she has volunteered in support of the union’s political program – “phone banking, door knocking” – while simultaneously working toward her journey-level certification.

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Union volunteers introduce youth to ice fishing

January 24, 2020 by

Volunteer Mike Rodger (center) of Cement Masons Local 633 shared ice fishing tactics with a pair of young participants. (submitted photo)

Elevator Constructors Local 9 and the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance co-hosted Take Kids Ice Fishing Day last Saturday on frozen Chisago Lake, where dozens of union volunteers introduced more than 75 young anglers to the sport.

“We had a great turnout, and the event went really well,” project leader and Local 9 member Dave Morin said. “It’s awesome to see all these kids getting out to experience ice fishing, some for the first time.”

The event was free for all registered kids, who came from across the Twin Cities metro area to enjoy hands-on ice fishing instruction and access to state-of-the-art fishing gear.

“This is a really cool idea,” said David Brandner of Inver Grove Heights, who brought his son Mason to the event. “You’re getting kids involved in the outdoors, which is wonderful. Plus how many people can say they took their kid fishing and got a free fishing pole?”

At the conclusion of the event, participants received an ice-fishing starter kit, which included a Pure Fishing ice fishing rod and reel, game calls from Plano Synergy and other goodies. Additionally, unions and other sponsors donated over $3,000-worth of door prizes for participants.

“We’re grateful for everyone who put this event together,” said Tony Wilking, a retired U.S. Army veteran who attended with his 6-year-old son, Jack. “Activities like ice fishing are so much better for kids than sitting inside playing video games.”

In addition to Local 9, event sponsors included the Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Outdoor Fund, IBEW Local 110, Operating Engineers Local 49, Cement Masons Local 633, Pipefitters Local 539, UA Plumbers Local 15, Roofers Local 96 and the Minneapolis and St. Paul Building and Construction Trades councils.

Take Kids Ice Fishing Day is an initiative of the Sportsmen’s Alliance Work Boots on the Ground conservation program, supported by Bass Pro Shops, Plano Synergy, Provost Umphrey Law Firm, Pure Fishing, Remington Arms and the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation. Additional corporate partners included Clam Outdoors, Joe’s Sporting Goods, Maynard’s Tackle, Northland Fishing Tackle and Today’s Tackle.

“My wife is an AFSCME union member and we’re both happy to be out here doing something positive for our community,” Cement Masons Local 633 member Jarrod Asleson said. “This is our second time volunteering at a Union Sportsmen’s Alliance youth ice fishing event, and we’re already looking forward to next year.”

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