Want to learn more about local labor history? Looking to explore career opportunities in the construction trades? Community Ed has you covered.
Learning Jet classroom gets lift from Trades apprentices, volunteers
November 21, 2017 by
The Learning Jet has been wowing kids since the cargo plane-turned-classroom opened at St. Paul’s Downtown Airport two years ago. The facility’s portable restrooms, on the other hand, have drawn a much different reaction. That will change when the Learning Jet’s expanded space opens next spring, thanks in part to volunteers and apprentices from area […]
Volunteer Pipefitters keep heat on for homeowners in need
October 2, 2017 by
Over 100 low-income, elderly and disabled homeowners in Minnesota received free furnace repairs and inspections Saturday, thanks to union pipefitters and their contractors. Project Heat’s On, in it’s 31st year, drew volunteers from local unions in St. Paul, Minneapolis, Rochester and St. Cloud. In the Twin Cities, 90 members of St. Paul Pipefitters Local 455 […]
Minnesota union members marched against Trump in droves. Here’s why
January 27, 2017 by
Dressed in hard hats and union colors, union members were among the estimated 100,000 people who joined the Women’s March in Minnesota one day after Donald Trump’s inauguration, capping three days of protests – locally and nationally – that put the new administration on notice of popular opposition to his policy objectives and governing […]
#NAW2016: Minnesota’s Building Trades apprentices earn paychecks while mastering their craft
November 16, 2016 by
When Joe Odell’s friends plan to go out on Friday nights, he usually takes a pass. It’s not that the 23-year-old from Monticello is no fun, but Odell has someplace important to be early on Saturday mornings: Heat and Frost Insulators Local 34’s training center in St. Paul. Odell is one of the 11,000-plus […]
In North Branch, union volunteers help build home for disabled veteran’s family
November 11, 2016 by
A partially disabled military veteran and his family own a new home in North Branch, thanks to a little help from East Central Minnesota Habitat for Humanity and several Building Trades unions. After a dedication ceremony Oct. 29, Eric and JoAnn Trudeau took ownership of the 1,3252-square-foot home, with four bedrooms, two bathrooms and a […]
With Lowertown development, union pension fund invests in Building Trades workers
September 16, 2016 by
The AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust treated the men and women working to redevelop a property in St. Paul’s Lowertown district to lunch Aug. 31, highlighting the trust’s unique approach to investing union pension funds in union-built construction projects. The development, 333 on the Park, is transforming an eight-story office building, originally constructed in 1913, into […]
This summer job is a crash course in construction careers
August 19, 2016 by
One by one Friday, graduates of the inaugural MN Trades Academy stepped up to the podium inside IBEW Local 110’s union hall and offered their three favorite construction crafts. Welding was a popular choice – not surprisingly, given the teenage demographic – but there was something for every one of the 20 graduates, who […]
Native pride meets union pride in Cement Masons’ training program
August 2, 2016 by
NEW BRIGHTON – As the first trickle of mud oozed out of the concrete truck’s chute, 13 trainees dressed in hardhats, safety vests and tall rubber boots sprung into action, using shovels and trowels to distribute the concrete evenly across 13 rectangular slabs. The July heat was pushing 90 degrees, and the trainees, participants […]
Union job fair coming to St. Paul’s East Side April 14
April 6, 2016 by
Take the first step toward a career in construction, manufacturing, government, health care, hospitality or retail at the Union Job and Resource Fair April 14 at the East Side Freedom Library. Employers and union representatives at the event will provide information to both ready-to-hire job seekers and young people exploring their career options. Interpreters will […]
Union Advocate 