Plumbers mark 20 years of community service through ‘Water’s Off’

April 29, 2014 by
Jerry Regenscheid, a member of St. Paul Plumbers Local 34, installed a new faucet for a St. Paul homeowner during the union’s “Water’s Off” day of service April 5.

Jerry Regenscheid, a member of St. Paul Plumbers Local 34, installed a new faucet for a St. Paul homeowner during the union’s “Water’s Off” day of service April 5.

Members of St. Paul Plumbers Local 34 were among 96 union plumbers from across Minnesota who volunteered to fix plumbing problems for 81 elderly, disabled and low-income homeowners April 5, during the annual “Water’s Off” service event.

It marked the 20th consecutive year Minnesota’s union plumbers teamed up with their contractors, members of the Minnesota Mechanical Contractors Association, to make “Water’s Off” happen, and several elected officials thanked them for their efforts at a kickoff breakfast at the Roseville Radisson.

“You’re not here for yourselves,” Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton told the volunteers. “You’re here to better other people’s lives. I congratulate you for your commitment to humanity.”

Each year, Community Action Partnership of Ramsey and Washington Counties helps identify homeowners who need plumbing assistance, and Dayton presented CAP staff member Marcy Paulson with an award recognizing the agency’s contribution to “Water’s Off.”

“Water’s Off” started in the Twin Cities in 1994 and is now a national volunteer program.

“We’ve been through some tough times in the Building Trades, but the room was just as full then as it is today,” said Harry Melander, president of the Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council. “This is the type of stuff we need to keep doing so people understand what the Building Trades really are about.”

Gov. Mark Dayton presented Marcy Paulson of Community Action Partnership of Ramsey and Washington County with an award honoring the agency’s contribution to Water’s Off.

Gov. Mark Dayton presented Marcy Paulson of Community Action Partnership of Ramsey and Washington County with an award honoring the agency’s contribution to Water’s Off.

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Trades remember the fallen, renew call for safety in Workers Memorial Day ceremony

April 28, 2014 by

web.wmd2014-aThe Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council held its annual Workers Memorial Day observance last Friday, honoring nine union workers who died over the previous year as a result of workplace injuries or illnesses.

The ceremony, held at the Workers Memorial Garden on the State Capitol grounds, included remarks from St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, who renewed the call for safe workplaces and good jobs for all workers.

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman delivers remarks during the Building Trades' Workers Memorial Day ceremony.

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman delivers remarks during the Building Trades’ Workers Memorial Day ceremony.

“Today we remember those we have lost, but we must remember every day those that are on the site who we must protect,” Coleman said, “so that when they leave home in the morning, they have every assurance that they will come home that night.”

“It is not possible to eliminate all risk” from construction jobs, Coleman added; “but it is possible to reduce unnecessary risk.”

The mayor pointed specifically to the loss of John Valek, a 61-year-old member of Operating Engineers Local 49, who died Sept. 10, 2013 during demolition work on the site of the new St. Paul Saints baseball park downtown.

Building Trades leaders draped black scarves across white crosses bearing the names of Valek and other workers remembered during the ceremony Friday. A bell rang out once as each worker’s name was read.

Two other members of Local 49 were remembered during the ceremony: Jesse Grimsley, 31, who died Aug. 13 in a bulldozer accident, and Corey Lewellin, 34, who died Oct. 21 in a crane accident.

Michael Dalsin, 49, a member of Sheet Metal Workers Local 10 who died in a fall March 31, 2014 was included in the remembrance ceremony, as were five workers who died from workplace-related illnesses over the previous year. They included:

• Art Rossbach, 71, a member of Pipefitters Local 455 who died Aug. 7 of mesothelioma.

• Theodore Schmitz, 74, a member of Local 455 who died Aug. 6 of asbestosis.

• Elmer R. Skaaden, 86, a member of Heat and Frost Insulators Local 34 who died April 22, 2013 of asbestosis.

• John W. Phillips, 78, a member of Local 34 who died Jan. 18 of lung cancer.

• Alan Crepeau, 70, a member of Local 34 who died Jan. 28 of lung cancer.

Workers Memorial Day observances are continue across the country and throughout the world today, the annual day of reflection on workplace fatalities and safety on the job.

In 2012, according to preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 4,383 workers were killed by traumatic injuries, down from 4,693 deaths reported the previous year. An estimated 50,000 to 60,000 more workers died from occupational diseases in 2012.

Minnesota saw 70 workplace fatalities in 2012, 15th lowest among states.

Operating Engineers Local 49 member John Valek died last fall during work on the new ballpark downtown St. Paul.

Operating Engineers Local 49 member John Valek died last fall during work on the new ballpark downtown St. Paul.

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Trades back measure putting teeth into bidding requirements

March 17, 2014 by
Minnesota Building and Construction Trades President Harry Melander addressed union members during a rally at the Capitol March 6.

Minnesota Building Trades President Harry Melander addressed members during a rally at the Capitol March 6.

Public construction projects in Minnesota are awarded to the “lowest responsible bidder,” according to state law. But how do public agencies distinguish which bidders are responsible?

It’s a question the state’s Building Trades unions want answered during the 2014 legislative session.

With lawmakers likely to pass a bonding bill containing roughly $1 billion in infrastructure investments, they also could act on a measure that would establish criteria for determining which contractors are “responsible” enough to bid on those projects.

The “Responsible Contractor Bill” (House File 1984/Senate File 1919) would require any vendor awarded a public construction contract valued at more than $50,000 meet certain criteria – including, most notably, a track record of obeying the law.

During a rally staged by Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council at the Capitol on March 5, Speaker of the House Paul Thissen called the measure, which has bipartisan backing, a matter of common sense.

“If you’re going to work for the State of Minnesota, you ought to obey the law,” he said.

Too often, though, that isn’t the case.

Case study on campus

In 2012 state taxpayers backed a major construction project on the North Hennepin Community College campus in Brooklyn Park. The project was rife with wage-and-hour violations, according to the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry.

The agency collected $6,847 in back wages for five employees of B & D Plumbing and Heating after the contractor violated apprenticeship rules. Marbella, another contractor on the project, paid the DLI $54,000 after misclassifying its workers and underreporting their hours. And Beck Drywall paid $14,731 in back wages owed to eight employees not paid for their overtime hours.

In all DLI retrieved $77,000 in back wages and lost labor costs from five firms awarded work on the NHCC campus. While that’s a shocking amount of wage theft on a single construction project, it’s not surprising to observers familiar with the track record of firms like Beck Drywall.

Before the ink had dried on its contract to work on the NHCC campus, Beck already was the prime focus of a federal investigation into wage theft on taxpayer-funded projects in Woodbury and St. Michael. The investigation found Beck owed $430,000 in back wages for 59 employees.

But the federal investigation did not prohibit Beck from bidding for work on the NHCC campus. In fact, the contractor remains “responsible” enough under current law to bid for the next taxpayer-funded construction job, on equal footing with contractors that pay their workers in full and play by the rules.

Protecting taxpayers

That’s why the Trades are pushing the Responsible Contractor Bill – “to protect the taxpayers from hiring contractors who violate the state laws, particularly laws that govern the way they pay their employees,” said Kyle Makarios, political director for the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters.

The bill would require any outfit awarded a construction contract by a public agency valued at more than $50,000 meet certain criteria, including:

  • Compliance with the state’s workers compensation and unemployment insurance requirements.
  • Proof the contractor has not violated state or federal employment laws – including minimum wage, prevailing wage, overtime and employee classification – over the previous three years.
  • No existing tax liens or delinquencies.

The bill also would put general contractors on the hook for ensuring any subcontractor they retain meets the same criteria.

“Too often we have found contractors who commit significant prevailing wage violations or other violations of state law continue to be awarded projects that are paid for by the taxpayers,” Makarios said. “The Responsible Contractor Bill would say we are only going to award taxpayer funded contracts to contractors who follow the law and have not had serious violations in recent history.”

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Backed by union funds, Penfield project brings jobs downtown St. Paul

February 26, 2014 by
St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman (right) and members of the City Council cut the ribbon at a grand opening celebration for The Penfield development.

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman (right) and members of the City Council cut the ribbon at a grand opening celebration for The Penfield development.

Union members did more than just build The Penfield, the comprehensive, mixed-use development downtown St. Paul that celebrated its grand opening Feb. 6. They financed the project as well.

The Penfield is the latest local investment by the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust (HIT), which backs union-build construction jobs across the country with capital from union pension funds.

And union members will continue working on the Penfield site. Union grocer Lund’s plans to open a store in the building May 15, with an estimated 75 employees.

The City of St. Paul, through its Housing and Redevelopment Authority, has supported The Penfield, located at 101 E. 10th St., just off Metro Transit’s Green Line, as a key part of its downtown redevelopment program.

Mayor Chris Coleman credited the project with bringing quality, market-rate housing and a full-service grocery store to the area, while also creating jobs and sparking ongoing economic growth.

“When I took office in 2006, the Penfield project was one of our No. 1 priorities,” Coleman said. “We knew it would help the rest of the city develop. The challenge was, as the economy collapsed, the resources that we needed [for] the project were scarcer and scarcer.

“It was the Housing Investment Trust that allowed us the resources we needed to get this project in the ground and get people to work building it.”

The experience of working on The Penfield was equally rewarding for members of the Building Trades unions.

“When you see projects going on all over the metro, you get a good feeling that jobs are going to be around,” said Michael Ahman, a member of IBEW Local 292.

Matt Ferguson, another Local 292 member, added that “it’s an awesome thing to be able to have lots of guys put to work who otherwise might be sitting at home.”

“We are appreciative of the mayor’s administration for helping improve the quality of life in St. Paul with this important development project,” St. Paul Regional Labor Federation President Bobby Kasper said.

As a LEED “silver-certified” development, The Penfield enhances St. Paul’s green credentials. The former site of the city’s public safety building now boasts an 18,000-square-foot green roof.

“We went into this project wanting to have a clean building that is sustainable for the future,” Coleman said. “The fact that the HIT was able to partner with us and drive those green decisions was really important for us.”

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Steel mill’s expansion leaves St. Paul Pipefitters out in the cold

January 10, 2014 by
web.gerdau-wide

Members of Pipefitters Local 455 call out Gerdau for contracting with a Georgia firm to provide mechanical workers for an expansion project at its mill in St. Paul.

State and local taxpayers are backing a $50 million expansion project underway at Gerdau’s St. Paul steel mill with a package of incentives, grants and forgivable loans. But members of St. Paul Pipefitters Local 455 say the project has left local workers out in the cold.

The dispute stems from Gerdau’s decision to accept a Georgia contractor’s bid to do mechanical work on the expansion project, which has otherwise been an all-union construction job.

Industrial Construction Services’ bid, according to Local 455 Business Manager Rick Magler, came in 50 percent lower than the closest Minnesota union contractor’s bid, raising concerns about worker training, job quality and area wage standards on the government-supported project.

Pipefitters from Local 455 this week shared those concerns with the public, manning a banner and distributing leaflets outside Gerdau’s plant, located near the intersection of Interstate 494 and Highway 61.

Leaflets accuse Gerdau, a Brazilian company, of sending “millions of dollars out of Minnesota’s economy” by hiring an out-of-state contractor and workers. They urge supporters to call management at 651-731-5600 and tell the company its actions are unfair.

Gerdau’s St. Paul plant, formerly North Star Steel, recycles junk vehicles and produces rebar and other steel products. It employs about 370 people, including members of United Steelworkers Local 7263.

The expansion replaces the facility’s continuous caster. Gerdau has said the upgrade will increase the plant’s efficiency and will boost its production capacity, ensuring the plant continues to operate in St. Paul for years to come.

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Union members say ‘thanks for the work’ on Hastings Bridge

November 21, 2013 by
A billboard will celebrate completion of the new Hastings Bridge.

A billboard will celebrate completion of the new Hastings Bridge.

When the new Hastings Bridge, which carries U.S. Highway 61 across the Mississippi River, opens all four lanes to vehicles tomorrow after two years of construction, traffic-weary residents won’t be the only ones celebrating.

Union members who built the $130 million bridge are joining in ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremonies, and one union joined their contractors in launching a public-relations campaign to thank area residents for their “interest, patience and trust in letting them be an integral part of this historic project.”

The Minnesota Laborers-Employers Cooperation & Education Trust (LECET), a division of the Minnesota Laborers Union, celebrated completion of the new bridge with advertisements in area community newspapers and a month-long digital billboard display close to the bridge in downtown Hastings.

The ads highlight the bridge’s history, as well as the collaboration between skilled workers and union employers to promote worker safety during the construction project.

“Hundreds of union construction workers spanning eight different trades had a hand in building this beautiful bridge which links Hastings and other communities to St. Paul,” said Gary Reed, business manager of St. Paul-based Laborers Local 132. “It’s a time to celebrate this achievement and thank all the people of Hastings for helping to see this process through.”

Reed and other union leaders hope the popularity of the new Hastings Bridge spurs public support for tackling necessary repair and replacement projects for bridges statewide, an initiative unions and partner groups like the Minnesota Transportation Alliance plan to push in the 2014 legislative session.

Lawmakers approved funding for the new Hastings Bridge after the old bridge was categorized as unsafe by the Minnesota Department of Transportation. Still, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers, 9.1 percent of bridges in Minnesota – a total of 1,190 bridges – are structurally deficient or obsolete.

Replacement projects for many structurally unsound bridges lack or are awaiting local aid or legislative action for funding. Meanwhile, MnDOT is projecting a $50 billion funding shortfall for necessary projects over the next 20 years.

“Current funding sources for maintaining or even expanding Minnesota’s infrastructure of roads and bridges are simply just not adequate anymore,” Transportation Alliance Executive Director Margaret Donahoe said.

“We know there are many communities that have the similar infrastructure needs like Hastings, and our skilled workforce stands ready to help fix those assets too.”

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Harry Melander: Building builders, growing our economy

July 24, 2013 by
mug-melander

Harry Melander

Drive to just about any region in our State. Look up or down, and you will see: “We are back.”

You see new mining opportunities on the Iron Range and housing developments in our urban core. You see expansion of our medical center in Rochester and new investments in our regional transit system. All are indications that “we are back.”

After suffering unemployment rates that reached Depression-year rates, the Building Trades industry is once again back in full swing. Union members are finding work, collecting paychecks and stimulating their local economies.

These have been tough years, but now we can breathe a bit easier. The majority of unions in the Minnesota State Building and Construction Trades Council have seen worker hours increase the last two years.

You can, once again, find steady employment in the trades. Credit for that, in large part, goes out to our “Building Governor,” Mark Dayton, as well as St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and friends of labor serving in the State House, Senate and throughout the local levels of government in Minnesota.

The future looks even better – not only for our current members, but for those new Building Trades members that we are seeking to recruit. This is the time that “new hands,” including women and emerging communities of color, will be the workforce that should – and can – support this industry.

We are looking for determined, hard-working Americans with professional attitudes, strong math skills and the willingness to be a part of our construction community. By 2040, 40 percent of the Metro region will be from these emerging communities. Now is the time for community leaders to encourage strong, career-minded people to consider – and enter – this great industry.

The Building Trades offer careers for all, but we want those at the head of their classes.

Last month in Tower, Minn., Building Trades members from all around our state got together for their annual meeting, setting the agenda for the upcoming year and into the future.

Among the priorities our unions set was making sure we embrace our new workforce, so that we continue to develop highly trained, skilled and safe workers who are prepared for the end of this decade and beyond.

Thanks to those Building Trades leaders who did just that. Together, we will continue to “build builders” who will make sure our industry and market share grow.

– Harry Melander was re-elected president of the Minnesota State Building and Construction Trades Council at the body’s annual convention last month. He also directs the St. Paul Building and Construction Trades.

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State’s transportation needs can’t wait, coalition warns

April 24, 2013 by
Brian Beedle (left), a member of the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters, checks out a map detailing potential job-creating investments in the Metro Area transit system.

Brian Beedle (left), a member of the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters, checks out a map detailing potential job-creating investments in the Metro Area transit system.

Support for transportation and transit investments among state lawmakers this session appears lukewarm at best, and that baffles Rep. Alice Hausman.

“With all the grumbling and complaining about roads and potholes, you wouldn’t think funding transportation would be this hard,” the DFLer from St. Paul said.

Hausman, who chairs the House Capital Investment Committee, joined a rally with other transportation advocates at the Capitol on April 17. She urged “resiliency” in an uphill battle to pass a comprehensive transportation finance bill that makes new, needed investments in roads, bridges and public transit.

Minnesota Building & Construction Trades Council President Harry Melander addresses the rally.

Minnesota Building & Construction Trades Council President Harry Melander addresses the rally.

The rally, organized by the Transportation for a Stronger Economy coalition, drew support from labor unions, business groups, environmental activists and local government officials. Speakers urged supporters to tell their lawmakers that transportation investments can’t wait.

“Transportation problems don’t go away; they just get more expensive,” said Rep. Frank Hornstein, DFL-Minneapolis.

“Transportation jobs unite this state,” Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak added. “We have underinvested in our transportation infrastructure. It puts our lives at risk, it puts our jobs at risk and it puts our lifestyles at risk.”

The coalition of transportation supporters got some good news a day after the rally, when the Senate Transportation Committee passed a comprehensive transportation finance  bill with bipartisan support.

The bill includes a small sales-tax hike in the seven-county Metro area, dedicated to transit, as well as some support for walking and biking paths. The bill also includes more than $20 million per year in new funding for transit in Greater Minnesota.

Transportation investments have the potential to create thousands of jobs and boost the state’s economy – a point of agreement for both Harry Melander, president of the Minnesota State Building and Construction Trades Council, and Will Schroeer, representing Minneapolis and St. Paul’s chambers of commerce.

“We have an investment opportunity in front of us today,” Schroeer said. “And if we don’t make it, that money will go someplace else.”

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Union housing trust invests in St. Paul development project

January 14, 2013 by

The AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust announced Dec. 19 it would commit $23.5 million toward constructing the West Side Flats Apartments, a $31 million mixed-use development on the edge of downtown St. Paul. The project is expected to generate 160 union construction jobs at a time when unemployment in the industry remains high.

The HIT is a nationwide initiative investing union pension funds in union construction projects.

The HIT’s investment in the West Side Flats Apartments will help build a five-story building with 178 market-rate and affordable housing units, heated underground parking and ground-floor retail and commercial space.

It marks the second HIT-financed development project afoot downtown St. Paul. Construction is ongoing at the site of the $62.5 million Penfield complex, which received $40.9 million in financing from the HIT.

All told the HIT has invested over $400 million in the St. Paul and Minneapolis metro area over the last 10 years, building or preserving over 4,200 units of housing in 32 projects and generating more than 3,800 jobs for members of the local building and construction trades unions.

“It’s good to see the HIT is investing union pension dollars back into our community for needed housing while, at the same time, creating good jobs for our members,” said Harry Melander, St. Paul Building Trades Council president.

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Politics take center stage at state Building Trades convention

July 20, 2012 by

Minnesota Building Trades Council President Harry Melander watches as Gov. Mark Dayton addresses the convention.

One by one, DFL state lawmakers took the podium on the opening day of the Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council’s annual convention July 19-20 in St. Cloud. Invariably, each offered his own variation on three common themes:

• DFLers salvaged the 2012 legislative session by providing the votes – or the veto power – necessary to create construction jobs and fend off attacks on union members’ wages, work conditions and collective-bargaining rights.

• None of the victories achieved in 2012 would have been possible without the support, leadership and activism of Building Trades members.

• Little of it will matter if DFLers do not reclaim in November the Legislative majorities they lost two years ago.

“Please recognize the importance of this election,” Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton said. “Help your members to recognize the importance of this election, and let’s win this election.”

Delegates to the Building Trades Council, which represents 50,000 union members in construction trades statewide, greeted Dayton with their warmest reception of the convention. Council President Harry Melander praised the governor’s leading role in efforts to pass a bonding bill and finance construction of a new Vikings stadium – initiatives that will create thousands of jobs for union members.

Dayton deflected the praise back to his audience. “You really were stupendous on turning out, standing up, letting (lawmakers) know where you were at,” Dayton told delegates, pointing to rallies staged at the Capitol by unions in favor of bonding and stadium bills.

Dayton also praised delegates for stepping up in one battle the governor was powerless to fight: Republican efforts to put a constitutional amendment regarding Right to Work on the November ballot.

“That was absolutely your victory, achieved by strong leadership, by standing strong together and by putting the pressure on (Republicans) – and they backed off,” Dayton said.

Bipartisan spirit?

Melander warned that Right to Work “will continue to rear its ugly head” until voters install pro-labor majorities in the Minnesota House or Senate. For now, he added, the council must continue to count on relationships with members of both political parties.

But Rep. Tim Mahoney, a DFLer and a member of St. Paul Pipefitters Local 455, said it is becoming increasingly difficult to work across party lines at the Capitol. “This crew that came in last election, they had all the answers,” he said. “They didn’t really bother to talk to anybody. I’ve been there 14 years, and I’ve never seen that kind of behavior before.”

Senate Minority Leader Tom Bakk, a former member of the Carpenters Union, cautioned delegates about the risks of backing Republican candidates on the ballot this fall. Operating Engineers Local 49, one of the state’s largest Building Trades unions, announced July 12 it will support Republican U.S. Rep. Chip Cravaack in the 8th Congressional District, a seat targeted by Democrats this election cycle.

“I’m concerned about some of the endorsements I see coming down… It confuses our membership,” Bakk said. “(Republicans) don’t share the same values about improving the standard of living of working class people.”

House Minority Leader Paul Thissen, a Minneapolis DFLer, said keeping their majorities in the Legislature will embolden Republicans to wage more attacks on unions and their members next session.

“After the Wisconsin recall election, the very next day, House Speaker (Kurt) Zellers was on the radio saying (the results) are a signal to us of what we can accomplish if we’re in the majority next year,” Thissen said. “If they hold on to their majority, we are going to see a Right to Work constitutional amendment coming – undoubtedly.”

Jobs on the horizon

Although election-year rhetoric dominated much of the convention’s first day, some speakers looked forward to the jobs soon to be created on major construction projects throughout the state.

Lester Bagley, the Minnesota Vikings’ vice president for public affairs, said the process of building a new stadium in Minneapolis is entering the design phase, with groundbreaking following as early as April 2013. The team plans to begin play in the new stadium during the 2016 season.

“We look forward to building an iconic facility, and we look forward to building it with union labor,” Bagley said.

Noting that the stadium bill passed both the House and Senate with a majority of DFL votes, Bagley also made a point of thanking Building Trades delegates. “A lot of that was due to (DFLers’) vision of doing the right thing and creating thousands of jobs, but it was also because of their relationships with you,” he said.

The $475 million infrastructure jobs bill – also known as the bonding bill – will create about 14,000 jobs for Building Trades members. Dayton said he takes pride in seeing Building Trades members working on public-works jobsites as he travels the state.

But the governor couldn’t resist pointing out that the bonding bill could have created more jobs, had Republicans in the Legislature accepted his proposal for a $786 million package.

“They cut a third of it out,” Dayton said. “They left 7,000 jobs sitting on the table at the Capitol (because) it doesn’t fit their ideology.

“They don’t get that the public sector, we the people, have a role to play in creating jobs. The role of government is to make things happen… It’s we the people, pooling our resources together to accomplish things we can’t accomplish by ourselves.”

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