It’s ‘Game Day’ for Vikings stadium

May 7, 2012 by

Vikings fans and union members rally in the Capitol rotunda in support of a stadium bill.

A game-day atmosphere filled the Capitol rotunda today, as the Minnesota Vikings staged a pep rally with fans, union members and current and former players. They urged state lawmakers to pass a bill funding construction of a new stadium in Minneapolis – and creating an estimated 13,000 jobs.

Vikings fans dressed in purple jerseys mingled with Building Trades members in hard hats and bright yellow safety vests. Together, they sung the team’s fight song and chanted pro-stadium slogans, like “Build it!” and “We need jobs!”

The diverse blend of people clamoring for the stadium bill, which was scheduled for a vote on the House floor later in the day, reflects the bipartisan support behind it, said Viking spokesperson Lester Bagley.

“We’re at the final stage of the process, and legislators on both sides of the aisle have heard from corner to corner throughout the state of Minnesota that it’s time to get the job done,” Bagley said. “And let’s get it done.”

Rep. Rod Hamilton, a Republican, put it this way: “We’re not a red state. We’re not a blue state. We are a purple state.”

The loudest cheers of the afternoon, however, went to five former and current Vikings, including quarterback Christian Ponder, tight end Kyle Rudolph, defensive end Brian Robison, center John Sullivan and former running back Chuck Foreman.

Ponder said he showed up at the Capitol to “thank the greatest fans in the world” for their work to keep the team in Minnesota.

“These four outstanding athletes are here because they care about the stadium because they want to remain Minnesota Vikings,” said Gov. Mark Dayton. “And I want them to be Minnesota Vikings for their entire careers.”

The pep rally capped a big, four-day lobbying push by the team and its partners in the labor community.

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Unions give stadium, bonding bills one last push before House vote Monday

May 3, 2012 by

Ted Michalek of Sheet Metal Workers Local 10 joins a rally for jobs at the Capitol.

Union members swarmed the Minnesota Capitol today in a last-ditch effort to drum up support among lawmakers for two bills that, together, would create tens of thousands of jobs for union members in the struggling construction trades.

The bills – one to build and repair the state’s infrastructure and another to finance construction of a new Vikings stadium downtown Minneapolis – are scheduled to receive votes on the House floor Monday, according to House Speaker Kurt Zellers.

Until those votes take place, union leaders said, the full-court press at the Capitol will continue.

“The message to our members is to call your legislators and tell them they need to do what’s right for Minnesota and put some people back to work,” said Harry Melander, president of the Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council.

More than 100 union members, many wearing hard hats and fluorescent safety vests, gathered outside the House chambers. They chanted “Build it!” as lawmakers walked in and out of the room.

Meanwhile, union lobbyists were busy scheduling one-on-one meetings between workers and their representatives to discuss the importance of passing a construction-jobs package before the session ends.

“This isn’t about getting into anyone’s face today,” Melander told union members in a brief rally on the Capitol steps. “But we are going to talk to our legislators, and we are going to tell them that this is the time when they need to start taking care of the people’s business. And one of those items of business is putting people back to work on the tens of thousands of jobs they can create.”

Gov. Mark Dayton has pledged support for both the infrastructure-jobs bill and the new Vikings stadium, but Zellers and Republican leaders in the Senate said it would be up to the governor to round up the majorities necessary to get the bills to his desk.

Zellers said he would support the infrastructure-jobs bill, but would not push for the stadium package because Dayton had not compromised with Republicans on their priorities, including tax cuts for corporations.

“At every turn, our priorities have either been disrespected … or dismissed,” Zellers said.

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With time running out at the Capitol, unions plan rally for jobs

May 2, 2012 by

Before adjourning the 2012 legislative session, Minnesota lawmakers could act on a pair of bills that, if passed, would create nearly 50,000 family-sustaining jobs. But on Tuesday it appeared Republican majorities in the House and Senate were more preoccupied with saving their own.

By law, the session must adjourn by May 21. That means the clock is ticking on an infrastructure-jobs bill and a $1 billion financing package for construction of a new Vikings stadium. Together, the measures could create more than 40,000 jobs in the sluggish construction industry.

Unions are lobbying hard for both measures. The state’s largest labor federation, the Minnesota AFL-CIO, announced plans to stage a rally on the Capitol steps Thursday at 11 a.m.

“Workers in the construction trades were hit hardest when the great recession began and the sector still has yet to recover,” Minnesota AFL-CIO President Shar Knutson said. “Stadium construction and a large infrastructure bill will put tens of thousands of Minnesota construction workers back on the job in every corner of the state.

“If the Legislature adjourns and leaves nearly 40,000 family sustaining jobs on the table; it will be a great disservice to Minnesotans who want and need to work. Middle class Minnesotans are waiting for real results on job creation from this Legislature.”

Gov. Mark Dayton, waiting for the Legislature to resume its work tomorrow, held a press conference at the Capitol today, responding with visible disappointment to Republican leaders for calling a last-minute stadium audible yesterday. They attempted to alter the existing stadium package after “thousands of hours of negotiations and seven committee hearings,” according to the governor.

The Republican proposal for a “roof-ready” stadium on the current Metrodome site is a non-starter for the Vikings’ local partner, the City of Minneapolis. Dayton said Republicans know their proposal will not pass, but are seeking to give themselves political cover with voters hungry for the jobs a new stadium would create.

Dayton characterized it as “one of the most cynical attempts at political gamesmanship” he has ever seen.

“It’s extremely, extremely disappointing and profoundly disturbing that all these months of working together, working it out together … have come to this kind of disaster,” Dayton added. “I hold the Republican leadership in the House and the Senate responsible for it.”

Unions are encouraging members to tell their legislators that Minnesota needs middle class jobs, not tax cuts for corporations.

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On Workers Memorial Day, unions remember the fallen

May 1, 2012 by

Building Trades union members hold crosses bearing the names workers who died on the job in the previous year.

In Workers Memorial Day ceremonies held across the country April 27 to 30, union members paused to remember the men and women who died on the job or as a result of work-related injury or disease in the previous year.

In St. Paul, Building Trades unions from the Twin Cities metro area held a ceremony April 27 in the Workers Memorial Garden on the State Capitol grounds, honoring 11 men who died as a result of workplace accidents or work-related diseases. The ceremony also honored a Laborer, John Biersach, who fell to his death Oct. 20, 1898, during construction of the Capitol building.

Harry Melander, president of the Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council, presided over the noon ceremony. About 50 people watched as, one by one, crosses bearing the names of all 12 fallen workers were draped with black sashes.

“In our industry we like to say, ‘Let’s make sure we get to work on time, and let’s make sure we all leave together,’” Melander said. “These are Minnesotans who didn’t make it home.”

Workers Memorial Day serves as a reminder for union members to continue the fight for safer workplaces, Melander added. “In that building behind us, the Capitol, Minnesotans are bringing closure to another legislative session. We need to remind our elected officials that workplace regulations regarding safety save Minnesotans’ lives.”

Workers honored at the memorial service were:

• Ake Larsson, 82, of Pipefitters Local 455, who died Dec. 12, 2011, as a result of lung disease.

• John R. Slagle, 60, of Pipefitters Local 455, who died March 18 as a result of mesothelioma.

• Denny White, 60, of Cement Masons 633, who died Dec. 3, 2011, as a result of mesothelioma.

• David B. Eckstrom, 72, of Heat & Frost Insulators Local 34, who died July 15, 2011, as a result of asbestosis.

• Gary B. Benson, 71, of Heat & Frost Insulators Local 34, who died Jan. 19 as a result of asbestosis.

• William H. Stille, 93, of Sheet Metal Workers Local 10, who died March 3 as a result of asbestosis.

• Thomas Gamboni, 47, of Operating Engineers Local 49, who died Oct. 12, 2011, as a result of electrocution.

• Douglas Stoffel, 51, of Operating Engineers Local 49, who died April 21, 2011, as a result of electrocution.

• Craig D. Carlson, 47, and Ronald J. Raikowski, 44, of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 292, who died Oct. 13, 2011, in an accident during road construction on Interstate 35W.

• Tom Stich, 50, of Laborers Local 132, who died Aug. 12, 2011, in an accident on the job.

St. Paul Regional Labor Federation President Bobby Kasper remembered signing Stich up for the union during his days as an organizer with Local 132.

“We honor the memory of workers like my brother Tom Stitch, who died on the job, and we remember the men and women lost as a result of unsafe working conditions,” Kasper said.

“But those of us gathered here today know that workplace safety is not just important on Workers Memorial Day. Many of us here today are working every day of the year to make our jobs safer for workers.”

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