Worker advocates welcome St. Paul’s new wage theft law

December 10, 2024 by

Supporters of a measure to crack down on wage theft were pictured during a rally at the Minnesota Capitol in 2019.

St. Paul will have a new wage theft ordinance on the books Jan. 1.

The measure, pushed by Mayor Melvin Carter and co-authored by all seven members of the City Council, drew praise from labor leaders and worker advocates as a step toward more robust, efficient protections for people working in the capital city.

Construction and service-industry unions, in particular, pushed city officials to add wage theft to the scope of its labor enforcement work.

At a public hearing on the ordinance in October, Carpenters Local 322 member Saben De Smet called wage theft a “competing business model” for too many developers and non-union contractors in his industry.

“Here in Minnesota, a construction contractor using a wage-theft model can underbid other contractors – whether union or non-union – by up to 20%,” De Smet told council members. “This is because they avoid paying worker compensation, unemployment insurance and other costs associated with being above board.

“This is both a leveling of the playing field and a human-rights issue for us.”

Wage theft has come under increased public scrutiny in recent years, after a 2014 report by the Economic Policy Institute estimated that it costs U.S. workers more than $50 billion annually. In Ramsey and Hennepin counties alone, construction workers lose $3 million to wage theft each year, according to a 2022 report authorized by the county attorneys offices.

“If someone was to shoplift or steal a car, you’d expect them to get arrested or get in trouble,” Ironworkers Local 512 member Nick Petrucelle, a co-chair of Minnesota’s Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, told council members. “But employers, they can rip off their employees, they can steal their wages, and it’s really hard to do anything about it.”

St. Paul’s new ordinance largely aligns with state legislation passed in Minnesota five years ago. Hailed at the time as the nation’s toughest wage theft law, it gave state regulators and the Attorney General new powers to investigate wage theft and created stiffer penalties, both civil and criminal.

While St. Paul’s ordinance does not create new requirements for employers, it does complement the city’s unique minimum wage and earned-sick-and-safe-time laws, advocates on the city’s Labor Standards Advisory Committee (LSAC) said.

“City staff should be able to resolve all of these issues together in one package,” LSAC member Rick Varco, political director for SEIU Healthcare Minnesota and Iowa, told council members.

Varco noted that city investigators pursuing a minimum-wage complaint are well positioned to identify other forms of wage theft, too. But without an ordinance on the books, the city must turn the matter over to state regulators.

“This is better for workers who don’t have to navigate one more bureaucratic maze,” he said. “It is better for employers, especially those who fail through ignorance or capacity issues, to have one stop that can get them back on the right track.”

The city’s Department of Human Rights and Equal Economic Opportunity (HREEO) will begin handling wage theft complaints when the new ordinance takes effect Jan. 1.

Wage theft occurs any time employers fail to pay wages employees are legally entitled to, including paying below minimum wage, not paying overtime, requiring work without pay, denying legal breaks, misclassification, withholding tips, failing to pay fringe benefits and making illegal payroll deductions.

“Wage theft is one of the largest types of theft in our country and is a pervasive and systemic problem throughout Minnesota,” St. Paul Regional Labor Federation President Kera Peterson said. “It affects workers in all sectors of our economy. This ordinance helps to make workers in Saint Paul more secure and helps level the playing field for employers who are following our state laws and local ordinances.”

– Michael Moore, Union Advocate editor

Filed Under: Labor Voices, Politics Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Carpenters union’s free workshops a hit with kids

January 11, 2016 by
Luca LaFerla puts the finishing touches on his treasure box during a Kids Build workshop at the Carpenters training center in St. Paul.

Luca LaFerla puts the finishing touches on his treasure box during a Kids Build workshop at the Carpenters training center in St. Paul.

Jim Hendricks clapped his hand five times, and the room bustling with more than 30 busy children Saturday morning fell silent. Everyone turned to face Hendricks, a business representative for the Carpenters union, awaiting his instructions.

Holding up two pre-cut pieces of wood, Hendricks demonstrated the method for fashioning them into the sides of a “treasure box,” the carpentry project for this month’s Kids Build workshop in St. Paul.

Some looked puzzled, others determined; but for Hendricks, the young faces staring back at him from the floor of his union’s training center made it worth spending a Saturday morning at the office.

“There are a lot of ups and downs through the week of work, but you always walk out of here with a smile,” Hendricks said. “I don’t know a kid who doesn’t like to build things.”

Launched locally in September by the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters, Kids Build has become wildly popular with both families, who fill up the available space within an hour of registration opening, and volunteers, including retired and apprentice carpenters.

Nick Vevea retired in June, but he returns to the training hall on the second Saturday of each month to assist with the two-hour workshops.

“I love working with the kids,” Vevea said. “It’s a great opportunity to share your knowledge.”

“We’re encouraging the spark in the next generation that’s going to come into the career of carpentry,” Local 322 apprentice Jarid Freund said. “But it’s also great to be able to see kids enjoying this work.”

Lead instructor Jim Hendricks, a business rep for the Carpenters union, demonstrates a step in building treasure boxes.
Local 322 apprentice Jarid Freund assists 8-year-old Colin Anderson of Hugo.
Abe Mulrooney, 7, of St. Paul works with his father, Tim.
Yuqi Zhao, 7, of St. Paul lines up a screw.
Participants show off their finished projects.
Ten-year-old Aiden Kirchoff of St. Paul sizes up his project.
Emma Johnston (L) of Fridley and Skylar Hofer, both 8, share a laugh.
Carpenters staff rep Jose Marrero works with his daughter Elise, 10, of Maplewood.
Seven-year-old Mina Howitz (L) and 8-year-old Avery Kaneakua, both of Minneapolis, show off their finished projects after working with Samantha Kaneakua, a fourth-year Carpenters apprentice.
Parents and grandparents take pictures at the end of the workshop.
Each Kids Build participants gets to take home his or her project and receives a personalized certificate.

Open to children ages 5 to 12, Kids Build has been so popular in St. Paul that the Carpenters council has spun off workshops at training centers across its jurisdiction, including in Papillion, Neb., Fargo, N.D., Madison, Wis. and Rochester.

The workshops offer the public an introduction to “who carpenters are and how we help our communities,” apprenticeship director Paul Trudeau said. Kids Build is also an opportunity for the union to show off its world-class training facility and, potentially, recruit new workers to the trade.

“All our members are trained here,” Hendricks said. “That’s why we’re able to build projects like the new stadium. We take pride in the training and safety of our members.”

The events are always free, with materials and tools provided by the union, and the project changes each month, so families are encouraged to return. Previous and future projects include bookends, a birdhouse, soapbox derby cars and more.

“We’re not on a computer – this is hands-on,” Trudeau said. “And when they go home, these kids have something to show their grandparents, their siblings, their neighbors.” Trudeau said.

As Avery Kaneakua, 8, and Mina Howitz, 7, added glitter glue and paint to their treasure boxes, they agreed they’d had fun completing the project, and said they planned to use the boxes to store their electronics.

“And as much pride as every one of those kids has right now, we do too,” Trudeau said.

For more information on Kids Build, go to www.facebook.com/KidsBuildworkshop.

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Minnesota AFL-CIO unveils Labor Pavilion programming for 2015 State Fair

August 25, 2015 by
Merritt Benton, a member of IATSE Local 13, runs cords along the Labor Pavilion’s stage. Local 13 donated, installed and will run the pavilion's sound and stage.

Merritt Benton, a member of IATSE Local 13, runs cords along the Labor Pavilion’s stage. Local 13 donated, installed and will run the pavilion’s sound and stage.

 

Make sure your visit to the Minnesota State Fair this year includes a stop at the Minnesota AFL-CIO Labor Pavilion, where programming includes live music and entertainment, interactive demonstrations and opportunities to learn about what unions do.

The State Fair runs Aug. 27 through Labor Day, Sept. 7. The Labor Pavilion, located at Dan Patch and Cooper, is open every day from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Members of two performance unions, SAG-AFTRA and Actors’ Equity, will emcee proceedings every day except Labor Day, Minnesota AFL-CIO communications director Chris Shields said. Scheduled performers include roots musicians, swing bands, actors from the Chanhassen Dinner Theater, a magician and a ventriloquist, among others.

“The Labor Pavilion stage is a really good opportunity to showcase union performers,” Shields said, crediting Local 13 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees for donating, installing and running the stage and sound equipment.

[Daily entertainment listings for the Labor Pavilion are available online at the Minnesota AFL-CIO’s blog.]

Statewide and local unions will host kiosks at the Labor Pavilion, offering fairgoers information about their work and their most recent campaigns. Highlights include:

  • Twin Cities Carpenters Local 322 apprentices will build and raffle off a limited number of benches decorated with local sports teams’ logos.
  • Members of St. Paul Firefighters Local 21 will be at the pavilion to sell and sign their 2016 calendars, which benefit veterans’ charities.
  • The Minnesota AFL-CIO will conduct an informal, anonymous survey, asking fairgoers about their jobs, wages and working conditions. “The fair always has a good cross-section of people,” Shields said.
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