The voice of Saint Paul's working families since 1897
Efforts to stop worker exploitation in the Twin Cities construction industry continued to gain momentum today, as construction unions called out Royal Credit Union for using an out-of-state masonry contractor accused by watchdog groups of underpaying immigrant laborers. As the credit union cut the ribbon inside a newly acquired and refurbished branch in Inver Grove […]
As allegations of wage theft continue to bubble up from the Twin Cities’ nonunion construction industry, a worker-led initiative aims to partner with developers to keep labor abuses off their job sites. After months of behind-the-scenes planning and organizing, construction workers this week publicly invited local developers to join the Building Dignity and Respect (BDR) […]
Tradespeople who worked on the Viking Lakes luxury apartments in Eagan went public last week with accusations of wage theft on the project, owned and developed by the same family that owns the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings. Worker advocacy groups, including the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters (NCSRCC), pinned responsibility for the alleged labor […]
Twin Cities Building Trades councils observed Workers Memorial Day with a ceremony on the Capitol grounds today, remembering union tradespeople who died from workplace injuries and illnesses over the past year and rededicating their organizations to the cause of safer worksites. “Every worker, regardless of their language, their gender, their skin color, their age or […]
Samantha Schanus was among four Tradeswomen Heroes award winners named in July, the month she took office as Roofers Local 96’s new secretary-treasurer.
Notorious wage broker Ricardo Batres, who pleaded guilty to felony charges of labor trafficking and insurance fraud in November, received a nine-month sentence in Hennepin County district court Wednesday. The sentencing brought to a close the first labor trafficking case to emerge from Minnesota’s construction industry. But worker advocates, armed with the findings of an […]
Workers organizing with CTUL kicked off the campaign with a march down Lake Street in Minneapolis.
Minnesota’s workforce is experiencing tremendous transition. Thousands of our experienced baby boomers are retiring, while many employers are seeking a workforce capable of meeting increased levels of skill to operate new technologies with precision. An emerging, yet familiar, pathway for some employers to successfully bridge that gap is registered apprenticeship programs. Registered apprenticeship programs have […]
Analise Adams, a 22-year-old from Minneapolis, was working in a Linden Hills childcare center two months ago. When her aunt, a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, told her about a free training opportunity for women considering careers in construction, Adams decided to take a chance. She quit her childcare job and […]
A crew of 12 UnderConstruction interns arrived at a vacant lot in St. Paul’s Frogtown neighborhood before 9 a.m. today. Their task was to build a garage from the ground up, and within two hours the structure had begun taking shape. The concrete foundation had settled. The framework was up. Interns were taking turns shingling […]
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