Unions raise safety concerns at Ridgedale mall construction site

July 9, 2014 by
Members of several Building Trades unions picket outside Ridgedale: (L to R) David Sears of Painters District Council 82, Roger LeClair of the Insulators Local 34, Brian Gullickson of the Cement Masons Local 633, Michael Connelly of Laborers Local 563 and Ryan Mims of the Painters.

Members of several Building Trades unions picket outside Ridgedale: (L to R) David Sears of Painters District Council 82, Roger LeClair of the Insulators Local 34, Brian Gullickson of the Cement Masons Local 633, Michael Connelly of Laborers Local 563 and Ryan Mims of the Painters.

MINNETONKA – Laborers, bricklayers, painters, electricians and other union craftspeople picketed together outside Ridgedale Center in Minnetonka this morning, targeting several contractors working inside the mall that are undermining area wage and safety standards, according to the unions.

Ridgedale’s Chicago-based ownership group, General Growth Properties (GGP), is spending $100 million to upgrade the mall, which opened in 1974. Several tenants are investing in improvements to their retail facilities as well.

But progress on the Ridgedale renovation has been anything but smooth.

Since breaking ground last year, the project has been plagued by interruptions and safety problems, including a roof fire in Macy’s last November. Two months ago Vito Construction abruptly left the project after the demolition contractor drew protests from union workers who said the company’s lax approach to safety – including failure to lock out electrical panels and improper disposal of potentially hazardous materials – were putting both workers and the public at risk.

Kevin Pranis, organizing director of the Laborers District Council of Minnesota and North Dakota, questioned whether GGP was putting profits before public safety.

“Anyone who shops at Ridgedale mall could be at risk because of the safety problems here,” Pranis said. “That’s why we’re here today. When members of the public are at risk, we certainly want them to know what the issues are.”

Problems at Ridgedale have not been limited to Vito Construction, Pranis and Laborers Local 563 business agent Joe Fowler added. Even after Vito’s dismissal, the union brought evidence of new safety problems, including an unsecured demolition site that was accessible to the general public, to GGP shareholders during their annual meeting in Chicago on May 16.

“GGP Executive Vice President Richard Pesin told me he’d take care of the safety problems at the mall, but apparently somebody didn’t get the memo,” Fowler said.  “Just this week we found yet another unlocked electrical panel on yet another construction site that was not secured to keep out the general public.”

Other Building Trades unions joined the picket today, targeting contractors working inside the mall for undermining area safety and wage standards

Safety problems and labor unrest at Ridgedale stand in sharp contrast to progress at Bloomington’s Mall of America, where developers entered into a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) with the Minneapolis Building and Construction Trades Council before breaking ground on a $325 million expansion project. PLA’s ensure all work done on a project meets area standards for wages, benefits and safety.

“Our experience has been very different on renovation projects at Mall of America and Southdale Mall,” Pranis said. “We see a general problem with vetting contractors here at Ridgedale.”

Fowler said many of the problems at Ridgedale could be avoided if contractors meet community standards for wages and benefits and comply with basic safety principles.

“The Twin Cities has high standards of safety and a good standard of living,” he said. “It is very important to all of us to keep it that way.”

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When it comes to home improvement, skip the hassle, hire union

June 1, 2014 by

framing10In over your head on a home-improvement job? Whether it’s a leaky pipe or a kitchen remodel, your best bet for quality and value is a union contractor.

Fortunately, Building Trades unions and their signatory contractors are making it easier than ever to get a bid or a price quote on residential work. [For a list of links to union contractors in Minnesota, see the Buy Union page.]

Paul Berg, director of public relations and training for the Minnesota Mechanical Contractors Association, advised homeowners to know their limitations.

“Things can go wrong in a hurry, especially when you don’t know what you are doing,” Berg said. “Fixing a loose plumbing fitting can quickly turn into a watery basement. And if you want to repair your furnace we’d advise sticking to changing the furnace filter.”

The MMCA’s website, MinnesotaMCA.org, maintains a list of union contractors available to install or repair residential plumbing, heating and air conditioning systems. All contractors on the list are licensed, bonded and insured.

“Having these qualifications makes sure you don’t end up with larger problems than you started with,” Berg said.

Union contractors are able to guarantee quality work because they team with local Building Trades unions to invest in training, from their intensive apprenticeship programs to continuing education for journeymen.

Electrical Workers’ unions in the Twin Cities, for example, invest over $3 million per year into worker training, IBEW Local 110’s Jeff Anderson said.

“We put a lot of stock in training,” Anderson said. “Being on top of the new products, especially in the residential industry, where electrical code changes quite frequently, a guy really does have to pay attention, know the rules. And we do.”

Union contractors aren’t hiring “people who are just giving something a try,” Anderson added. Union tradespeople are invested in their careers, and they earn wages and benefits befitting that investment.

“With a union contractor you know that they are paying their employees a living wage, including benefits, that they are paying taxes, and are not illegally misclassifying their employees,” said Tracy Madden, communications director for the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters.

Madden pointed to several contractors that do residential carpentry work in the East Metro area: MLR, 612-328-7749; J&K Builders, Inc., 952-473-5033; Lemke & Sons LLC, 651-665-9477; Parkos Construction Co., 651-455-0031; Tim Lemke Construction, 651-602-9001; and Trudeau Construction, 651-450-1238.

The IBEW will soon roll out a new website, featuring the union’s five-year guarantee on all work, for local consumers seeking residential services.

In the meantime, Anderson said, homeowners can call his local for contractor referrals at 651-776-4239.

ibew-habitat-web6

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In Forest Lake, Electrical Workers picket City Hall construction site

May 22, 2014 by
Members of IBEW Local 110 picket the non-union entrance to the construction site of Forest Lake's new City Hall. Picketing, from L to R, are Gary Kispert, Mike Finamore and John Vejtruba.

Members of IBEW Local 110 picket the non-union entrance to the construction site of Forest Lake’s new City Hall. Picketing, from L to R, are Gary Kispert, Mike Finamore and John Vejtruba.

FOREST LAKE – Construction of a new City Hall in this northeast suburb slowed to a snail’s pace yesterday, as members of Local 110 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers erected a picket line to protest the city’s use of an electrical contractor that, members say, undermines area standards for wages and benefits.

Efforts to reach an agreement with Vinco Inc. to pay wages and benefits on par with area standards have been unsuccessful, Local 110 organizer Bill Malecha said. Union members have greeted the contractor with “Shame On You” banners at its job sites more than a dozen times in recent months.

But when the City of Forest Lake awarded the electrical work on the City Hall project to Vinco, it was the final straw.

“We decided to step up the pressure with a three-day picket,” Malecha said, adding that the action had been sanctioned by the St. Paul Building & Construction Trades Council. “We can’t tell our union brothers and sisters not cross the line, but you can see pretty much the only people on the jobsite are the non-union electrical workers.”

Laborers Local 563 was among the unions who honored Local 110’s picket line yesterday, business agent Chris Peltier said. He and a handful of other Laborers bolstered the IBEW members’ ranks on the picket line today.

“When there’s a dispute on a job, we try to do whatever we can to support the other Trades,” Peltier said. “Yesterday we were able to keep all our people out, along with the other Trades.”

Before work began this morning, the general contractor on the construction site, Kraus-Anderson, established a “double-gate system.” It allows union contractors to access the construction site through a picket-free entrance. Work has picked up somewhat as a result.

It’s not the first time in recent months that the City of Forest Lake, under City Administrator Aaron Parrish, has found itself the target of a union protest. In fact, the IBEW’s three-day picket isn’t even the only demonstration taking place on the City Hall construction site.

Heat and Frost Insulators Local 34 has put up a banner protesting R.J. Mechanical for subcontracting insulation work on the site to O’Leary Insulation, a non-union contractor that fails to pay the industry-standard wages and benefits established by Local 34.

Last fall members of Local 517 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees pushed back against Parrish’s drastic plan to reorganize city staff. Most notoriously, Parrish made firefighting a part of five workers’ job descriptions, despite the fact most were older than 50 with no previous firefighting experience.

“We’ve heard it many, many times from people who stop to ask us what we’re doing. They say, ‘It’s about time somebody does something in this town,’” Malecha said. “I would only hope the city would understand the reason this project is being held up is because they hired a non-union contractor who doesn’t pay area-standard wages and benefits.”

Local 110 plans to keep the picket line up through Friday.

“Our goal is to have Vinco sign a letter of assent with Local 110,” Malecha said.

Heat and Frost Insulators Local 34 protested alongside IBEW members on the Forest Lake City Hall construction site, targeting a non-union insulating contractor. Holding the banner, from L to R, are Brandon Sebesta, Robin Carlen and Angela Sheehan.

Heat and Frost Insulators Local 34 protested alongside IBEW members on the Forest Lake City Hall construction site, targeting a non-union insulating contractor. Holding the banner, from L to R, are Brandon Sebesta, Robin Carlen and Angela Sheehan.

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Electrical Workers question safety, wage standards of Lowry Building overhaul

January 14, 2013 by
Members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers man a banner outside the Lowry Building in St. Paul.

Members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers man a banner outside the Lowry Building in St. Paul.

Local 110 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers is targeting a contractor that union leaders say has undermined area-standard wages and benefits – and may be putting his workers at risk.

Jim Crockarell, vice president of Madison Equities, drew a “Shame On” banner from the union last month after contracting with Reliance Electric do to installation work at the Lowry Building downtown St. Paul.

“Reliance Electric does not pay the area-standard wages and benefits fought for and secured by St. Paul Electricians,” the IBEW flier distributed at the site reads.

The Lowry Building is undergoing a complete remodeling, and Ramsey County intends to lease the bottom two floors for the County Attorney’s offices.

Brian Winkelaar, IBEW Local 110’s political director, said the county has assured the union prevailing wages will be paid on any remodeling work done on the bottom two floors, but Crockarell “has discretion over” in the rest of the building.

What’s more, Winkelaar and other Local 110 representatives visited the worksite Nov. 29 and found safety standards lacking.

“We saw open electrical panels, stairwells that had no handrails and numerous trip hazards,” Winkelaar said. “All these things we are told when we go on a job site need to be done – none of them were done there.”

The company has a stake in several buildings around St. Paul – from Lexington Plaza in Roseville to the building that houses the Hat Trick Lounge in Lowertown. Electricians will be taking their banner to all of the sites to shame Crockarell even more – until he hires a contractor that pays prevailing wages and puts its workers’ safety first.

“All workers deserve to go home after a day’s work,” Winkelaar said.

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