Twin Cities Habitat workers vote to unionize with AFSCME

March 24, 2026 by

Workers at Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity have voted to form a union, becoming the newest group of nonprofit employees to organize with Council 5 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).

The new bargaining unit brings together about 100 workers from Twin Cities Habitat and its lending subsidiary, TCHFH Lending, Inc. Members work in construction, real estate, the Habitat ReStore, resource development and other programs and services.

The National Labor Relations Board tallied results of the mail-in election March 17. The union prevailed 43-31, with eight void ballots and one challenged ballot.

The St. Paul-based employer and Council 5 released a joint statement from their leaders – Council 5 Executive Director Bart Andersen, Twin Cities Habitat CEO Chris Coleman and TCHFH Lending President Robyn Bipes-Timm – pledging to move forward together.

“Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity and AFSCME Council 5 believe every eligible employee deserves the opportunity to make their choice freely and privately, and Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity shared with staff that their decision would be supported no matter the outcome,” the statement reads.

“Our entities are fully invested in our team members. We are appreciative of the respectful approach and investment shown throughout this process from eligible employees, Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, TCHFH Lending, Inc., and AFSCME Council 5, and we thank the NLRB for facilitating the vote.”

Twin Cities Habitat workers formally requested recognition of their union from management in late January.

The union launched an Instagram account around the same time.

The Twin Cities Habitat campaign is the latest in a string of successful nonprofit organizing drives supported by Council 5 in recent years, from legal-aid and health-outreach services across the region to cultural hubs like the Minnesota Historical Society, the Walker Art Center and the Science Museum of Minnesota.

Andersen, Council 5’s executive director, said unions across the country are seeing an “explosion” of interest from workers – and organizing to meet that demand.

“These workers are fighting to ensure they have a voice on the job and can collectively bargain for higher wages, better benefits, safety on the job and dignity and respect for the work they do to uplift our communities,” Andersen said. “Labor unions not only have a duty and responsibility to build our unions internally, but to also ensure we provide a space and support for unorganized workers to come to and help form a union in their workplace.”

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IBEW 110, Rice County Habitat enter third decade of partnership

January 25, 2022 by

(photo courtesy Logan Beere)

It’s said that many hands make light work. But to make the lights work at a new fourplex under construction in Northfield, Habitat for Humanity tapped the expertise of local union electricians.

About 40 members of St. Paul-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 110 joined a volunteer project at the fourplex Jan. 15, installing light fixtures, hooking up electrical receptacles and switches, and turning on power.

It’s the latest example of a partnership between Local 110’s Faribault chapter and Rice County Habitat for Humanity that has spanned more than 20 years. The union also has supported Habitat builds in Cannon Falls and the Cambridge area.

Union members at People’s Electric began volunteering with Rice County Habitat in 1999, according to retired member Steven White. The union later took over the initiative “wholeheartedly,” White said, and currently partners with contractor Muska Electric to pull permits necessary for the electrical work.

With single-digit temperatures, Local 110 journeyman Dave Slattery (front) and apprentice Jeremy Dohrmann install wiring outside the fourplex.
IBEW Local 110 apprentice Helen Spindler and Local 110 President Doug Suchanek work together to install a light fixture.
IBEW Local 110 retirees Bob Delesha (L) and Steven White are mainstays of the union’s Habitat volunteer projects in Rice County.

White and Bob Delesha, chair of the Faribault chapter, estimated the union has volunteered on 40 Habitat projects. Local 110 donates the wire, panels, outlets, switches and other materials installed in each home.

“I’ve been fortunate to come back to finish some of the work, and I’ve gotten to meet some of the homeowners,” White said. “They are beyond thrilled. This is a meaningful way to give back to the community.”

Delesha said his wife used to joke that he spends more time volunteering in other people’s homes than his own. “But it’s a skilled trade we were fortunate to learn, and we are fortunate to be able to give back,” Delesha said.

Another benefit of the Habitat partnership, he added, is that it gives Electrical Workers experience with residential work. It also gives apprentices, journey-level workers and retirees an opportunity to learn from each other.

“For most locals out of major cities, a lot of people don’t get much experience with residential wiring anymore,” Delesha said. “We update our education, but it isn’t the same as putting in time on a job. And the younger people get an opportunity to work with some of the gray-hairs, too.”

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IBEW 110’s growing minority caucus hooks up Habitat house in Faribault

November 18, 2019 by

Saturday was a national day of service for the Electrical Workers Minority Caucus, and 25 volunteers from St. Paul-based Local 110 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers spent the morning roughing in a Habitat for Humanity home in Faribault.

The service project brought together journey-level workers, apprentices and their family members. Volunteer turnout was the highest Local 110 has seen since the union began participating in the day of service five years ago.

Mike Roberts, a journey-level worker who participated in the volunteer project, said Local 110’s minority caucus is growing.

“IBEW members are recognizing that the Electrical Workers Minority Caucus is not just a minority committee,” said Roberts, who serves as caucus president. “They’re recognizing the important work happening in the committee, and they’re getting behind us. We’re all doing this together.”

First-year apprentice Nurbayan Hassan (L), Mike Roberts and second-year apprentice Luke Favreau
Timmi Glewwe
Fifth-year apprentice Jeff Winsor
Kit Moreno, an IBEW householder
Logan Beere
Third-year apprentice Cat Levander (L) and first-year apprentice Jessica Hayes

The Habitat build offered several newly registered apprentices an opportunity to sharpen their skills working alongside more experience Electrical Workers, connect with fellow union members and have some fun.

“Everybody likes to do Habitat houses,” Roberts said.

For the Rice County chapter of Habitat for Humanity, the feeling is mutual. The Minority Caucus day of service is among several projects adopted by Local 110 volunteers throughout the year.

“We are very grateful for the strong partnership with IBEW,” Dayna Norvold, executive director of Rice County Habitat, said. “The crews are great to work with, and we couldn’t fulfill our mission of building safe, decent and affordable homes without their partnership.”

The home IBEW volunteers wired Saturday is a one-story rambler with two bedrooms, one bathroom and a two-car garage. Norvold said she hopes to see it completed in March 2020, with a deserving family taking ownership in the following weeks.

Roberts said union members take pride in every job they do, but there’s something unique about projects that improve people’s lives.

“As IBEW members, we feel like we are obligated to give back and serve our communities,” he said.

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In North Branch, union volunteers help build home for disabled veteran’s family

November 11, 2016 by

web-habitat-groupA partially disabled military veteran and his family own a new home in North Branch, thanks to a little help from East Central Minnesota Habitat for Humanity and several Building Trades unions.

After a dedication ceremony Oct. 29, Eric and JoAnn Trudeau took ownership of the 1,3252-square-foot home, with four bedrooms, two bathrooms and a 400-square-foot garage. It’s enough space for the couple and their four children: Briana, Mariana, Wyatt and Ziva.

St. Paul-based Plumbers and Gasfitters Local 34 donated bathroom fixtures, sinks, a tub, shower and other interior features. Union plumbers also volunteered their time and skills to help build the house.

So, too, did members of St. Paul-based Local 110 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, who wired the house with materials donated by the union.

Members of the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters framed and closed in the building, and installed siding.

Work on the home began in July.

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City of St. Paul employees volunteer to help build Habitat house in Frogtown

July 29, 2015 by
City employees (L to R) Laura Haynssen, Barb Morin, Nora Riemenschneider and AFSCME member K.C. Blees pause for a photo on the scaffolding at the Habitat construction site in Frogtown.

City employees (L to R) Laura Haynssen, Barb Morin, Nora Riemenschneider and AFSCME member K.C. Blees pause for a photo on the scaffolding at the Habitat construction site in Frogtown.

City of St. Paul employees serve the public every day at work. But this summer, some are using their vacation time to give back to the community as well.

In a coordinated effort among the city’s agencies and departments, city staffers are adopting six daylong volunteer shifts on a Habitat for Humanity construction site in Frogtown. They’re helping build a single-family home on a previously vacant lot at 632 Edmund Ave.

Ricardo Cervantes, director of the Department of Safety and Inspections, coordinates the city’s participation in the Habitat build. He said the volunteer effort is a growing event for the city, which increased its commitment from five days last year to six this year.

“Nobody’s getting paid to be here,” Cervantes said. “Yet the number of people willing to volunteer continues to grow. We set a goal of getting as many departments to participate as we can, and this year we’re probably getting close to 95 percent.”

Erica Brown (L), Jim Giebel and Dolly Lee haul lumber on the site.
AFSCME member Kate Aamot (R) and Bridget Morales apply caulk along the exterior wall.
IBEW Local 110 member Dan Moynihan, a senior electrical inspector with the city, works along the roof.
Planning and Economic Development intern Kanneelah Britton
Habitat for Humanity site supervisor McKinsie Clyde (R) and AFSCME member Todd Freking watch as Nance Lee Mosquera works with a saw.

Construction at the Frogtown site began in June, and volunteers – roughly 15 to 18 per day – will be on hand five days per week for roughly 10 to 12 weeks, site supervisor McKinsie Clyde said. The City of St. Paul teamed with Travelers Insurance and Securian Financial to fill most shifts at the site this summer.

Along with North Minneapolis, Frogtown is an “area of emphasis” for Habitat in the Twin Cities. Clyde can point to other homes in the neighborhood Habitat has built or refurbished.

“This area was really hard hit by the foreclosure crisis,” she said. “The worst of it is over now in most places, but this is where we have need in our community.”

Working as an electrical inspector, IBEW Local 110 member Dan Moynihan has been inside plenty of low-income properties across the city.

“You see how people have to try to get by, and if I can help, I’m going to when I can,” Moynihan said. “We’re always trying to improve our housing stock here. This is an exciting program to be a part of.”

Habitat vets potential owners, requiring applicants to complete a class in home ownership and put in 300 to 500 hours of “sweat equity” on the construction site. The three-bedroom, 1,500-square-foot house on Edmund Avenue will be sold to a family of five, with two adult immigrants from Ethiopia. The tentative closing date is in December.

How are members of your union giving back?

We know union members across the Twin Cities are giving back to their communities. Help us give them the recognition they deserve! Send story tips to mmoore@stpaulunions.org.

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