Thoemke: Responsible contracting, union organizing are good for business – just ask this local printer

November 24, 2025 by

Zach Thoemke (R), celebrates a victory at the NLRB with former Seven Corners employees William Cushman (L) and Noah Johnson. (submitted photo)

As a union organizer, I meet a lot of workers who’ve been treated unfairly – and plenty of employers who want nothing to do with fixing it. So when I got a call about Seven Corners, a local printing shop, I expected another long, uphill battle. Workers there were fighting to dissolve their sham ‘union’ and establish real representation with IUPAT District Council 82.

At first, that’s exactly what it was: a fight. The shop’s employees, Noah and Will, stood up for themselves even as the previous owner refused to recognize their right to organize. Together, we filed to dissolve the fake union through the National Labor Relations Board. It took research, persistence and countless hours of paperwork. But without a lawyer, we went toe-to-toe with the company’s attorney and won.

After the NLRB ruled in our favor, the shop changed hands and became CE Print & Promo under new owners, Steve and Brian. When I reached out to explain the situation, they were stunned to learn that the previous owner had been operating under a phony union agreement. Within 24 hours, they met with us in person to make things right. I could tell right away that this was going to be different.

Steve and Brian brought documentation from their legitimate union shop in Des Moines to show how they take care of their workers. When we brought forward a contract to negotiate, they came back with an even better offer than we’d proposed. They didn’t just want to fix the problem; they wanted to set a new standard for what being a responsible, union-friendly employer looks like. Even though they’re the kind of employer who doesn’t need a contract to know how to treat people, they were ready and willing to work with our union and establish a good relationship.

In all my years of organizing, I’ve never seen a contractor move so quickly to remedy a grievance. They didn’t hide behind lawyers or make excuses. They just moved to make it right. Noah and Will got their back benefits corrected, and even though they’ve since moved on to new jobs, they still have a good relationship with CE Print & Promo. Will even came back and helped train new employees.

Today, CE Print & Promo is a proud partner of DC 82 Local 880. They’re working with us on new training programs for sign and display work – something no one else in the area is doing. And they’re not just in it for themselves. Their goal is to improve the sign and display industry overall, establish good relationships with other contractors, and raise standards across the board.

In a time when so many employers are fighting unions, CE Print & Promo chose a different path. They showed that accountability and compassion can go hand in hand – and that doing right by your people is just good business.

To other workers out there: speak up. You deserve fairness, respect, and a voice on the job. It may be daunting, but you are more powerful than you know, especially when you unite with other workers. We were able to hold our own at the NLRB hearing without legal representation and come out on top. If you need help organizing or fighting unfair labor practices, contact your local union. Organizers like me are here to help; you don’t have to go it alone.

And to other employers: look to CE Print & Promo as an example. When you listen to your workers and work in partnership with their union, everyone wins.

I’m proud of what we accomplished together, and I’m even prouder to see this shop leading by example. CE Print & Promo didn’t just clean up someone else’s mess. They set a new gold standard for what a responsible contractor can be.

– Zach Thoemke is an organizer with Local 880 of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT), an affiliate of District Council 82.

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IUPAT’s community outreach led to first criminal wage-theft conviction in Minnesota

April 25, 2025 by

Painters union representative Jordan Fry speaks during a press conference called by the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office after it secured Minnesota’s first criminal wage-theft conviction. (photo by Vince Muzik)

The local Building Trades union whose organizing efforts laid the groundwork for Minnesota’s first criminal wage-theft conviction said the landmark case reflects the tip of the iceberg when it comes to worker abuses in the construction industry.

Frederick Leon Newell, a 59-year-old resident of Lakeville, was convicted April 9 of one count of wage theft and one count of theft by swindle, after a bench trial in January.

The court found that Newell’s firm, Integrated Painting Solutions (IPS), underpaid five workers on a publicly subsidized housing development in Minneapolis by a combined $37,000 for work performed between June 8 and Dec. 4, 2020.

It’s the first conviction under a state law passed in 2019 that recognized wage theft as a criminal offense. The law empowers prosecutors to seek justice for workers who, prior to the change, had to fight for damages in civil court.

At a press conference held by the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office following the conviction, IUPAT District Council 82 representative Jordan Fry said it strikes a blow against the “underground economy that seeks to destroy worker protections.”

“Most times, workers cannot defend themselves – vulnerable workers who can hardly afford to put food on the table, who cannot afford to miss one paycheck,” Fry added. “This wage-theft law serves as a beacon of hope, a law that turns wage theft from a civil-court fantasy into a criminal-court reality.”

Fry’s union, the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) District Council 82, connected Newell’s victims with investigators.

In meetings nearly five years ago, union organizers confirmed the workers’ suspicions that they were being underpaid by IPS on the Redwell apartment complex.

The tactics Newell used to steal wages from his workers are familiar to worker advocates in the construction industry. IPS failed to pay prevailing wage as required by county ordinance on the taxpayer-financed project, and the firm illegally misclassified workers as independent contractors.

“Mr. Newell was entrusted with public funds to pay his staff for their labor on a public works project,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said. “Instead, he siphoned their money for himself.”

Labor advocates said they hope the conviction is another step toward preventing labor abuses, particularly in the multifamily residential construction sector.

“We hope the state continues to pursue and take these cases seriously, and that it sends a message to those who benefit from the system of exploitation that exists in construction – like contractors and developers – that they also have a responsibility to take steps to prevent this from happening on their jobsites,” Brian Merle Payne, executive director of the worker center CTUL, said.

The presumptive sentence for Newell’s wage-theft conviction, according to state guidelines, is a stayed sentence of 21 months. But the court also found that Newell had committed “major economic offenses,” which may lead to a more severe sentence.

Fry said the publicity surrounding the landmark case reaches workers, too, with the message that they have rights – and advocates willing to fight for them.

“But you must come forward to tell your story,” Fry said. “We are here, and we will stand up to fight wage theft and other worker exploitation.

“We will speak out and we will stand with you, and we will not back down because we know an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us.”

– Michael Moore, Union Advocate editor

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Grecia Palomar: Building a stronger future for Twin Cities Latino workers

April 9, 2025 by

When we started the LCLAA Twin Cities Chapter a year ago, we had a simple yet powerful goal: to create a safety net for our community and provide a space where union leaders and workers could come together to advocate for our rights.

We knew the daily challenges Latino workers face – wage theft, racial profiling, worker misclassification and the constant fear of worksite raids. These are not new problems, and they have intensified, making it harder for our communities to thrive.

The reality is stark. Many of our brothers and sisters fear going to work, sending their children to school or even walking through the town. The possibility of being separated from their families looms over them, and as a result, many hesitate to report labor violations, speak up about unsafe working conditions or demand fair wages.

When workers are afraid, employers with bad intentions take advantage. They misclassify workers, cut corners on safety and drive down wages. When legal status and language barriers come into play, it becomes even harder for workers to fight back. The blame, unfortunately, often falls on the workers themselves rather on the companies violating their rights.

This is why LCLAA, the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, exists.

Since its founding in 1972, LCLAA has been at the forefront of the labor movement, ensuring that Latino workers have a voice. From advocating for fair wages and safer workplaces to fighting for immigrants’ rights and political inclusion, we have spent more than 50 years standing up for our communities.

Here in the Twin Cities, we are working to continue the legacy. Just last month, we hosted an event where an immigration attorney answered urgent questions from our members. We also distributed “Know Your Rights” cards, provided legal resources through the AFL-CIO, and made sure our community members had the information they need to protect themselves and their families.

But we know that one meeting is not enough. This is just the beginning.

Our LCLAA Twin Cities chapter is committed to ensuring that workers feel supported, informed, and empowered. We want to see more union members getting involved, more leaders stepping up and more allies joining us in the fight for dignity and respect.

The challenges ahead are real, but so is our determination. We are here to say that Latino workers are not alone. We are here to organize, to advocate, and to ensure that no one has to live in fear.

At LCLAA Twin Cities, we are just getting started.

– A member of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) Local 386, Grecia Palomar serves as president of the LCLAA Twin Cities Chapter. She is a drywall finisher/safety instructor at the Finishing Trades Institute of the Upper Midwest. To learn more about LCLAA, email twincities [at] lclaa [dot] org.

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Up for a challenge: Competitors test their skills at WBS Trade Games

December 10, 2024 by

Ashley Kula (L) and Anya Davis raced to finish Cement Masons Local 633’s challenge.

It wasn’t gold, silver or bronze, but there was plenty of metal in play during the Trade Games Challenge at St. Paul Pipefitters Local 455’s training center Nov. 21.

Hosted by Women Building Success (WBS) to celebrate National Apprenticeship Week, the friendly, hands-on competition drew nearly 200 participants in its second year.

“This event has hands-on challenge activities for each trade,” WBS board member Jenny Winkelaar, director of workforce and community development for Operating Engineers Local 49, said. “It is a fun way to showcase what the trades have to offer.”

Competitors included apprentices, journey workers and community members with an interest in exploring careers in the union construction trades.

Cement Masons apprentice Grace Olson checked out her virtual paint job.

Participants walked from station to station on the shop floor, trying their hand at challenges sponsored by different local union apprenticeship programs. Each union designed the challenge to reflect their unique craft.

At booths hosted by Plumbers Local 34 and Sprinklerfitters Local 417, instructors timed competitors as they followed the instructions for connecting pieces of pipe into a “pipe guy.” Insulators Local 34 challenged competitors to affix insulation to the proper place on a pipe structure, like a puzzle.

Some Trade Games challenges pitted competitors against each other. Laborers Local 563 held wheelbarrow races. At Pipefitters Local 455’s station, it was a chain hoist race, with competitors racing to raise their large spool to the finish point fastest.

Madi Jennings, a fourth-year apprentice with the Insulators union, tied rebar at Ironworkers Local 512’s station, clocking the second-fastest time of the event’s early session. Local 512 training coordinator Erik Hansen said that it’s good for apprentices like Jennings to gain exposure to other crafts – and good for apprenticeship programs’ recruitment efforts, too.

“We’re hoping this kind of becomes a word-of-mouth thing,” Hansen said. “OK, you’re already in a trade, but maybe you know someone considering their options, and you tell them, ‘Hey, check out the Ironworkers.’”

For competitors like Matt Segal, who learned about the event from a friend, the Trade Games Challenge also served as a career fair. After working in the tech industry for a decade, he’s looking for a change.

“I’m exploring my options and seeing what’s out there,” Segal, 34, said after splitting a pair of chain hoist races – hosted by the Pipefitters – with IBEW Local 110 member Marisa McAndrew. “I like working with my hands, and I’d like to learn some skills that I can take with me – that are applicable in my home and anywhere I go.

“It’s been exciting to be here and talk not only to trades instructors, but tradespeople, too.”

Rockett (R), who said she uses just one name, matched insulation with piping at Insulators Local 34’s station during the Trade Games Challenge.
Dorlisa Squires (L), an apprentice with Local 49, and Glenda Tejada race to assemble a “pipe guy” at Sprinklerfitters Local 417’s challenge.
Mahaila Houle (R), a career navigator with Operating Engineers Local 49, guided Plumbers Local 34 apprentice Karen Severson through the excavator event.
Ironworkers Local 512’s Erik Hansen timed Madi Jennings, an Insulators apprentice, as she raced to tie rebar.

For most attendees, though, the primary objective was fun and fellowship.

At Cement Masons Local 633’s station, that meant playing in the “mud,” as competitors raced to flatten and level wet cement, edge the sides and install control joints – the cuts in walkways or other slabs that allow for movement due to temperature or moisture.

Local 633 apprentice Grace Olson was not tempted to leave her craft behind after trying the virtual spraypainting booth, hosted by the Finishing Trades Institute, Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) District Council 82’s training arm.

“I think I did OK, but I probably could have done better,” the third-year apprentice laughed. “I think I over-sprayed it a little.”

But Plumbers Local 34 apprentice Karen Severson joked that she “might switch trades” after climbing into the excavator that Operating Engineers Local 49 parked inside the Pipefitters’ training hall, challenging participants to pick up and transfer a flagpole from one road cone to another. “That was fun,” Severson said.

WBS was founded in 2017 to recognize and promote the achievements of women in union construction trades. WBS hosts an annual awards ceremony, an apprenticeship photo contest and other events.

– Michael Moore, Union Advocate editor

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Trades celebrate Women Build Success awards

February 27, 2020 by

Pictured after the Women Build Success awards ceremony are (L to R) Megan Ringwelski, Nancy Leppink, Peggy Flanagan, Amy Peterson, Clara Schiller, Connie Smallman, Rachel Malmer and Derra Range.

Union tradeswomen celebrated the most badass among them at a spirited awards ceremony in Minneapolis last night.

“Six women, selected from dozens of nominees for apprentice, journey worker and advocate of the year, took home honors at the Women Building Success Awards Ceremony.

Board members for Women Building Success include Jenny Winkelaar, Operating Engineers Local 49; Jennifer Mudge, IBEW Local 292; Carrie Robles, Laborers Local 563; Matt Fairbanks, Sheet Metal Workers Local 10; Tasha Lawrence Plumbers Local 34; Barry Davies, Ironworkers Local 512; Teri Stave, Elevator Constructors Local 9; and Barb Pecks, North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters

Two high-profile guests of honor handed out the awards: Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry Commissioner Nancy Leppink and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who encouraged tradeswomen in the room to continue building each other up, both on the job site and with events like the awards ceremony.

“Empowered women empower women,” Winkelaar said.

Advocate of the Year

Connie Smallman, a member of Operating Engineers Local 49 in her 33rd year working construction, received Advocate of the Year honors. Smallman co-founded Local 49’s women’s group, the first of its kind among Operating Engineers locals. Since then, she has helped other unions across the country launch women’s groups of their own.

“I used to be the only girl on the job site,” Smallman said. “The last job I worked on, I had the pleasure of working with over 50 tradeswomen. How cool is that?”

Honorable mention in the category went to Amy Peterson, a member of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 82. Terry Nelson, the council’s business manager, said Peterson works as an apprenticeship instructor with the Finishing Trades Institute of the Upper Midwest, and has trained hundreds of union apprentices in drywall finishing and thousands in workplace safety.

“She is always there to help other women,” Nelson said. “Amy has worked hard to get where she is, and she is always there for other women to help them make their way in the trade.”

Journey Worker of the Year

St. Paul Steamfitters-Pipefitters Local 455’s Clara Schiller took home Journey Worker of the Year honors. Jim Sloan, a business representative with the local, said Schiller “consistently proves to be one of our local’s most vocal and dedicated members.”

Schiller puts in extra time both with the local, as an apprenticeship instructor, and in the community, exposing underrepresented communities to opportunities in the union trades. “She embodies what it means to be a union tradeswoman,” Sloan said.

Schiller offered words of encouragement to union tradeswomen in the banquet room. “Remember your heart out there on the job,” she said. “Remember who you are.”

Honorable mention in the category went to Derra Range of LIUNA Laborers Local 563. Sixteen years after leaving her job as a hairstylist, Range now works as a foreman on the job site, Local 563 Business Manager Joe Fowler said.

Range told Fowler she earned the respect of her all-male crews the old fashioned way: “by working my ass off five times harder than most everyone else.”

Apprentice of the Year

Megan Ringwelski, in her fourth year of training with Sprinklerfitters Local 417, was named Apprentice of the Year. As an example of the dedication she brings to the craft, Local 417 Business Manager Trinidad Uribe III said Ringwelski recently continued working into the eighth month of her pregnancy.

“They literally had to pull her away from the tools,” Uribe said. “She’s a hard worker and dedicated, to say the least.”

Honorable mention in the category went to Rachel Malmer, a member of Local 110 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

Local 110’s business manager, Jamie McNamara, said he nominated Malmer for the award, in part, because she has volunteered in support of the union’s political program – “phone banking, door knocking” – while simultaneously working toward her journey-level certification.

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On national day of action, union painters brighten disabled vet’s Shoreview home

April 18, 2016 by

web.IUPAT82-volunteers.groupVolunteers from the Painters and Allied Trades helped ready a new home in Shoreview for the family of a disabled military veteran last weekend.

The project was part of a nationwide day of volunteer activity, IUPAT Gives Back Day, sponsored by the union. Terry Nelson, business manager of Upper Midwest-based IUPAT District Council 82, said the initiative would become an annual event.

“Projects like this show that we are not just highly skilled trades people, but we are volunteers in many areas, from supporting events like our children’s charity to serving as coaches and mentors in our communities,” Nelson said. “Unfortunately, some people forget that.”

Journey-level painter Carissa Shaffer.
Jordan Fry (front) of Painters Local 61 and Alan Legan of Local 386 finish the home’s basement walls.
IUPAT District Council 82 apprentice Kyle Wendroth volunteers on IUPAT Gives Back Day.

Locally, painters teamed up with Journey Home Minnesota, a nonprofit organization founded by Ramsey County Commissioner Blake Huffman, that provides affordable housing in safe neighborhoods to military veterans and survivors of domestic violence.

Ten IUPAT apprentices spent three days working inside the new home last week, honing their skills alongside instructors, volunteer journey-level workers and union staff. And on Saturday, a crew of about 12 volunteers – a mix of journey-level workers, apprentices and students from the Humphrey Job Corps training center – finished painting work on the 2,000-square-foot, four-bedroom house.

District Council 82, which represents more than 3,000 workers in eight IUPAT unions, sponsored similar events in North Dakota and Montana as well.

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Union volunteers provide Clinton, Sanders with boots on the ground in Minnesota

March 1, 2016 by
Left: Laborers President Terry O'Sullivan rallies a crowd of Hillary Clinton volunteers. Right: Bernie Sanders thanks members of the Minnesota Nurses Association for their support.

Left: Laborers President Terry O’Sullivan rallies a crowd of Hillary Clinton volunteers in Little Canada. Right: Bernie Sanders thanks members of the Minnesota Nurses Association for their support.

 

Energized by the prospect of keeping a pro-labor president in the White House, union volunteers in Minnesota are hitting the streets, working the phones and planning a major presence at tonight’s precinct caucuses, one of 14 Super Tuesday nominating contests nationwide.

[Click here to learn how to participate in the caucus process. Click here to learn where you caucus.]

While their enthusiasm may be shared, not all union activists agree when it comes to the best candidate for the job.

Members of AFSCME, the Carpenters, LIUNA, the Painters, the Pipe Trades, the Service Employees and other unions rallied in support of Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton in Little Canada on Saturday, with nearly 100 volunteers fanning out to knock on doors across the metro area.

 

Carpenters cheer a speech by U.S. Rep. Tim Walz at the Clinton rally.
SEIU volunteers map out a door-knocking route.
Members of IUPAT get a primer in door-knocking.
LIUNA General President Terry O’Sullivan
Union members rally in support of Hillary Clinton at the IUPAT hall in Little Canada.
AFSCME Council 5 volunteers hit the streets for Hillary Clinton.

 

Although Clinton has drawn an overwhelming majority of union endorsements, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has garnered support from National Nurses United and the Communication Workers of America, and both unions have mobilized their own network of volunteers in advance of tonight’s caucuses.

CWA members have been holding phone banks for weeks, and members of the Minnesota Nurses Association spent the days running up to tonight’s caucuses riding the “Bernie Bus” across the state, urging people to caucus for Sanders.

Differences in style and substance

Clinton’s union supporters point to their candidate’s extensive resume as a public servant, as well as her results-oriented approach. Sanders’ backers tout the senator’s independence and his fiery, populist message.

SEIU President Mary Kay Henry (R) knocks doors in support of Hillary Clinton with Local 284 member Nate Mathias and SEIU Healthcare MN member Robin Pikala (L).

SEIU President Mary Kay Henry (R) knocks doors in support of Hillary Clinton with Local 284 member Nate Mathias and SEIU Healthcare MN member Robin Pikala (L).

Nate Mathias, a pre-kindergarten teacher from Plymouth and member of SEIU Local 284, said he initially gravitated toward Sanders. But on Saturday, he knocked doors on St. Paul’s east side with SEIU President Mary Kay Henry, rounding up support for Clinton.

“I love a lot of the things Bernie is saying, but Hillary Clinton is a bit more of a pragmatist,” Mathias said. “I just think she has more of the experience and political savvy we need in a candidate.”

Henry, the SEIU’s highest-ranking elected officer, said Clinton met with rank-and-file members in seeking the union’s endorsement last year. “Members said, ‘She gets us, she’s tough and she fights,’” Henry said. “She understands the agenda we think matters most to working people.”

Policy differences, too, have steered unions into the Clinton or Sanders camp.

Sanders greets nurses in St. Paul.

Sanders greets nurses in St. Paul.

At a private reception with Sanders in St. Paul Feb. 12, many nurses said Sanders won them over with his support for expanding Medicare to cover everyone – and taxing Wall Street to pay for it.

“From the beginning, Bernie made total sense to me,” said United Hospital nurse Jennifer Michelson, who traveled to Iowa to volunteer for the Sanders campaign earlier this winter. “I like that he’s challenging the power structure of Wall Street, and I like that he wants to get profit out of health care.”

Energy policy, meanwhile, marks a substantive difference for many Building Trades unions, who draw work from pipelines and other energy-infrastructure projects.

Speaking at the rally in Little Canada, LIUNA President Terry O’Sullivan praised Clinton’s commitment to an “all-of-the-above energy strategy that works for us and works for our economy.”

High stakes

Despite their differences, union members on both sides agreed the stakes are high in 2016, and they hoped early enthusiasm among volunteers would carry over into the fall.

“Regardless of who our candidate is, if we don’t win we’re going to see a rollback of help for working families,” Mathias said. “We’re going to go back to policies that foster inequality and don’t do enough to help working people. We can’t afford that.”

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Melander steps down as St. Paul Building Trades’ top officer

August 3, 2015 by
Incoming and outgoing officers of the St. Paul Building Trades: (L to R) Tom McCarthy, Stan Theis, Harry Melander and Don Mullin.

Incoming and outgoing officers of the St. Paul Building Trades: (L to R) Tom McCarthy, Stan Theis, Harry Melander and Don Mullin.

 

Harry Melander has stepped down after 10 years as the executive secretary of the St. Paul Building and Construction Trades Council, which swore Don Mullin into office as Melander’s successor in the full-time position at a delegate meeting tonight.

Delegates voted unanimously to elect Mullin at a meeting last month. They also elected Tom McCarthy of Plumbers Local 34 to serve as president. McCarthy replaces Local 34’s Stan Theis, who retired earlier this year.

Although Melander is stepping down from the St. Paul Building Trades, he will continue to serve as president of the Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council, a part-time position. Two years remain on his term in office.

To facilitate a smooth transition in leadership, Mullin began working alongside Melander in the Building Trades’ office last month. Mullin acknowledged he has big shoes to fill in his new job.

“Harry has so much knowledge and so many connections,” Mullin said. “He understands that all of the Trades have a part to play. He understands what the ‘Fitters are doing, what the Plumbers are doing, what the Ironworkers are doing and the rest.

“He’s done so much, given back so much to St. Paul and the state of Minnesota. He really cares about people and the advancement of the middle class.”

Harry Melander, second from left, shown in a Union Advocate file photo from 1988, when he was president of Carpenters Local 87. Melander and Al Garcia of Centro Cultural Chicano spoke at a press conference deploring conditions at a construction site in Bloomington that employed migrant workers.

Harry Melander is second from left in this Union Advocate file photo from 1988, when he was president of Carpenters Local 87. Melander and Al Garcia of Centro Cultural Chicano spoke at a press conference deploring conditions at a construction site in Bloomington that employed migrant workers.

A ‘lasting impact’ on St. Paul

A member of the Carpenters union, Melander rose to the position of president in Local 87 before going to work full time as a business representative for the St. Paul Building Trades in 1997, assisting then-Executive Secretary Dick Anfang.

Anfang and his predecessor in office, Bill Peterson, reached out to elected officials, community leaders and developers, cultivating relationships, Melander said, that would create jobs for Building Trades union members for years to come. Melander’s focus over the last 10 years has been on maintaining those relationships – and building new ones.

“We have a great relationship with cities, counties and school boards in the area,” Melander said. “I’ve been fortunate enough to have an excellent mayor to work with in St. Paul, as well as the City Council.”

The admiration is mutual, St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman said.

“Harry is a good friend and has been an incredible public servant for the City of Saint Paul,” Coleman said. “He is a strong advocate for women and immigrants entering the Building Trades, a determined and resolute trade unionist and an unwavering voice for job creation and economic development.

“While we will all miss his colorful quips and great sense of humor, his leadership within the labor movement will leave a lasting impact on our city.”

Melander’s tenure with the St. Paul Building Trades was not without challenges. He was at the helm during a sharp downturn in the industry following the economic collapse of 2008, with work falling off in some crafts by as much as 70 percent. But infrastructure investments like the Green Line and major construction projects like Target Field – both aided by the Building Trades’ lobbying efforts at City Hall and the Capitol – helped soften the recession’s blow.

“The reason we as a council stayed together is because we have affiliates who appreciate what the council does and who believe in what the Building Trades do,” Melander said. “The industry is very cyclical. But the Building Trades remain a great place for men and women to have a middle-class lifestyle.”

In addition to staying on as president of the statewide Building Trades council, Melander will remain involved in overseeing construction of a new labor center at 345 W. 7th St. “We’re going to give people a new home in St. Paul for a strong labor movement in the future,” he said.

Melander’s advice to Mullin, his successor?

“It’s about relationships and trust,” Melander said of the job. “You’re not always going to get to ‘yes,’ but if you can’t do the deal, you walk away with a smile on your face anyway.”

Don Mullen

Don Mullin

Mullin takes the reins

Mullin, 43, is a White Bear Lake resident and a 20-year member of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades. Before his election to the Building Trades Council, Mullin worked as political director of IUPAT District Council 82 and as business representative of Sign and Display Local 880.

Mullin said he hopes to maintain and build on the Council’s existing relationships with local governments, including school boards, city councils and county boards. When those relationships are strong, the Council is in a better position to “police our work,” he said.

“We can look for opportunities to see project labor agreements and enforcement of prevailing wage laws,” he said. “A lot of development comes through city dollars. We need to be developing those relationships and engaging these communities in what we’re all about.”

Ramsey County recently dedicated a staff person to investigating and enforcing prevailing wage on a part-time basis. Mullin said he hopes to recruit other municipalities in the region to pool their resources with the county to support a full-time position.

Mullin also will work to support unions in their efforts to reach out to communities and demographic groups underrepresented in the Trades.

“If you look at most union members today, they’ve gotten here through a family member or somebody else they know,” he said. “We need to be engaging other communities to make sure they know we’ve got a great pathway into the middle class. There are some great career opportunities in this area.”

In addition to his work with IUPAT District Council 82, Mullin has served two years on the White Bear Lake School Board, and he sits on Ramsey County’s Workforce Investment Board and its task force on ice arenas.

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IUPAT District Council 82 sees record turnout for PATCH golf fundraiser

September 27, 2013 by
Terry Nelson, business manager and Secretary-Treasurer for IUPAT District Council 82, joins golfers from the Lockridge Grindal & Nauen law firm (L to R), Dan Larson, Karen Riebel and Andy Burmeister.

Terry Nelson (left), business manager and Secretary-Treasurer for IUPAT District Council 82, joins golfers from the Lockridge Grindal & Nauen law firm (L to R), Dan Larson, Karen Riebel and Andy Burmeister.

Painters and Allied Trades District Council 82’s annual PATCH Golf Fundraiser Aug. 29 was the biggest – and most successful – in the 11-year history of the event, Business Manager Terry Nelson said.

The tournament drew a record 205 golfers, enough to fill both 18-hole courses at Majestic Oaks Golf Club in Ham Lake. It marks the continuation of a recent trend, as participation in the PATCH fundraiser has doubled over the last four years.

That’s good news for the PATCH Foundation, which stands for Painters and Allied Trades for Children’s Hope. Founded in 2001, the Painters’ charity supports literacy programs, children’s hospitals, child-abuse prevention initiatives and other efforts to improve the lives of children in the area.

In 2009 PATCH donated $80,000 to Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, where IUPAT members “work every day doing maintenance work,” Nelson said. The foundation has supported efforts to build a neo-natal care center and to stock a hospital library with children’s books.

Nelson said District Council 82 works to spread PATCH donations across the state. The charity has made donations to Duluth schools and the Ronald McDonald House in Rochester. In Maple Lake, PATCH helped citizens start their own library after the county closed its branch.

District Council 82 tries to raise about $13,000 annually for PATCH, Nelson said. “The goal is to continue to grow and become a very large charitable giver in the community,” he added.

web.PATCH-swing

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