Senate Republicans block $1.9 billion infrastructure jobs proposal

Union tradespeople pleaded with Republicans not to hold up the package of local public-works projects as leverage in a political fight with the DFL majority.

In Senate, new DFL majority puts refinery safety atop to-do list

Refinery safety is back on the agenda at the Minnesota Capitol. Union tradespeople helped pack the Senate Labor Committee’s hearing Jan. 12, when members heard public testimony on a bill that would require registered apprenticeship training for workers performing certain jobs in the state’s two petroleum refineries. “In my career it was easy to spot […]

Women Building Success celebrates tradeswomen at awards ceremony

Union tradeswomen and labor leaders gathered June 1 in White Bear Lake for the Women Building Success Awards, a celebration of local apprentices, journey workers and advocates for women pursuing careers in the construction trades. Women Building Success (WBS) is a Minnesota organization founded in 2017 to recognize and promote the achievements of women in […]

Unions’ pre-apprenticeship program puts more Minnesotans on path to construction careers

Thirty-five Minnesotans are a big step closer to family-sustaining careers in the unionized construction industry after graduating from the Building Strong Communities program last week. Elected officials, union leaders, employers and family members gathered for a ceremony May 5 at North Hennepin Community College to recognize graduates of the pre-apprenticeship program for women, veterans and […]

Report: Union construction sites draw fewer safety violations

In Minnesota, OSHA inspectors found 40% fewer violations per inspection on union worksites than they did on nonunion sites.

Outnumbered on the job site, tradeswomen find camaraderie, support via new ‘Lean In Circles’

Building Trades unions in the U.S. and Canada have launched a peer mentorship and training program to help tradeswomen thrive in an industry historically dominated by men. Lean In Circles for Union Tradeswomen, a partnership between unions and LeanIn.Org, brings tradeswomen together in small groups – virtual gatherings during the pandemic – to connect, share […]

Unions move quickly to keep tradespeople safe on jobsites

Union leaders are taking COVID-19 – and their members’ concerns about the pandemic – seriously.

Trades celebrate Women Build Success awards

Local tradeswomen honored the most badass among them.

Bobby Kasper: The strength of our union family is solidarity

It’s the time of year when families gather together to celebrate the holidays. Those gatherings take many different forms. Sometimes we gather as a nuclear family, just parents and their children. Other times we gather with our extended family, bringing together the grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins or in-laws. The ties that bind us together as […]

St. Paul boxers with a union in common enter Hall of Fame together

Two St. Paul natives who traded in their boxing gloves for work gloves were inducted into the Minnesota Boxing Hall of Fame this month. Brian Brunette and Matt Vanda, both members of Local 563 of the Laborers International Union (LIUNA), received the honor during a banquet Oct. 11 at Mystic Lake Casino. After working in […]