Challenges remain, but soccer stadium breaks ground in Midway district

December 14, 2016 by
MN United’s Nick Rogers (L), Mayor Chris Coleman and Dr. Bill McGuire (R) supervised a crew of youth soccer players at the new stadium's groundbreaking ceremony Monday.

MN United’s Nick Rogers (L), Mayor Chris Coleman and Dr. Bill McGuire (R) supervised a crew of youth soccer players who broke ground on the new soccer stadium in St. Paul on Monday.

Youth soccer players and local dignitaries sent dirt and snow flying during a ceremonial groundbreaking Dec. 12 for the planned 20,000-seat pro-soccer stadium in St. Paul’s Midway district.

The $250 million construction project remains in the early, exploratory stages, and snarls remain both at the Capitol, where lawmakers must sign off on a property-tax exemption for the stadium, and in acquiring nearby property, including a shopping center that houses union-staffed Rainbow Foods.

But developers hope to begin work in earnest next spring and, potentially, host games in 2018.

Don Mullin, executive secretary of the St. Paul Building and Construction Trades Council, said a project labor agreement (PLA) covering construction work already has been negotiated. PLA’s establish terms and conditions for construction employees and contractors on a project, from wages and benefits to overtime pay, grievance procedures and more.

By setting terms and conditions at the outset, project owners make their labor costs more predictable, weed out irresponsible bidders and ensure labor peace with local unions for the entirety of the project. Several studies show projects built under PLAs are more likely to be completed on time, within budget and with quality construction.

The soccer-stadium PLA covers not only construction, Mullin said, but “all future maintenance and improvements” to the facility. “We’re building into the future,” he said. “Future generations of union tradespeople are going to be working on this project, and that’s amazing.”

Planning models show the stadium oval extending north from I-94 toward University Avenue, a configuration that would require acquisition of land owned by Midway Shopping Center and other retailers. The largest is Rainbow, which employs 45 members of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1189.

Bernie Hesse, Local 1189’s director of special projects, said he doesn’t expect land-acquisition negotiations to prevent construction of the stadium, but he warned of an expanding “food desert” in the area if the development squeezes out Rainbow.

Hesse called on city officials to ensure UFCW members, other retail workers and business owners impacted by the project won’t be left “high and dry.”

“Let’s not marginalize these workers,” he said.

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Trades praise agreement covering construction project in Forest Lake schools

January 12, 2016 by

Forest-Lake-Area-SchoolsA $140 million bonding initiative approved by voters in ISD 831 last fall will improve the security and structural integrity of buildings throughout the Forest Lake Area Schools. And thanks to a project labor agreement (PLA), the district’s investment will uphold area wage, benefit and safety standards as well.

By a 7-0 vote, the Forest Lake school board voted Thursday to enter into a PLA covering the construction project, which will break ground later this year.

Don Mullin, head of the St. Paul Building and Construction Trades Council, which pushed for the PLA, called the decision “an all around great thing.”

“It means everybody’s on the same page,” Mullin said. “We’re all working toward a common goal, which is making sure our schools are safe, a great place to work and a great experience for our children.”

PLAs establish terms and conditions for construction employees and contractors on a project, from wages and benefits to overtime pay, grievance procedures, drug testing, holidays and more.

By setting those terms and conditions at the outset, project owners make their labor costs more predictable, weed out irresponsible bidders and ensure labor peace for the entirety of the project. Several studies show projects built under PLAs are more likely to be completed on time, within budget and with quality construction.

“It puts the agreement up front, says here’s how we’re going to work through this project,” Mullin said. “And because we have this agreement, we’re not going to have any issues.”

PLAs are commonly used on large-scale construction projects like hospitals and pro-sports stadiums, but they aren’t always an easy sell to suburban school boards and city councils.

Located 25 miles north of St. Paul, Forest Lake is no exception. During construction of a new city hall two years ago, two Building Trades unions erected informational picket lines or banners to protest the city’s use of contractors that undermined area standards for wages and benefits.

Mullin said union members who live and work in Forest Lake have reached out to local elected officials since then, building relationships, increasing awareness of what unions do and providing critical support for the bonding measure that won voters’ approval in November, after failing the previous year.

Last week’s unanimous vote is an indication that work is paying off, Mullin said.

“It speaks volumes to the work people like (Carpenters union representative) Jeff Peterson and Kera Peterson with the St. Paul Regional Labor Federation have been doing for years in the area,” Mullin said. “It goes back to those relationships and the power of our membership saying, ‘We live in this community, and we take pride in what we do.’”

Bids for the $140 million construction project go out in March. Work will include security enhancements at each building the school district operates, repairs to several existing roofs and walls, and a complete overhaul of one district facility.

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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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