In address to union retirees, Dayton weighs in on Cretex strike, more

September 25, 2013 by
Gov. Mark Dayton (right) greets Minnesota AFL-CIO President Emeritus Bernard Brommer at the Minnesota State Retiree Council convention.

Gov. Mark Dayton (right) greets Minnesota AFL-CIO President Emeritus Bernard Brommer at the Minnesota State Retiree Council convention.

Addressing a roomful of union retirees in Maplewood today, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton recounted his morning meeting with members of Laborers Local 563 who are on strike, fighting to ensure a secure retirement of their own.

Dayton’s remarks to the Minnesota State Retiree Council’s 17th convention came on the heels of a dialogue with workers who have been walking the picket line outside the Cretex concrete plant in Shakopee since June 19. About 40 workers went on strike after the company refused to budge from its demand they give up the defined-benefit pensions many had been self-funding for decades.

Minnesota AFL-CIO President Shar Knutson introduces Gov. Dayton at the retirees' convention.

Minnesota AFL-CIO President Shar Knutson introduces Gov. Dayton at the retirees’ convention.

One Cretex worker, the governor recalled, had “tears streaming down her face” as she explained what losing her pension after 20 years of service to the company would mean for her family’s quality of life. Dayton did not identify Cretex by name, but said it was disheartening to see any company “take advantage of the fact there really isn’t a recourse for working men and women” when management decides to cut workers’ benefits.

The governor also said he planned to reach out to company executives for their side of the story, and that he hopes to see workers return to their jobs soon.

Tim Mackey, Local 563’s business manager, confirmed the meeting with Dayton, saying he was hopeful it would be a step toward resolution of the 3-month labor dispute.

“Thanks to this meeting with the governor, we can hopefully make further progress and get back to work,” he said.

Leaders from Operating Engineers Local 49 also attended the meeting with Dayton. Cretex employs 49ers at several of its facilities, and their current contract with the company is set to expire Dec. 31. That means 49ers are “on deck,” Business Manager Glen Johnson said.

“We don’t intend on allowing Cretex to take our members’ pensions away,” Johnson added. “We’re ready to fight for our members’ retirement too.”

The rest of Dayton’s remarks to retirees focused on politics. Highlights included:

• Jobs numbers. Dayton pointed to a report showing Minnesota had seen the fifth-most economic growth of any state last year. He also trumpeted the most recent state jobs report, which shows the state has regained all the jobs it lost during the Great Recession. About 122,000 Minnesotans who were unemployed when he took office, Dayton said, have jobs today.

“We’ve got 152,000 Minnesotans unemployed,” Dayton acknowledged. “We’ve got a lot more to do, but we’re making progress.”

• Minimum wage. A labor-backed coalition of groups announced plans during the State Fair to push a bill that would raise the state’s minimum hourly wage to $9.50 by 2015. Dayton said he supports such a bill, pointing out that the state’s current minimum wage of $6.15 per hour is the lowest among Upper Midwest states.

“What does that say about Minnesota and our commitment to working men and women?” Dayton said. “I believe we want work to pay.”

• Union organizing. Dayton said he was disappointed with a federal appeals court’s ruling that temporarily blocks a law passed last spring allowing child-care providers who receive state subsidies to vote on forming a union.

The legal challenge was bankrolled by the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, which represents providers who oppose the union. Dayton decried the corporate-backed legal fund as an “extreme right-wing element in this state and this country” that was fighting to keep workers from deciding for themselves whether to form a union.

Rather than fighting to strip them of their rights, Dayton added, “we should be embracing” the people who want to improve wages, benefits, working conditions and training opportunities for workers in critical fields like home health care and child care.

• Health insurance exchange. A new federal report shows MNsure, the new health insurance exchange created as part of the federal health care overhaul, will offer the lowest rates of any state in the nation. “That’s something to be incredibly proud of,” Dayton said.

Dayton also thanked AFL-CIO retirees – he called them “the voice of middle-class Americans who have worked hard all their lives and played by the rules” – for their work last fall to win pro-worker majorities in the Legislature. “We really moved Minnesota ahead,” he said.

Union retirees open their 17th convention with a singing of "America the Beautiful" at the Sheet Metal Workers Hall in Maplewood.

Union retirees open their 17th convention with a singing of “America the Beautiful” at the Sheet Metal Workers Hall in Maplewood.

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Rally gives striking Cretex workers a boost

August 7, 2013 by
Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk stands with striking members of Laborers Local 563 and their families at the rally outside Cretex's concrete plant in Shakopee.

Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk stands with striking members of Laborers Local 563 and their families at the rally outside Cretex’s concrete plant in Shakopee.

The picket line outside Cretex’s concrete plant in Shakopee swelled with supporters yesterday, as more than 200 people rallied behind 38 striking members of Laborers Local 536 who are fighting for their retirement security.

The crowd included Laborers International Union President Terry O’Sullivan, state and local labor leaders and the highest-ranking members of the Minnesota Legislature, Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk and Speaker of the House Paul Thissen.

Cretex workers have been on strike since June 19, fighting the company’s attempt to replace their defined-benefit pensions with a 401(k) plan. Workers say the change would amount to a $4-per-hour cut in their wages – and squander pension contributions many have been making for decades.

“We work hard for our pensions. We fund them. We do the right thing,” Laborers Local 563 Business Manager Tim Mackey said. “We’re not going to let someone take them away. That’s what this fight is about.”

Laborers International Union President Terry O'Sullivan fires up the crowd outside Cretex.

Laborers International Union President Terry O’Sullivan fires up the crowd outside Cretex.

Mackey asked supporters to call Cretex CEO Lynn Schuler at 763-441-2121 and “let him know that Minnesota workers deserve better from a Minnesota-based company.”

O’Sullivan, a fiery speaker, noted Cretex had funded workers’ pensions over the years because Local 563 negotiated it into workers’ collective-bargaining agreement with the company, trading wage increases and other benefits in order to remain in the Laborers’ pension plan.

“Where did that money come from?” O’Sullivan asked of the pension contributions. “It came out of your pocket.”

O’Sullivan praised the strikers for taking on a fight playing out across the country.

“This is ground zero,” he said. “Every time you pick up the paper … somebody is trying to destroy defined-benefit pension plans. Today it’s Minnesota; tomorrow it will be somewhere else.

“I get that. You get that. And that’s why losing is not an option. That’s why the next time we’re on that side of the fence, we’ll have a defined-benefit pension plan, brothers and sisters.”

House Speaker Paul Thissen says Cretex's actions show the company has forgotten the important role its workers played in making the company successful.

House Speaker Paul Thissen says Cretex has forgotten the important role its workers played in making the company successful.

Legislative leaders, meanwhile, called on Cretex to do right by the employees who have helped make the Elk River-based company profitable.

“Let’s hash this out,” Bakk said. “Let’s get back to the bargaining table so we can end this.”

U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken sent members of their staff to the rally with letters of support, as did Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District.

“You need to know that after years of hard work you can count on a secure retirement,” Ellison’s letter said. “I will continue to stand with Local 536 as you push for a secure retirement.”

Although retirement benefits are the sticking point in negotiations between the union and Cretex, Mackey said Local 563 has reached out to management about civil rights charges filed with Equal Employment Opportunities Commission last week by 15 Cretex workers, alleging the company mistreated Latino employees.

“That call has yet to be acknowledged by (Cretex),” Mackey said. “That is a big part of this strike. We will not tolerate that treatment of workers – not in this day and age.”

Follow the striking workers on Facebook for updates on negotiations and ways you can show your support.

The rally drew more than 200 people to the picket line outside Cretex's Shakopee plant.

The rally drew more than 200 people to the picket line outside Cretex’s Shakopee plant.

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Union: Cretex harassed, discriminated against Latino workers

July 30, 2013 by

logo563The union representing workers on strike at a Shakopee concrete plant opened a new front in the labor dispute today, when 15 members of Laborers Local 563 filed civil rights charges with the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission alleging Cretex mistreated Latino employees.

Local 563 represents 38 Cretex workers who have been on strike since June 19. After months of negotiations with the Elk River-based company, workers voted to authorize the strike when management refused to budge from its proposal to stop contributing to workers’ pensions.

But the EEOC complaint, announced by Local 563 today in a press release, reveals deeper tensions between the company and its Shakopee workforce. Allegations against Cretex, according to the press release, include:

• Use of insulting and offensive language – such as statements to the effect that ‘Mexicans have no brains’ and ‘Mexicans are too stupid to use computers’ – and harassment of Latino immigrants for speaking to each other in Spanish during breaks.

• Unequal treatment of Latino and immigrant workers, who are assigned more difficult and dangerous work, and disciplined more frequently and more harshly than their peers.

• Attempted intimidation through threats of firing and, in some cases, threats to the person and property of Latinos.

The 15 employees who filed charges are immigrants from Mexico and U.S.-born Latinos. Julio Ocampo Sanchez, who has worked at Cretex for three years, said the group’s patience reached a breaking point when the company allegedly promoted the most abusive person in the plant.

“We just try to do our jobs and stay out trouble because we’re working toward our pension,” Sanchez said. “Then they threaten to take it away, and suddenly the worst offender is wearing the red hat they give out to leads. It feels like a deliberate slap in the face.”

Tim Mackey, Local 563 business manager, said the union has reached out to a federal mediator with hopes of facilitating a meeting with Cretex about adding anti-discrimination language into workers’ collective bargaining agreement.

“We are asking Cretex to come back to the bargaining table to discuss a solution to the issues facing our Latino members,” said Mackey.  “While we remain far apart on the pension issue, there is no reason we can’t find common ground on efforts to prevent future discrimination and pave the way for an eventual settlement.

“It is sad to think that, in 2013, employees would be mistreated because of their race, ethnicity or national origin. This type of treatment cannot be tolerated, and we intend to demand contract language that protects all of our members from discrimination, harassment, and intimidation.”

The union plans a large rally on the Cretex picket line Aug. 6. Click here to follow the striking workers on Facebook.

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Striking Cretex workers appeal to Shakopee City Council for support

July 17, 2013 by
Backed by more than 50 supporters, Laborers Local 563 representative Tim Mackey asks Shakopee council members to help resolve the strike at Cretex's concrete manufacturing plant.

Backed by more than 50 supporters, Laborers Local 563 representative Tim Mackey asks Shakopee council members for their help resolving the strike at Cretex’s concrete manufacturing plant.

Striking union members and their supporters filled the Shakopee City Council chambers last night in an appeal to local leaders for their help resolving the 29-day work stoppage at Cretex Companies’ concrete plant inside the city limits.

“What’s going on right now is not good for Shakopee,” Tim Mackey, business manager of Laborers Local 563, told the council. “We’re looking for you, as leaders of the community, to reach out, to break the ice and try to help.”

Local 563 represents 38 Cretex workers who went on strike June 19 after working more than five months without a new contract. Negotiations broke down after management insisted on a contract that would allow Cretex to stop contributing to workers’ pension plans.

Workers say the company’s proposal would reduce their compensation by 12 to 17 percent at a time when demand for Cretex’s products – manhole covers, sewer pipes and other construction materials – is on the rise. More, the proposal would cut workers’ retirement packages, which workers have been funding in tandem with the company for years, by as much as 80 percent.

Shakopee resident Steve Bistrum, a Cretex employee for the last 21 years, told City Council members the strike is taking a toll on the local economy.

“We feel we contribute quite a bit to the City of Shakopee, a lot of money to the local area and local businesses,” Bistrum said. “We’d still like to keep that going. We’d like to stay in this area. It’s as simple as that.”

Cretex workers man the picket line outside the company's Shakopee facility.

Cretex workers man the picket line outside the company’s Shakopee facility.

Acknowledging that council members “don’t have a magic wand,” Mackey distributed draft statements of support he hoped they would consider signing. The statements encourage Cretex “to work toward a solution that ensures the company’s viability” while preserving workers’ “hard-earned retirement benefits.”

Shakopee Mayor Brad Tabke said the Council would not take immediate action on the union members’ request, but he thanked Bistrum and other workers for bringing the strike to council members’ attention.

“I’m very glad you came to show us what’s going on, what’s happening,” Tabke said. “We’ll look at it, and I’m sure we’ll be in touch.”

Members of Local 563 will remain on the picket line, located at 7070 Cretex Avenue South in Shakopee, until the company is willing to negotiate respectfully, Mackey said in a statement after the meeting.

“We aren’t going anywhere. Our workers have put in a lot of hours and have made sacrifices to ensure they can retire and live with a secure future,” said Mackey. “The more we can educate city leaders and the general public, the more pressure we can put on Cretex and hopefully make them see that taking away worker-funded pensions is unethical and unfair.”

Find ways you can show your support for striking Cretex workers by following the Facebook page “Local 563 Workers on Strike.”

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Updated: Laborers on strike in Shakopee to protect pension benefits

June 20, 2013 by
Cretex workers (R to L) Dustin Underwood, B.J. Kehren and Scott Davis walk the picket line outside their employer's Shakopee facility.

Cretex workers (R to L) Dustin Underwood, B.J. Kehren and Scott Davis walk the picket line outside their employer’s Shakopee facility.

Union workers at a concrete products manufacturing facility in Shakopee went on strike yesterday, pledging to walk the picket line until Cretex Companies abandons its attempt to strip workers of their pension benefits.

Since negotiations on a new contract for 38 members of Laborers Local 563 began in January, Cretex has refused to budge from its proposal to quit making contributions to workers’ pensions, Local 563 representative Steve Buck said.

[Related Story: ‘I don’t have a pension … What makes you so special?‘]

Members of Laborers Local 563 walk the picket line outside Cretex manufacturing in Shakopee.

Members of Laborers Local 563 walk the picket line outside Cretex manufacturing in Shakopee.

“We have told them we have no interest in getting rid of our pension, and they continue to bring that forward as the key piece of their contract package,” Buck said. “They’ve dug in.”

In response, workers voted Monday to give their negotiators authority to call a strike if Cretex made no movement toward a compromise in negotiations Tuesday. Members walked off the job at 4 a.m. Wednesday.

The company’s proposal would reduce employees’ compensation – including pension contributions – by about $4 per hour, according to Local 563. That is the equivalent of a “12- to 17-percent pay cut at a time when demand for construction materials is on the rise,” the union said in a press release.

Cretex has been successful in eliminating pension contributions for workers at facilities in North Dakota and Iowa, and Buck said he expects a prolonged fight in Shakopee, where Local 563 has represented construction craft laborers since 1986.

On the picket line, Jesus Sanchez Jr., who began working at Cretex a year ago, said he and other workers were prepared to strike “as long as we have to.” Retirement is a long way off for Sanchez, but he called the company’s attempt to eliminate pensions contributions a slap in the face of his more experienced co-workers.

“I’m here to support the other guys who have been working here so long,” Sanchez Jr. said. “They don’t deserve it, and they know it.”

Cretex’s Shakopee facility, where workers manufacture manhole covers, sewer pipes and other concrete products, is located at 7070 Cretex Avenue South, off Highway 101.

UPDATED (6/25/13) – Laborers Local 563 members walking the picket line outside Cretex’s Shakopee plant report the facility is operating, but at a level far from peak productivity. With managers and four replacement workers on site, Laborers Local 563 representative Steve Buck said, the plant is operating at “about a quarter of what our guys do in a day, and the product they’re making, from what we hear on the line, is unsellable.”

Buck said morale on the picket line remains high as the strike approaches its second week. “The guys are rock solid,” he said.

Meanwhile, Local 563 announced plans today to begin buying airtime on three Twin Cities radio stations and running ads in support of the striking workers at Cretex.

“What would you say if your employer cut your retirement benefits be 80 percent?” one ad asks listeners. “That’s what’s happening at Cretex, a Minnesota company.”

The ad concludes with a call for listeners to “help put a stop to Cretex’s unfair business practices” by calling the company at 763-441-2121 and telling them “Minnesota workers deserve better from a Minnesota-based company.”

The ad features several Cretex workers sharing their reactions to the company’s below-the-belt tactics.

In a press release, Local 563 Business Manager Tim Mackey explained the decision to appeal to the public for support.

“The general public has the right to hear how deplorable Cretex is being when it comes to the way they treat employees who having given decades of their lives to work there,” Mackey said. “We hope people listen to these ads and realize what is going on in their own backyards. All of Minnesota should be embarrassed that a hometown company is willing go as low as taking away retirement plans that rightfully belong to the workers who have done all that is asked of them on the job.”

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