At the 72nd annual Minnesota State Building Trades Council Convention in Duluth, approximately 300 delegates and guests celebrated successful outreach programs and heard from a variety of speakers including Governor Mark Dayton and Senator Amy Klobuchar.
The convention kicked off with a press conference highlighting the Helmets to Hardhats (H2H) program in light of Governor Dayton’s proclamation of “hire a veteran” month. U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, pointed to government research showing that veterans who find work within 90 days of finishing their military service are much less likely to access mental-health services from the Veterans Administration.
2018 has been a banner year for the Building Trades and their outreach programs. President of the Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council, Harry Melander, emphasized the importance of outreach programs for the noting that women and people of color are the backbone of the future for the building trades.
Local Building Trades unions have put an emphasis in recent years on reaching out to make more women, veterans and people of color aware of their registered apprenticeship programs and the middle-class career opportunities they make possible. Those efforts earned national recognition in Washington, D.C., when in April the North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) presented the St. Paul, Minneapolis and Minnesota Building Trades councils with the annual Mark H. Ayers Community Achievement Award.
In presenting the award to the St. Paul, Minneapolis and Minnesota councils, NABTU recognized several union-driven initiatives piloted here and replicated across the country that recruit and prepare people for construction apprenticeships including Construct Tomorrow, Minnesota Trades Academy, and outreach into public schools.
In March, the first-ever “Women Building Success” awards drew a standing-room-only crowd to Surly Brewing in Minneapolis. The event recognized outstanding women workers in the local building trades.
The event came in the middle of “Women in Construction Week,” which highlighted the opportunities and challenges for women entering or working in the building and construction trades, which have historically been dominated by men.
At the convention, Melissa Hann of Duluth and member of Sheet Metal Workers Local 10 has seen the number of women in her local increase with the help of programs like Constructor Tomorrow. Despite coming from a family of tradespeople, Hann commented that, “I thought the only thing I was qualified for was the service industry.” In retail, she felt, “overworked and underappreciated.” Encouraging by her family, she eventually signed up for an apprenticeship. Hann has found that working in the trades offers her, “security and independence that we have all been looking for.” She ended her remarks by saying, “This may be a man’s world, but we are just getting started”
Various noted individuals addressed the assembled delegates of the MN Building Trades Council. Most spoke to the common theme of fighting against right to work legislation along with attempts to erode standards within prevailing wage laws.
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Governor Mark Dayton thanked the trades for their support, especially in the first race running against 11 challengers in the Democratic primary.
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Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry Ken Peterson explained that signups for apprenticeship programs continue to increase. Enrollment for these programs is now at a high of 20 percent people of color.
-
Congressmen Rick Nolan and Tom Emmer addressed the convention during breakfast. Nolan gave a fiery speech indicating his enthusiasm for mining. Emmer lamented the lack of concern in DC for working people.
-
Congressman and Attorney general candidate Keith Ellison thanked organized labor for the work they do. Ellison noted that, “Organized labor has always fought for the economic and social justice rights of the American people.” As an Attorney General, Ellison would fight for a prevailing wage and push back against the federal government’s attempts to attack unions.
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Senator Amy Klobuchar shared her vision for creating spending on infrastructure projects to provide more union jobs and fix aging infrastructure. “We shouldn’t be governing from crisis, we should be governing for opportunity.” She also explained that their ongoing priority legislation works to expand apprenticeship and training programs; for example, she was the lead on the Perkins Career training bill. Klobuchar expressed a hopeful vision for the future. “I see change happening like never before.” Further explaining that, “When labor is there and strong…then the state is strong”
While unions continue to be under attack, pro-union policies are emerging at the local level, supported by data and research.
Executive Director of North Star Policy Institute Katie Hatt and LIUNA Research Manager Lucas Franco presented their research findings. The report Divergent Discoveries found that Minnesota is outpacing Wisconsin on every major workforce indicator possible. Another reporting, Catching Wind, explained that communities miss out on millions when wind farm projects don’t hire local labor.
Duluth Mayor Emily Larson drew attention to a project labor agreement (PLA) ordinance adopted July 9 requiring developers to, “build projects with local union labor.” Larson noted that the requirements do not increase project costs due to the efficiencies created by skilled union laborers.
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At the 72nd annual Minnesota State Building Trades Council Convention in Duluth, approximately 300 delegates and guests celebrated successful outreach programs and heard from a variety of speakers including Governor Mark Dayton and Senator Amy Klobuchar.
The convention kicked off with a press conference highlighting the Helmets to Hardhats (H2H) program in light of Governor Dayton’s proclamation of “hire a veteran” month. U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, pointed to government research showing that veterans who find work within 90 days of finishing their military service are much less likely to access mental-health services from the Veterans Administration.
2018 has been a banner year for the Building Trades and their outreach programs. President of the Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council, Harry Melander, emphasized the importance of outreach programs for the noting that women and people of color are the backbone of the future for the building trades.
Local Building Trades unions have put an emphasis in recent years on reaching out to make more women, veterans and people of color aware of their registered apprenticeship programs and the middle-class career opportunities they make possible. Those efforts earned national recognition in Washington, D.C., when in April the North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) presented the St. Paul, Minneapolis and Minnesota Building Trades councils with the annual Mark H. Ayers Community Achievement Award.
In presenting the award to the St. Paul, Minneapolis and Minnesota councils, NABTU recognized several union-driven initiatives piloted here and replicated across the country that recruit and prepare people for construction apprenticeships including Construct Tomorrow, Minnesota Trades Academy, and outreach into public schools.
In March, the first-ever “Women Building Success” awards drew a standing-room-only crowd to Surly Brewing in Minneapolis. The event recognized outstanding women workers in the local building trades.
The event came in the middle of “Women in Construction Week,” which highlighted the opportunities and challenges for women entering or working in the building and construction trades, which have historically been dominated by men.
At the convention, Melissa Hann of Duluth and member of Sheet Metal Workers Local 10 has seen the number of women in her local increase with the help of programs like Constructor Tomorrow. Despite coming from a family of tradespeople, Hann commented that, “I thought the only thing I was qualified for was the service industry.” In retail, she felt, “overworked and underappreciated.” Encouraging by her family, she eventually signed up for an apprenticeship. Hann has found that working in the trades offers her, “security and independence that we have all been looking for.” She ended her remarks by saying, “This may be a man’s world, but we are just getting started”
Various noted individuals addressed the assembled delegates of the MN Building Trades Council. Most spoke to the common theme of fighting against right to work legislation along with attempts to erode standards within prevailing wage laws.
-
Governor Mark Dayton thanked the trades for their support, especially in the first race running against 11 challengers in the Democratic primary.
-
Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry Ken Peterson explained that signups for apprenticeship programs continue to increase. Enrollment for these programs is now at a high of 20 percent people of color.
-
Congressmen Rick Nolan and Tom Emmer addressed the convention during breakfast. Nolan gave a fiery speech indicating his enthusiasm for mining. Emmer lamented the lack of concern in DC for working people.
-
Congressman and Attorney general candidate Keith Ellison thanked organized labor for the work they do. Ellison noted that, “Organized labor has always fought for the economic and social justice rights of the American people.” As an Attorney General, Ellison would fight for a prevailing wage and push back against the federal government’s attempts to attack unions.
-
Senator Amy Klobuchar shared her vision for creating spending on infrastructure projects to provide more union jobs and fix aging infrastructure. “We shouldn’t be governing from crisis, we should be governing for opportunity.” She also explained that their ongoing priority legislation works to expand apprenticeship and training programs; for example, she was the lead on the Perkins Career training bill. Klobuchar expressed a hopeful vision for the future. “I see change happening like never before.” Further explaining that, “When labor is there and strong…then the state is strong”
While unions continue to be under attack, pro-union policies are emerging at the local level, supported by data and research.
Executive Director of North Star Policy Institute Katie Hatt and LIUNA Research Manager Lucas Franco presented their research findings. The report Divergent Discoveries found that Minnesota is outpacing Wisconsin on every major workforce indicator possible. Another reporting, Catching Wind, explained that communities miss out on millions when wind farm projects don’t hire local labor.
Duluth Mayor Emily Larson drew attention to a project labor agreement (PLA) ordinance adopted July 9 requiring developers to, “build projects with local union labor.” Larson noted that the requirements do not increase project costs due to the efficiencies created by skilled union laborers.