The program, launched in 1993, aimed to help recapture the construction market for union labor.
"It\'s very unique," said Dick Anfang, Council president. Anfang said he knows of no other state operating a similar program.
Here\'s how the program works: participating Building Trades unions contribute to a pool of funds to provide financial incentives to contractors and building owners to choose union. Participation by unions is voluntary.
"Once I identify a project where there is union and non-union bidding, we can offer a grant of money to make it an all-union project," said Paul Klesmit, director of Market Recovery for the past three years.
The grants may be awarded to the owner of the building, to a signatory contractor, or to a non-signatory contractor who agrees to go union.
"The number one purpose of the program is to organize the unorganized," Klesmit said. "It\'s a monetary incentive for a non-signatory contractor to become signatory."
The program is modeled on similar programs run by individual trade unions within their individual crafts.
The program measures its success by tracking the hours of union labor it creates.
The $3.4 million Lakeville clinic was the first project awarded a grant in 2008 that put Market Recovery over the 10 million work hours mark. "It\'s a real milestone in the history of the program," Anfang said.
The general contractor for the Lakeville clinic was RJM Construction. "It\'s been a good program for us over the years," said RJM president Bob Jossart. Grants from Market Recovery, he said, helped his firm win bids on many projects.
Some anti-union contractors have condemned the program, Anfang said, but "it\'s stood the test of time and it\'s stood the tests of the court system."
Each project funded requires submitting very detailed documents to ensure compliance with relevant laws.
Grants have ranged from $3,000 to $150,000, Klesmit said.
Since its inception in 1993, Klesmit said, Market Recovery has targeted 1,185 jobs, winning 497.
The program has been most effective, he reported, in working with general contractors to ensure that all subcontractors are union or become union.
Some projects currently under construction that won a Market Recovery grant include: a $1.3 million City of Brooklyn Park maintenance facility (Parkos Construction); a $1.5 million Tennant research building in Golden Valley (James Steele Construction); and a $1.2 million National Market Center expansion in Blaine (Fendler-Patterson Construction).
Steve Share edits The Labor Review, the official publication of the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation. Visit the federation\'s website, www.minneapolisunions.org
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The program, launched in 1993, aimed to help recapture the construction market for union labor.
"It\’s very unique," said Dick Anfang, Council president. Anfang said he knows of no other state operating a similar program.
Here\’s how the program works: participating Building Trades unions contribute to a pool of funds to provide financial incentives to contractors and building owners to choose union. Participation by unions is voluntary.
"Once I identify a project where there is union and non-union bidding, we can offer a grant of money to make it an all-union project," said Paul Klesmit, director of Market Recovery for the past three years.
The grants may be awarded to the owner of the building, to a signatory contractor, or to a non-signatory contractor who agrees to go union.
"The number one purpose of the program is to organize the unorganized," Klesmit said. "It\’s a monetary incentive for a non-signatory contractor to become signatory."
The program is modeled on similar programs run by individual trade unions within their individual crafts.
The program measures its success by tracking the hours of union labor it creates.
The $3.4 million Lakeville clinic was the first project awarded a grant in 2008 that put Market Recovery over the 10 million work hours mark. "It\’s a real milestone in the history of the program," Anfang said.
The general contractor for the Lakeville clinic was RJM Construction. "It\’s been a good program for us over the years," said RJM president Bob Jossart. Grants from Market Recovery, he said, helped his firm win bids on many projects.
Some anti-union contractors have condemned the program, Anfang said, but "it\’s stood the test of time and it\’s stood the tests of the court system."
Each project funded requires submitting very detailed documents to ensure compliance with relevant laws.
Grants have ranged from $3,000 to $150,000, Klesmit said.
Since its inception in 1993, Klesmit said, Market Recovery has targeted 1,185 jobs, winning 497.
The program has been most effective, he reported, in working with general contractors to ensure that all subcontractors are union or become union.
Some projects currently under construction that won a Market Recovery grant include: a $1.3 million City of Brooklyn Park maintenance facility (Parkos Construction); a $1.5 million Tennant research building in Golden Valley (James Steele Construction); and a $1.2 million National Market Center expansion in Blaine (Fendler-Patterson Construction).
Steve Share edits The Labor Review, the official publication of the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation. Visit the federation\’s website, www.minneapolisunions.org