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| Tom Spaeth, of Carpenters Local 87, grabs lunch during the celebration. |
The agreement covers the 7,000 jobs and 15 million work hours that it would take to build the mall’s proposed Phase 2 expansion. Unions threw a lunchtime cookout on the Capitol lawn – in part to celebrate, in part to spur legislators to support the public investment that would make the expansion a reality.
David Ybarra\'s announcement (mp3 file)
Kurt Hagen\'s comments (mp3 file)
Sen. Tom Bakk\'s comments (mp3 file)
More than 750 people – many of them apprentices or out-of-work trades members who could benefit from the work the expansion generates – devoured a bratwurst lunch, complete with cake, provided by the Lakes and Plains Regional Council of Carpenters.
$800 million in wages on the line.
The project labor agreement establishes wages, benefits, jurisdictions and other working conditions for the proposed $1.9 billion project. The expansion would more than double the size of the mall and provide $800 million in construction wages over a 38-month period.
| Steve Wegwerth, of IBEW Local 292, applauds the call for 7,000 jobs. |
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| David Ybarra, business manager for the Mpls Building and Construction Trades Council |
The partnership dates back to the original construction of the mall, which was built under one of the first private-sector PLAs in the state. Union members helped the mall open two months’ ahead of schedule in 1992. Since then, an estimated $300 million in additional construction work at the mall – including tenant remodeling and expansion – also has been done with union labor.
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Sen. Thomas Bakk gives a television interview. |
“This is about putting people to work,” said Sen. Tom Bakk (DFL-Cook), author of legislation to support the mall’s expansion. The 7,000 jobs would significantly reduce the number of construction workers now on the bench, and would provide the opportunity for “hundreds and hundreds and hundreds” of apprentices to get the training they need to become the skilled workforce of Minnesota’s future, he said.
The agreement is evidence that, in Minnesota, labor and management can work together, said Bakk, who is a member of Carpenters Local 606. “That doesn’t happen in every place,” he said.
| Chia Xiong (front) and Scott Jablonsky, of Millwrights Local 548, were among apprentices attending the PLA celebration. |
The mall’s expansion could break ground as early as this fall if the Legislature approves state investment before it adjourns this session. The mall is requesting $181 million in state investment for public infrastructure, including an 8,000-car parking ramp.
Michael Kuchta is communications coordinator for the Lakes and Plains Regional Council of Carpenters.
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| Tom Spaeth, of Carpenters Local 87, grabs lunch during the celebration. |
The agreement covers the 7,000 jobs and 15 million work hours that it would take to build the mall’s proposed Phase 2 expansion. Unions threw a lunchtime cookout on the Capitol lawn – in part to celebrate, in part to spur legislators to support the public investment that would make the expansion a reality.
David Ybarra\’s announcement (mp3 file)
Kurt Hagen\’s comments (mp3 file)
Sen. Tom Bakk\’s comments (mp3 file)
More than 750 people – many of them apprentices or out-of-work trades members who could benefit from the work the expansion generates – devoured a bratwurst lunch, complete with cake, provided by the Lakes and Plains Regional Council of Carpenters.
$800 million in wages on the line.
The project labor agreement establishes wages, benefits, jurisdictions and other working conditions for the proposed $1.9 billion project. The expansion would more than double the size of the mall and provide $800 million in construction wages over a 38-month period.
| Steve Wegwerth, of IBEW Local 292, applauds the call for 7,000 jobs. |
|
| David Ybarra, business manager for the Mpls Building and Construction Trades Council |
The agreement is the latest example of the 20-year partnership between the mall and Building Trades unions, said David Ybarra, business manager for the Minneapolis Building and Construction Trades Council. It guarantees that construction jobs at the mall will pay area wages and benefits, not attempt to undercut the ability of local workers to provide a decent living for themselves and their families, Ybarra said.
The partnership dates back to the original construction of the mall, which was built under one of the first private-sector PLAs in the state. Union members helped the mall open two months’ ahead of schedule in 1992. Since then, an estimated $300 million in additional construction work at the mall – including tenant remodeling and expansion – also has been done with union labor.
|
Sen. Thomas Bakk gives a television interview. |
The new agreement guarantees the mall the workforce it needs and recognizes the skill and productivity union workers bring to the job, said Kurt Hagen, development manager for the mall.
“This is about putting people to work,” said Sen. Tom Bakk (DFL-Cook), author of legislation to support the mall’s expansion. The 7,000 jobs would significantly reduce the number of construction workers now on the bench, and would provide the opportunity for “hundreds and hundreds and hundreds” of apprentices to get the training they need to become the skilled workforce of Minnesota’s future, he said.
The agreement is evidence that, in Minnesota, labor and management can work together, said Bakk, who is a member of Carpenters Local 606. “That doesn’t happen in every place,” he said.
| Chia Xiong (front) and Scott Jablonsky, of Millwrights Local 548, were among apprentices attending the PLA celebration. |
The mall’s expansion could break ground as early as this fall if the Legislature approves state investment before it adjourns this session. The mall is requesting $181 million in state investment for public infrastructure, including an 8,000-car parking ramp.
Michael Kuchta is communications coordinator for the Lakes and Plains Regional Council of Carpenters.