HCMC, one of Minnesota’s leading publicly operated medical centers, in alliance with Illinois-based Medline, maker and distributor of more than 125,000 health-care products, is behind the current construction of a $15 million distribution center in Rogers by a California company using labor from outside of Minnesota.
Members of the Minneapolis Building and Construction Trades Council will rally Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. at the 350,000-square-foot construction site at 13115 Brockton Lane N., Rogers. Their message: Minnesota projects need Minnesota workers.
“If we don’t look out for each other, nobody will,” said Dan McConnell, business manager for the council, a labor union coalition representing 17,000 members and challenging the choice of California-based Panattoni Construction for the building’s construction.
The imported nature of this project’s construction comes as commercial building projects in the state are down 30 percent in the past two years and follows Minnesota loss of more than 125,000 jobs since 2008.
“We made the mistake of thinking this distribution center might improve our health and welfare someday,” said McConnell, noting that there is more than an estimated $7 million in labor earnings connected to the distribution center. “But the reality is that it’s making many of our members feeling sick about still being out a job.”
Share
HCMC, one of Minnesota’s leading publicly operated medical centers, in alliance with Illinois-based Medline, maker and distributor of more than 125,000 health-care products, is behind the current construction of a $15 million distribution center in Rogers by a California company using labor from outside of Minnesota.
Members of the Minneapolis Building and Construction Trades Council will rally Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. at the 350,000-square-foot construction site at 13115 Brockton Lane N., Rogers. Their message: Minnesota projects need Minnesota workers.
“If we don’t look out for each other, nobody will,” said Dan McConnell, business manager for the council, a labor union coalition representing 17,000 members and challenging the choice of California-based Panattoni Construction for the building’s construction.
The imported nature of this project’s construction comes as commercial building projects in the state are down 30 percent in the past two years and follows Minnesota loss of more than 125,000 jobs since 2008.
“We made the mistake of thinking this distribution center might improve our health and welfare someday,” said McConnell, noting that there is more than an estimated $7 million in labor earnings connected to the distribution center. “But the reality is that it’s making many of our members feeling sick about still being out a job.”