In a project that is the first of its kind in the nation, St. Paul building trades are teaming up with a new company to manufacture 100-percent union-made houses.

The initiative creates jobs in residential housing - where union presence is weak in Minnesota - and expands organizing opportunities, said Dick Anfang, executive secretary of the St. Paul Building and Construction Trades Council. It also gives all union members their best opportunity yet to buy a union-made home, he said.

The houses will be manufactured by Minnesota Union Builders, a private company that plans to break ground April 10 on a 90,000-square-foot production facility in Hugo. The plant will manufacture panel and modular components for single-family, twin-family and town homes, using state-of-the-art, off-site, stick-built construction techniques.

At full production, Minnesota Union Builders expects to employ 80 to 100 union building trades workers in the plant and at actual home sites.

Promoting the union angle
'We're going to really push hard to market union-built homes to trade unionists throughout the Twin Cities and the state of Minnesota,' Anfang said. 'By the end of the year, there will be no reason for any trade unionist to say they can't build or buy a union-built, union-label home.

'We're going to attempt to use the same marketing strategy as the UAW has used successfully for many years to promote American-made, union-built cars.'

Anfang said building trades business agents and organizers have been working on the project for three years. Unions involved are Bricklayers Local 1, Lakes and Plains Regional Council of Carpenters, Cement Masons Local 633, IBEW Local 110, the Laborers District Council of Minnesota and North Dakota, Operating Engineers Local 49, Painters Local 61, Plumbers Local 34, Sheet Metal Workers Local 10 and Teamsters Local 221.

'This is just another example of the unique type of efforts that the St. Paul Building Trades and its affiliates are continuing to make, to go outside the bubble to create unionized employment opportunities for traditional and non-traditional workers,' Anfang said.

The Building Trades will have four members on the eight-member board of directors of Minnesota Union Builders. Former St. Paul mayor George Latimer is expected to be chairman of the board.

'George brings his credibility to our effort and a vast knowledge of housing needs locally and on the national level,' Anfang said.

Putting the pieces together
Neil Den Bleyker, vice president of operations for the company, said production of the first houses should begin in September or October. He said the company's $5 million plant will include $1 million in high-technology equipment, such as computer design systems and automated saws.

On some homes, workers at the plant will build wall panels, which Den Bleyker described as similar to an Erector set. Completed panels, some of which have windows and doors already embedded, are moved on a flatbed to the owner's lot. Other workers then attach the panels to the floor framework, add trusses and complete construction.

Modular components go even further, Den Bleyker said, and can be envisioned as building blocks for a home. A typical module might be 12-14 feet wide, 60 feet long and include a finished interior, with all fixtures installed. Everything is constructed offsite except for the foundation, plumbing, utility connections, and some minor amounts of drywalling and painting.

The completed modules are moved to the owner's lot, set in place by a crane, and attached to other modules. Once in place, a modular house can be made watertight and lockable in four to six hours, Den Bleyker said.

A typical ranch home would contain two modules, a two-story home would contain four modules, and a raised ranch would be a combination of modules and panels, he said. Garages also use the panel technique.

Off-site construction has advantages
By building the components off-site in a climate-controlled environment, Minnesota Union Builders hopes not only to take advantage of precision equipment, but also to avoid delays and other variables caused by weather. Those factors, plus the ability to extend the building season year-round, will allow the company to build a more affordable, higher-quality house on time and on budget, Den Bleyker said.

Minnesota Union Builders expects to offer what Den Bleyker calls entry-level and step-up home designs, ranging from 1,000 square feet to 2,500 square feet. He estimated that prices, including lots, would begin at $150,000.

He said the company not only would offer home designs and customization work, but would be working with developers to connect buyers with home sites and with financial institutions to supply mortgages.

This article was written for the April 10, 2002, issue of The Union Advocate newspaper. Used by permission. The Union Advocate is the official publication of the St. Paul Trades and Labor Assembly. E-mail The Advocate at: advocate@mtn.org