Volunteer Union Pipefitters Keep Heat on for Homeowners in Need

On their day off this Saturday, 200 union pipefitters fanned out across the state to provide free furnace repairs and inspections to senior, low-income and disabled homeowners as part of Project Heat’s On. This community service program prepares residents for winter by repairing furnaces to reduce energy costs and prevent heat failure.

Last weekend, in partnership with local Community Action Partnership agencies, 120 homeowners from the Twin Cities to St. Cloud to Rochester were treated to no-cost assistance from a local union member. 

Since the Heat’s On community service program started in 1986, union pipefitter volunteers have donated more than 36,000 hours of skilled labor, with a value of $3,841,975. In total, 8,244 households have been assisted by 7,556 union member volunteers.

Project Heat’s On is made possible by three local unions (Minneapolis and Saint Cloud Pipefitters Local 539, Rochester Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 6, and Saint Paul and Mankato Pipefitters Local 455), the Minnesota Mechanical Contractors Association, and four Community Action Partnership agencies (Hennepin County, Ramsey and Washington Counties, Three Rivers, and Tri-County).

Filiberto Nolasco Gomez is a former union organizer and former editor of Minneapolis based Workday Minnesota, the first online labor news publication in the state. Filiberto focused on longform and investigative journalism. He has covered topics including prison labor, labor trafficking, and union fights in the Twin Cities.