Each year, Earth Day (April 22, 2021) reminds people all over the world about the value and importance of caring for our planet and taking action to protect it.
As Minnesota transitions to a clean energy future, someone has to build and maintain Minnesota’s energy infrastructure – the wind farms, solar farms, carbon capture systems, hydrogen power plants, and natural gas power plants that will be part of that cleaner energy future. Those people are our neighbors – the skilled building and construction workers who belong to 15 construction trades in Minnesota.
Minnesota’s building and construction tradespeople are specially trained through extensive apprenticeships and ongoing training to build whatever Minnesota’s energy future will bring. Their training and dedication to quality and safety means that Minnesota’s clean energy infrastructure is built to the highest standards.
In addition to building the energy infrastructure that all Minnesotans rely upon, they contribute to Minnesota by owning homes and raising families in Minnesota, paying income and property taxes, donating their time and talent to local organizations, and buying from local retailers.
In other words, when Minnesota energy developers and owners hire Minnesota workers to build and maintain our state’s energy infrastructure, everyone in Minnesota wins, including homeowners and Minnesota businesses.
Sometimes it’s hard to put a face on a construction worker and to understand exactly why they do what they do. The Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council invites you to read the stories of three Minnesota construction trades workers who are building Minnesota’s clean energy future. It’s on Earth Day that we celebrate these workers and their contributions to Minnesota’s clean energy future.
Rosey Grab, Local 49, Heavy-Equipment Operating Engineer
Laura Yoder, Local 405, Laborer
Deanna Thomas, Local 455, Pipefitter