Minnesota Building & Construction Trades Council

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Statement by President Dan McConnell on Talon Metals

June 21, 2023
St. Paul, Minnesota – Dan McConnell, President of the Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council released the following statement regarding Talon Metals' announcement that they would formally begin the process to permit their new nickel mine.
"We are thrilled by today's filing by Talon Metals of their environmental assessment worksheet that starts their process of building a state-of-the-art nickel mine that will ... View Article

Statement from President Dan McConnell on Bonding Proposals

May 8, 2023 We appreciate the leadership of the House and Senate DFL in pushing forward on cash and general obligation bonding proposals. With just a few weeks remaining in the 2023 legislative session, now is the time for Republican leaders to show the same initiative to make wise cash and bonding investments that support the vitality of our communities. On behalf of over 70,000 working women and men that we represent, we urge legislative ... View Article

Happy Apprenticeship Week!

Olivia likes to watch things being built from the ground up that people use every day like buildings and bridges. Her position as a second-year apprentice as a welder with Piledrivers 1847 lets her do just that. “I get a lot of bigger opportunities working in a union.” She credits the welding certificates she has been able to complete as part of her apprenticeship for her steady work. She loves to travel and has been able to travel for work ... View Article

It’s Women in Apprenticeship Day!

Meet Brandy - A Laborer's apprentice. In her previous job as a certified nursing assistant, Brandy met lots of union workers on the Line 3 project who spoke highly about the building and construction trades. She decided to research working in the trades and is now a Laborer’s apprentice. “I have jackhammered on the Blatnik bridge in Duluth and worked on bridges by Two Harbors.” She has also learned enough about carpentry to build her ... View Article

It’s National Apprenticeship Week!

Chevy Gonzales is a 5th year sheet metal apprentice who loves to work on architectural composite panels. Working high up and being able to see the skyline of Minneapolis is a pretty big thrill. Chevy says a great part of being an apprentice is being able to learn the tricks of the trade from Journeymen and women. “I want to be able to pass along what I’ve learned to other apprentices. It's great to attain this knowledge and know that, yes, I ... View Article

It’s National Apprenticeship Week!

It's National Apprenticeship Week!
Meet Morris Bell - A laborer's apprentice. Morris was a forklift operator at Menards when he heard about a program call Building Strong Communities. BSC is a free, multi-trade apprenticeship readiness program that educates participants about the unionized construction industry. He had heard about the union, the benefits and pay from family members and decided to see if it would work for him. BSC helped ... View Article

Statement from President Joe Fowler on the election.

With election day having come and gone, and the vote tallies being finalized, the Minnesota Building and Construction Trades would like to congratulate Governor Walz and Lt. Governor Flanagan, Attorney General Ellison, Secretary of State Simon, Auditor Blaha, Speaker Hortman, the new DFL Senate Majority and the Minnesota DFL on their resounding victories. While we have friends of organized labor on both sides of the aisle, many who won and ... View Article

Harry Melander Seeks Health Partners Board Position

Long time Minnesota Building and Construction Trades President Harry Melander is hoping to bring the voice of labor to the board room of Health Partners, a health insurance company that insures tens of thousands of union building and construction members. Health Partners’ one million members will be mailed ballots to choose between four candidates running for three open board seats. There hasn’t been a board member that represents labor for ... View Article

Rick Martagon to head the Construction Trades’ Building Strong Communities Program

August 15, 2022 (St. Paul, MN) – Building Strong Communities, a free construction apprenticeship preparatory program Board of Directors announced today that Rick Martagon has been hired to be the Building Strong Communities (BSC) Executive Director.  Rick joins the BSC program after working at the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry managing  Apprenticeship Minnesota. “The Building Strong Communities program provides ... View Article

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