In the first big Minnesota case concerning wage theft and labor trafficking, Ricardo Batres was recently charged with recruiting and exploiting Twin Cities construction workers. Yesterday, one day before his trial, Batres pled guilty to two of three charges against him. “We are grateful that the legal system is holding those who commit wage theft and illegal trafficking of construction workers seriously,” said Jessica Looman, Executive ... View Article

About 2 years ago, Laci realized she no longer found her desk job fulfilling. Wanting a new challenge, she stopped at her local workforce center in St. Charles to see if there were any interesting jobs for her. She learned that Operating Engineers run heavy machinery on highway and construction projects. Laci thought that becoming an Operating Engineer was just the type of challenge she was looking for.  She wanted a chance to be outside ... View Article

Emily has two college degrees, one in business and one in theater. After college she looked for jobs where she could apply the skills she learned in school, but after working in customer service and at a coffee house, she decided to do some soul searching to find her true career path. Emily thought a lot about what she enjoyed about her high school and college classes. “I realized that I missed building things,” she said remembering her ... View Article

Chevy As a second-year union registered apprentice with the Sheet Metal Workers Local 10, Chevy spent the last few last weeks cutting custom pieces of metal for an elementary school construction project in Spring Lake, Minnesota. Working full time, he comes into the apprenticeship training center twice a week for classes, learning the specialty trade. “For years I had dead end jobs with no opportunity for advancement,” he said. “But now, I get ... View Article

Jared served as a staff sergeant in the Air Force from 2009 to 2016. He was wrapping up his time in the armed forces and wondered what his next step would be. As one of his last assignments, he supervised a construction crew in a secure area at the Fort Snelling base. Watching the crews work, he got to know the foreman who told him about Helmets to Hardhats.  Helmets to Hardhats is a nonprofit program that connects military service members ... View Article

Construct Tomorrow, a program that introduces the construction trades to high school students, held an event October 23rd at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester. More than 1,200 students came from 30 schools to learn about the construction trades. The Rochester Post Bulletin and KTTC, the Rochester NBC affiliate, covered the event. Read the Rochester Post-Bulletin Article View Article

Do you know someone who has bookkeeping experience and wants to work part-time?  Someone who believes in unions and enjoys running an office?  Someone who might want to join our small but mighty team at the Minnesota State Building and Construction Trades Council?  Please encourage them to apply for our bookkeeper/office manager position! Send resume and cover letter to: ... View Article