Adults get their chance to sample the same hands-on activities and discuss opportunities the union building trades provide during an evening version of Construct Tomorrow at Fitzgerald Hall in the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center (DECC).
Five pipe trades apprentices from Minnesota and North and South Dakota will compete in Chicago this summer after winning their respective categories in a two-day competition at the Minnesota Pipe Trades Apprentice Training Competition sponsored by Local 6 Training Center in Rochester, Minn.
Plumbers from Local 34 in St. Paul and Local 15 recently spent a Saturday spanned out across the Twin Cities in an effort to help others through “Water’s Off,” their one day in the year when they help people who can’t afford a plumber.
For Construct Tomorrow, it’s three down and eight events to go. Six more remain – Hinckley, St. Paul, Anoka County, Duluth, St. Cloud and Bemidji. Several of the remaining events will be held at some notable Minnesota venues: Grand Casino (Hinckley); Minnesota State Fairgrounds (St. Paul); and the National Sports Center (Anoka ).
Fourth annual Minnesota Building Trades Ribfest cooked up 625 racks of ribs all the while raising money for Beyond the Yellow Ribbon, an organization that acts as a corporate support network to meet the needs of Minnesota military veterans and their families.
National Suicide Prevention Awareness Week is underway, and in Minnesota, the construction trades are on a mission to change the mindset of workers and project leaders.
Not since the late 1950s and early 1960s has the American public’s approval of union labor been as high as it continues to be. For the fifth consecutive year, approval of organized labor has been in the 67% to 71% range.
The year’s Women Building Success Awards program for 2025 had two “firsts”: No. 1. They had co-winners in the Tradeswomen in Leadership category. According to board member Jenny Winkelaar, this was a “highly-debated category.” Nothing in the recommendations could sway…
Minnesota high school students participated in a welding competition held at Local 6 Pipefitters Training Center in Rochester. Several hundred more came to the facility to attend a career fair.
In early April a Hennepin County trial judge obtained the first criminal conviction for wage theft in Minnesota history. It represents a significant milestone for union trades labor in Minnesota.
Looking to help fill skilled labor shortages, Minnesota could boost support through legislative action for Building Strong Communities, a program that opens its arms to disadvantaged populations.
Construct Tomorrow’s student participation numbers continue to show high schoolers are interested in careers in the building trades.
