Rod Hogetvedt Politics

Legislative Issues:

At the local level our union has been involved in hearings at the Capitol on such issues as healthcare, prevailing wage protection and the proposed expansion for the Mall of America.

We can all agree that these are just a few of the important issues that affect our membership. 

On the healthcare front we can all identify with those who are underinsured or completely uninsured.  Those of us covered by a Collective  Bargaining Agreement are fortunate to have good healthcare coverage.  Did you know that the premium we pay per hour for healthcare is more than a person makes per hour at the federal minimum wage and that every time we negotiate a pay increase we can be sure that at least 20% of that increase will go to just maintain, at best, the coverage we currently have. We have to campaign for Universal Healthcare or these costs could bankrupt our ability to compete in our construction industry.

Also at the Legislature there have been hearings on the Davis-Bacon Act or ‘Prevailing Wage’.  When you see a representative from your union on the jobsite, the information that they are gathering such as members’ name, local union number and jobsite location is all part of the process of establishing prevailing wage rates.  This data is recorded per county where the job is located, which is in turn filed with the Minnesota Department of Labor.  As these reports are filed, if we, the union, file more reports per county than our competition, our rate prevails.  Any job that the developer/customer puts out for bid that has Davis-Bacon language attached to it, such as schools, hospitals or other public buildings, makes that project more competitive for contractors to bid because the rate of pay and benefits has been established. 

The current legislation, House File 1443, calls for the enforcement of the current prevailing wage law, with some large monetary penalties for those who do not comply.

The bill is getting opposition from various Chambers of Commerce, as they see it as a jobs and business killer.  While those of us who support it see it as a way to provide decent wages and benefits to those we represent. 

As far as the expansion at the Mall of America, the owners/developers are seeking approximately 200 million in Tax Increment Financing (TIF) on a 1.7 billion dollar project.  The first phase of the mall received TIF money and the developers are living up to the agreement on Phase I as those tax dollars come due.  The mall has not only been an economic success but our crafts have benefited from ongoing maintenance and upgrading of retail shops and common spaces.  If Phase II expansion is approved it would undoubtedly provide many hours of employment for our members.  It is projected that a project of this size will employ 7,000 workers during the construction phase (approximately 36 – 40 months) and close to 800 million dollars in labor costs for union crafts, plus many hours of ongoing maintenance work.  Hopefully with the mall expansion and the building of two new sports stadiums and their eventual growth, we will start to see some work opportunities for our crafts. 

The bonding bill being considered at the capitol also has some provisions that may be beneficial to our membership, such as the long awaited Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center, commonly known as the “DECC”, along with some capital improvement dollars for roads, bridges and infrastructure, and that means jobs.

In March of this year, I, along with 3,000 Building Trades members from the United States and Canada attended the Building and Construction Trades Legislative Conference in Washington D.C.  The purpose of this conference is to make sure that labors’ agenda is one agenda and that we stand together UNITED.  During the conference we had the opportunity to hear from many candidates who will be running for the Presidency of the United States.  As they spoke to us it was quite evident that each of them is well aware of our issues and if one of them is elected, we can only hope they will follow through with their campaign promises.

As is customary while in Washington, we make a visit to Capitol Hill, where we visit our representatives in the House and Senate and brief them on our issues and concerns.  Sometimes these visits are successful as far as getting time to visit with a Senator or Congressperson, but more often we are meeting with their aides.  None the less, the message is consistent and our national issues parallel our local issues.  The information that was delivered to our representatives, either in person or in print, was; support the Davis-Bacon Act, Comprehensive Immigration Reform, Trade and Globalization, Misclassification of Workers as Independent Contractors, Climate Change Legislation and the Support of the Employee Free Choice Act.

As these items move through the House and Senate, we will keep our membership informed of the status and reach out and work with you on any assistance to push these bills through for the betterment of our members.