3 Minnesota housing developers accused of using contractors with bad labor practices
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Dozens of state and local elected officials are sounding the alarm on unfair and dangerous labor practices allegedly practiced by three Minnesota-based housing developers in an effort to cut costs.
Those developers indirectly employ thousands of construction workers in the state.
The nonprofit Center de Trabajadores Unidos en Lucha (CTUL), along with state and local leaders, gathered at Minneapolis City Hall to voice their concerns about the conditions workers, many of whom are Persons of Color, often face. Those include wage theft, dangerous working conditions, gender-based violence and, in some cases, labor trafficking.
They argue there have been at least eight criminal investigations in the metro area in the last four years on these concerns.
They also cite a 2021 study from the Economic Policy Institute that showed nearly a quarter of Minnesota construction workers are misclassified as independent contractors and are paid off the books, making 36% less in wages and benefits than regularly employed workers.
CTUL and 30 state and local elected officials — including the state Attorney General Keith Ellison and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, as well as state lawmakers and city council members — sent an open letter to the developers, encouraging them to meet and address their concerns.
The group also worked to create an independent monitoring program called the "Building Dignity and Respect (BDR) Program," and is calling on developers to join.
Organizers said they tried to meet with the developers for two years to address their concerns but haven't had any luck.
"I feel like our work is not valued," CTUL Construction Committee Chair Pedro Carbajal said. "That they don't value our families and they don't treat us as human beings whose work is supporting society. They make you feel like you're at the bottom rung of our society."
The effort is part of the "Week of Action" effort put on by Twin Cities construction workers. Part of that effort also included the installation of an art exhibit to raise awareness; that exhibit was placed outside Minneapolis City Hall Monday morning.
There will also be a march through north Minneapolis from 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday that will start at 1306 Central Ave Southeast, across the street from the Youngblood development project proposed by Solhem.
Ellison also announced the creation of a workers' misclassification task force that will begin next week.
