By Filiberto Nolasco Gomez
Workday Minnesota
July 26, 2019
BRAINERD
Leaders of 14 unions that represent Minnesota’s unionized construction workforce Thursday announced the launch of a new initiative to combat wage theft, exploitation, and labor trafficking, which they say pose a growing threat to the welfare of immigrant workers and the health of the state’s construction industry.
The Not On My Watch campaign will enlist union staff and rank-and-file members in efforts to identify cases of abuse, and to assist exploited construction workers. Union construction workers will be asked to wear hard-hat stickers that read “Not On My Watch” or “Ya No Mas” and participate in job-site actions to show solidarity with immigrant construction workers who may be vulnerable to exploitation by unscrupulous contractors.
“This initiative is about ensuring that no construction workers in our state are exploited and that all contractors are held accountable to the law,” said Jessica Looman, Executive Director of the Minnesota State Building and Construction Trades Council, “In Minnesota, workers stand-up for workers.”
Union members and nonunion workers joined forces last month at a rally to protest allegations of wage theft by immigrant concrete workers building the Digi-Key Expansion Project in Thief River Falls, Minnesota that was widely covered on TV and in print. A second major rally is planned for downtown Minneapolis on Monday, July 29, immediately before a Minneapolis City Council hearing on a proposed wage theft ordinance.
Minnesota Building Trades leaders were joined at the unveiling of their wage theft initiative by Attorney General Keith Ellison welcomed the announcement.
“Wage theft is theft, pure and simple. Not only does it rob workers of their ability to afford their lives, it robs them of their dignity,” Attorney General Ellison said. “It’s also often the canary in the coal mine for other serious abuses, like denial of healthcare and human trafficking, which we’ve seen right here in Minnesota. I’m proud that our new law against wage theft is the strongest in the country, but we in government can’t fight it alone. That’s why I’m grateful for the ‘Not On My Watch’ and ‘Ya No Más’ campaigns. It’s powerful that workers themselves will be on the front lines in helping us fight wage theft and helping all workers afford their lives and live with dignity and respect.”
Nancy Leppink, Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry also welcomed the announcement. “The State of Minnesota is committed to combating wage theft, but we can’t do it alone,” said Commissioner Leppink. “We will need the help of labor, community leaders, responsible employers, and of course workers themselves, to make sure workers know their rights and can bring abuses to light.”