Tanya, the cement truck driver, and Adriane, the mechanical insulator, are two of more than 80,000 skilled tradesmen who help build Minnesota, literally.
A coalition of 16 local labor unions have launched "Elevate Minnesota," a public relations campaign to tell the stories of blue-collar workers who are described in a release as "your union friends and neighbors raising the bar for us all."
"We are trying to really show them who these folks are and remind them how hard they work for all of us and show the skills that we have, the training that we have, the privately funded health care, pensions and what we do every day in the communities across the state," said Elevate Minnesota Board Chair Jason George, special projects director of International Union of Operating Engineers Local 49. "We just feel like that that story has been lost in the last few decades."
The "Elevate Minnesota" campaign launched last week in the form of radio spots, Facebook posts and digital videos.
The venture doesn't have a political agenda, George said. The impetus was simply that the construction trades don't often do a proper job explaining their contributions and the benefits that they offer to their workers, he said. The campaign highlights the union-funded training and other benefits to workers as well as the community involvement that many engage in.
"The important thing that we want people to understand is the value that we give Minnesota," George said.
Construction workers continue to be in high demand. Last year, the construction industry added more than 7,400 jobs in Minnesota growing 6.9 percent, which was more than four times the national pace.
For more information, visit ElevateMinnesota.org.
