1 min read

Season 4, Episode 23

Fowler: Organized Labor is Always a Fight

Minnesota BCTC

 

Guest Name:

Joe Fowler

Guest Website:

https://mntrades.org/ 

Guest Social Media:

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Joe Fowler, President of the Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast and explained how worker missclassification and wage theft hurts workers.

The Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council advocates for about 70,000 affiliated union construction workers within the North Star State. 

Fowler acknowledged worker misclassification and wage theft is a problem for workers in Minnesota and throughout the country. In the construction industry, in particular, when employees are missclassified as independent contractors, they are not protected by worker compensation laws and must pay additional taxes not traditionally taken out of their paycheck. This allows unscrupulous contractors to undercut bids and potentially take work away from union members.

He then spoke about the building trades registered apprenticeship programs and the career opportunities they offer. Unfortunately, Fowler said it is becoming increasingly difficult for journeymen to find jobs because renewable energy laws are killing projects within the state and, therefore, killing jobs.

Legislation has been introduced in the state to counter some of these issues, he added.

Listen to Fowler's interview to learn more about the these topics:


America’s Work Force is the only daily labor podcast in the US and has been on the air since 1993, supplying listeners with useful, relevant input into their daily lives through fact-finding features, in-depth interviews, informative news segments and practical consumer reports. America’s Work Force is committed to providing an accessible venue in which America's workers and their families can hear discussion on important, relevant topics such as employment, healthcare, legislative action, labor-management relations, corporate practices, finances, local and national politics, consumer reports and labor issues.

America’s Work Force Union Podcast is brought to you in part by our sponsors American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, Communication Workers of America, Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 6, Kelley & Ferraro, LLP, & Labor Citizen magazine, Laborers International Union of North America, North Coast Area Labor Federation, Maritime Trades Department, Ohio Federation of Teachers-American Federation of Teachers, United Auto Workers, United Labor Agency, United Steelworkers.

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