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: