Twin Cities housing developers join program to protect non-union construction workers
MINNEAPOLIS — Construction workers in the Twin Cities are cheering on a change they say is years in the making.
Tens of thousands of non-unionized workers say they face harassment, wage theft and child labor violations.
For the first time, two Twin Cities housing developers say they'll join the Building Dignity and Respect Program, designed to include standards for workers' rights. Under the program, sites with non-union workers are audited and employees are educated on rights.
"The construction industry is notoriously hard to enforce our worker protection laws, even when they're on the books," said Minneapolis City Council President Elliot Payne. "That's why BDR is such an important program."
Organizers of the program are calling on other major developers to join.
"The commitment being displayed today by BDR's first signers is monumental to the goal of this program, and it paves the way to a better way, for not only the workers, but their families and their communities," said Lisa Guerra from Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en La Luncha.
In the past four years, at least eight criminal cases have been filed against contractors in the metro area alleging labor trafficking, sexual assault and theft.
