The union building trades can be a gateway to wage equality for MN women

I just got back home from a long day working as a commercial painter in downtown Minneapolis. My fellow union members and I are finishing some of the city’s most exciting new projects, from skyscrapers to bridges to new apartment complexes. Every day brings something new, and I still look forward to going to work every morning. It’s hard work, rewarding, and enables me to save for my future.

Every year, I see more and more women on construction sites.

When I first started there were only a few of us, but my alma mater Finishing Trades Institute of the Upper Midwest has made huge strides in equitable education opportunities in the Twin Cities. I even got my associate degree from the school. I have union sisters in District Council 82 who have my back — and I have theirs.

In my union, we have no wage gap, but there’s still a lot of work to be done to eliminate it in Minnesota. According to the Office of the Attorney General, women with master’s degrees in our state still earn over $1,000 per year less than comparable men with only a bachelor’s degree.

Only 3% of Minnesota middle-wage construction workers are women, but nearly half of FTIUM grads are women and people of color. A recent study from Kevin Rinz and John Voorheis pointed to insidious racial wage inequality in our state. With our large Black and immigrant population, how can so many industries not respond to the detrimental economic effects this has on our communities?

Before I started training at FTIUM, I was a personal care attendant making about $12 an hour, a low-wage field that is overwhelmingly women of color. It wasn’t cutting it, it wasn’t paying the bills, and I could barely put myself through low-cost college. This long-term inequity is now causing major strikes in the industry I was once a part of.

But the construction industry also faces a skilled workforce shortage. The retirement rate is only increasing, and we need more workers to do the jobs. If we want to stop the workforce shortage, the solution is simple: Give women and people of color access to high-quality, low-cost education and good jobs that pay a living wage, have good benefits, and have the ability to organize in a union.

I enjoy going to career fairs at area high schools with FTIUM’s recruiter and connecting with those who may become the next generation of female leaders in the industry. When I share my story of everything I have achieved at the FTIUM, I watch them light up as they realize that women can have successful careers here. I’m living proof that women can go into the union building trades and achieve their dream careers.

The next generation of skilled tradespersons are not falling into the same patterns as older generations — my generation is inclusive of people of all backgrounds, we know the value of their labor, and we don’t hesitate to speak up about it.

My union and school understand what it takes to strengthen Minnesota’s highly skilled workforce, and it all starts with recruiting women and people of color and giving them excellent, ongoing training and a support system that extends beyond the job site.

To Minnesota leaders across industries, I ask: Are you ready to create training and career ladders for women and people of color?

The simple solution to our workforce shortage is all around us, all you have to do is provide career paths that give the same opportunities regardless of gender.