PICKETING TO CONTINUE AT RIDGEDALE CENTER

Minnetonka, MN (July 9, 2014) – Today, Tim Mackey, business manager Local 563 issued the following statement:

“I want to thank everyone who has voiced their support for our cause today, and I especially want to thank the construction laborers who have chosen to stand with their union brothers and sisters by refusing to cross our picket line.”

Members of Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA) Local 563 have been onsite since dawn Wednesday picketing contractors working on general mall and tenant improvements. Local 563 is just one of the many construction trade unions that have mounted pickets at Ridgedale Center over pay and safety concerns.

General Growth Properties (GGP), the Chicago-based owner of Ridgedale Center, is in the midst of a $100 million upgrade to the mall, which opened in 1974. The mall’s retail tenants are investing additional dollars to give the aging mall a fresh new look.

LIUNA Day Two Picketing of Ridgedale Center At a Glance:

When: Thursday July 10th –Starting again at dawn, approximately 5 a.m.

Where: Outside public entrances of Ridgedale Center, 12401 Wayzata Blvd., in Minnetonka, Minn.

Why: Union construction workers picket citing wage dispute, safety concerns.

Who: Members of LIUNA Local 563 carried pickets to protest contractors that fail to meet community standards.

About LIUNA:

Chartered in 1968 by the Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA), the Laborers District Council of MN and ND and its seven affiliated Local Unions represent about 12,000 workers in Minnesota, North Dakota and Northwestern Wisconsin. For more information check out their website or Facebook page

http://www.minnesotalaborers.org or http://www.facebook.com/MinnesotaLaborers