File Photo Construction workers paint stripes on the new roadway near the Third Street and Fourth Avenue Northeast intersection last November. The roadway improvement was completed last year as part of the Mouse River Enhanced Flood Protection Project.

North Dakota labor union representatives are optimistic about the job opportunities that could exist in the state’s trades in the near future.

“There’s so many major projects sitting on the horizon,” said Pam Trhlik, director of governmental affairs and business development with Laborers’ International Union of North Dakota (LIUNA) in Bismarck.

Montana-Dakota Utilities plans to dismantle the Heskin plant, which will require laborers available in North Dakota, she said. Depending on the future of the Coal Creek Station near Washburn, that also could mean jobs, she said, as could a proposed $400 million ethane-fueled power plant at Williston.

“The trades, specifically, have the training to employ a great number of people in North Dakota that can stay in North Dakota, and that is constantly our message. We want local workforce,” Trhlik said.

Speaking for the Electrical Workers Union Local 714, business manager Randy Bartsch, also president of the Minot Building & Trades Council, said there have been electrical jobs locally that have gone to out-of-state or out-of-area workers. Local electricians have had to travel to places such as Pennsylvania, Georgia, Montana and Iowa for jobs.

While a large Trinity project and flood protection work continue in the Minot area, Bartsch said construction has slowed in western North Dakota’s oil patch. There are still projects occurring, just at a more normal rather than hectic pace, he said.

“We’ve cut back on the apprentices we’re taking in just because it’s slowed down. We’ve been taking in a lot of apprentices the last 10-12 years,” he said. “But we’re still training.”

In western North Dakota, there are about 160 apprentices in the electrical program.

LIUNA represents the building trades, from roads and bridges to energy projects such as wind turbines, pipelines and coal-fired plants.

Lucas Franco, research manager with LIUNA, said the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with a decline in the oil industry, was hard on the construction industry. Total employment was down 8% to 10% over the course of 2020 when compared to 2019.

Steve Cortina, marketing representative with LIUNA in Bismarck, said scheduled down time for maintenance at power plants was postponed due to COVID-19.

“So, hopefully, this year, with the vaccine, it will be more safe out here. Hopefully, it’s looking up for North Dakota’s laborers,” he said.

LIUNA has been watching the 2021 Legislature closely to see how infrastructure projects will fare with funding. Laborers were disappointed with the Senate’s defeat of a bill that would have made local construction hiring a consideration in the evaluation of wind farm applications and would have required wind companies to report their local hiring statistics.

Franco said similar requirements in Minnesota flipped the industry, and now wind projects include a majority of local workers.

“There’s just often a total lack of transparency, and it’s really hard for the general public to know whether or not a particular project is doing a good or bad job in prioritizing local workers,” Franco said.

An October 2019 study by LIUNA found that a local wind energy construction worker can be expected to spend roughly three times more locally than a non-local worker over the short-term ($52,000 versus $16,000). The report noted wind energy developers relied on non-local construction workers for an estimated 86% of their construction workforce on nine recent projects. If 50% to 70% of work had been performed by local workers, the total projected economic impact of wind farm construction employment, including the value of deferred fringe benefits, would fall between $170 million and $210 million. If just 10% to 30% of the work were performed by local workers, the total projected economic impact would be reduced to between $87 million and $127 million. The report concluded reliance on a non-local workforce was costing North Dakota an estimated $14.9 million per year in lost local economic activity.

“What we’ve seen is just how frustrating it is for people that see these big investments but aren’t seeing their neighbors or even themselves getting put to work on these projects,” Franco said. “That undercuts the recruitment efforts in terms of recruiting the next generation of workers, but I think it also undercuts support for these projects in communities.”

He acknowledged challenges with locally staffing massive projects, such as the upcoming Fargo-Moorhead Diversion Project, which will create more than 7,000 jobs.

“One of the ways in which we’re trying to make sure that project is built using majority local workers is by partnering with the bidding contractors and incentivizing contractors bidding on that project to partner with registered apprenticeship programs,” Franco said.

A report by LIUNA on the $2.5 billion Fargo-Moorhead project showed a local construction worker on the diversion project will generate about three to four times more local economic activity than a non-local worker. The report encourages project bidders to partner with registered apprenticeship programs and supports requiring bidders to provide plans and demonstrate capacity to recruit and develop local skilled workers.

“In terms of recruiting the next generation of skilled construction workers in North Dakota, we’re both incredibly excited about the potential of some of these big projects, whether it’s some of the decommissioning work, or the Fargo-Moorhead Diversion project, but we’re also scared that we might miss this opportunity if we don’t get the commitment to local hiring,” Franco said. “If we get this right on things like the Fargo-Moorhead Diversion Project, we can really be in a good position for the next generation of our skilled construction workforce. But if we get it wrong, we’re in trouble, and that’s what we worry about.”