The next time you drive over a newly built highway in Minnesota, the concrete may have been poured by a Native American trained through a pre-apprenticeship program.

The effort is designed to create more career pathways for younger Indigenous adults.

Moke Eaglefeathers, apprenticeship coordinator for Cement Masons Plasterers and Shophands Local 633, has helped lead the 10-week training camp in New Brighton for the past several years. This year's session recently wrapped up. Before each summer begins, he travels to Native American reservations around the state to recruit participants. Those who sign up get a rigorous education on what it is like to do the work.

"We're teaching a skill that a robot will never be able to learn," Eaglefeathers pointed out.

He explained the training program's no-nonsense vibes illustrate how demanding cement mason work is, especially in the many types of weather Minnesota throws at outdoor workers. If they graduate, participants are on track for in-demand, financially stable union jobs. It is welcome news, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics noting Native Americans often have higher unemployment rates than the total population.

Eaglefeathers acknowledged they often do not see a perfect graduation rate but added it is acceptable because they do not want to set up participants for failure. For those who complete the training, their chances of a successful career are much greater than before they started.

"We normally have about an 80% to 90% job placement rate," Eaglefeathers reported. "Then, we put them with a contractor that's more their speed."

He stressed comfort level is another big part of a job which is both physically and mentally demanding. Eaglefeathers estimated most classes are filled with students in the 18 to 35 age range, with those closer to middle age occasionally signing up if they are seeking to reset their job path.


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AT&T customers may experience service disruptions as the worker's union, Communications Workers of America, initiates a strike to try to continue their negotiations with AT&T through what they claim is "bad faith" bargaining. The CWA, representing employees in the Southeast, has voiced concerns over AT&T's approach to new contract negotiations, citing issues related to health-care costs and decision-making at the bargaining table.

Michael Devane, president of CWA Local 3104 in Fort Lauderdale, expressed frustration with the company's representatives.

"Just basically kicking the can down the road. You know, just humoring people just going through the motions. Not really bargaining seriously. So District 3 filed an unfair labor practice charge against them, and that's why we are out on strike right now for that," he said.

"We remain committed to reaching a fair agreement with CWA District 3, and we have offered to bring in a federal mediator to ensure there is no question about either side's commitment to this process," AT&T said in a statement.

The company also assured customers that "business continuity measures are in place so that we can continue to provide our customers with the great service they deserve."

CWA members across the country will hold up signs at work on Thursday to show their solidarity.

One of several sticking points in the negotiations is the health-care plan. According to the CWA, AT&T is pushing for cost structures based on the company's national average, which does not reflect the lower health-care costs in the Southeast. Devane hopes for a good-faith effort by the company to negotiate.

"Well, I'd like to get this thing moving along there. There has to be some adults in the room and please get back to the table and let's get this thing done. We all have families. We take care of and company as customers. They got to take care of, and we'd like to get back to normal," he said.

As the union and company remain at an impasse, AT&T has proposed entering federal mediation. Customers in the region may experience service delays, as AT&T is currently operating with a reduced workforce during the ongoing strike.


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Unions representing fast food workers are asking the state's new Fast Food Council to support a 70-cent-per-hour boost in the minimum wage at its next meeting on Sept. 11.

The minimum wage for fast food workers was recently raised to $20 an hour but it works out to just over $41,000 a year, which, in California, is significantly less than the average cost of living.

Linda Becker, director of regional partnerships in the Bay Area for the nonprofit Merit America, supports a higher minimum wage but said it is just a start.

"While raising the minimum wage offers an immediate paycheck boost for low-wage workers, it's just one piece of the puzzle," Becker explained. "We still really, firmly believe that a low-wage job should be a steppingstone and not a dead end."

Merit America offers intensive career counseling and online courses in IT support, data analytics, cybersecurity, project management and UX design. It costs nothing to start and a maximum of $5,700 total. According to Forbes magazine, it costs on average more than $53,000 a year to cover housing, medical care, food, transportation and taxes in California, the third-highest cost of living in the country.

Becker pointed out learners only start to pay Merit America back, at $95 a month, after they get a higher-paying job.

"The average wage gain that we see is about $24,000 a year," Becker reported. "Which is a significant, kind of life-changing increase of wages, post-program."

California's general minimum wage is $16 an hour. Over the next few years, the state is also phasing in a higher minimum wage, of $18 to $25 per hour, for certain health care positions.

Pennsylvania's wage growth has rebounded from pre-pandemic lows and now exceeds the national average, according to the latest "Pennsylvania Workforce Trends" report.

The data show average hourly earnings for nonsupervisory workers grew almost 4% between 2019 and this year. Pay grew even faster among low-wage workers, at 9.2% in Pennsylvania, but not as much as the U.S. average of more than 13%.

Carrie Amann, executive director of the Pennsylvania Workforce Development Association, said despite the wage increases, Pennsylvanians are well aware the cost of living has also been on the uptick.

"Employers are, in fact, paying their workers more in certain occupations and certain percentiles of workers," Amann reported. "We've seen significant increases -- I think, almost 10% wage increases -- in what we would typically call low-wage workers."

The report showed the national average pay increase for low-wage workers is higher than in Pennsylvania because more states have increased their minimum wage above the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour. Pennsylvania has not done so, despite neighboring states like West Virginia setting their minimum wage at $8.75 an hour, and New York at $15 an hour.

Among the Pennsylvania Local Workforce Development Areas, 15 of 22 saw increased weekly wages from the first quarter of 2019 to the fourth quarter of 2023. Amann emphasized the significance of local wage-growth data. She cited Lancaster as an example, due in part to the cost of living and workforce supply and demand.

"We do see disparities and differences between Lancaster -- who is having an average weekly wage growth of 6.3% over the last 2019 through 2023 -- compared to Philadelphia and others, who are seeing wage declines," Amann noted.

Amann added her organization partners closely with the United Way of Pennsylvania on its advocacy efforts around workers in the category known as "ALICE," which stands for Asset-Limited, Income-Constrained, Employed. She emphasized 28% of working Pennsylvanians struggle to survive.


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