Agenda - Council Work Session - 07/28/2026

Home

Field observations by LIUNA indicated that workers who identified themselves as H-2B visas performed masonry or concrete work that clearly should have entitled them to much higher rates of pay. Another immigrant worker formerly employed by Stone Pro who was not on an H-2B visa confirmed that H-2B employees performed concrete work and said that workers referred to the H-2B lodgings as "Casa de los Espantos" ("Fright House") due to the poor living conditions. It should probably come as no surprise, given the company's evidently poor treatment of immigrant workers, that Stone Pro owner Gerald Manning apparently has hostile views of immigrants based on a review of Facebook content.56 It is troubling, however, given the worker accounts described above that Gerald Manning and Stone Pro are apparently benefiting from public housing subsidies. We have documented Stone Pro Masonry on the following publicly financed projects: Lexington Flats - MWF (Eagan) Lake Isabel Flats - Stencil Group (Hastings) Stone Pro is not the only contractor involved in apparent exploitation of H-2B visa workers in Minnesota. LIUNA have also identified H-2B guest workers employed by Rosales Masonry on a Roers multi -family housing project in Oakdale, Minnesota. In the case of Rosales, workers who were observed setting block appear to have been misclassified as "mason helpers" rather than masons - a designation that potentially 56 See examples from a Facebook page identified as belonging to a Gerald Manning of Eau Claire, Wisconsin and listed as the owner of Stone Pro Masonry, including, among others, a video titled "Father's Story About His Son Is A Perfect Example of Why We Need A Wall"; a purported photo of a sign in Dearborn Michigan that reads "Advancement Of Islamic Agenda For America; Allah Be Praised. American We Will Kill You All And Nothing You Can Do To Stop It. Allah Be Praised."; and a statement that reads "If you cross the U.S. border illegally you get a job, a drivers license, food stamps, a place to bye, health care housing & child benefits, education, & a tax-free business for 7 yrs ...No wonder we are a country in debt. Re -post if you agree!!!!" allows the employer to substantially underpay H-2B employees for their work. Further, based on a search of the national H-2B visa database, Rosales apparently failed to obtain H-2B visa certifications to work in Minnesota, raising the possibility that the company is not only underpaying workers but also violating program rules and cheating local masons of job opportunities that should first be made available to them. Ed Lunn Construction Rochester, Minnesota Ed Lunn has been accused of misclassifying workers, failing to pay payroll taxes, and of systematically underpaying employees. According to a July 6, 2019, Star Tribune article, advocates allege that the company's business model relies on wage theft and worker misclassification.57 According to Nick Wille, with North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters: "Contractors like Ed Lunn Construction are hiring subcontractors and independent contractors and paying them off -the -books in cash and under the table." In some cases, workers allege that they simply weren't paid for their work. For example, workers accused Ed Lunn of failing to pay thousands of dollars in back wages for work on the River Glen Apartments in Rochester. "Trouble began...when the men didn't get paid and approached Lunn's representative, Josh Tinker. Tinker told them they had to finish building garages first... but agreed to give the men $1,000 each to tide them over. Later, the men were told they had to finish some porches, but when they finished the work, they still didn't get their money." S7 Matt McKinney, "Rochester case is first test of new wage theft law," Star Tribune, July 6, zoi9, https://www.startribune. com/workers-claim-they-were-shorted-wage s-on-rochester- apartment-proj ect/512305452/. 16 North Star Policy Action