J. Benson Construction is Unionizing.
By Iain Carlos – Reporter, Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal
Paul Edlund's old work as a criminal defense lawyer laid heavy on his mind. No matter his success in bettering his clients' fate, he felt powerless to address systemic issues that led them into trouble in the first place, he said.
"I felt like Sisyphus pushing the boulder up the hill, over and over and over again," Benson said.
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That's part of why, in November 2020, Edlund purchased J. Benson Construction in Hopkins. He aims to grow the firm, which has for 50 years specialized in the restoration of residential and commercial structures, into a union-affiliated, general contractor. If he succeeds, he said, the firm would provide a number of Twin Cities metro residents of color with much-needed middle-class income and union benefits and help normalize the presence of Black-owned contractors affiliated with the union.
Edlund knows tackling union work with J. Benson, which he wants to start doing in the next couple of months, would unlock a sizable amount of revenue for his business and fruits for his employees. Many large-scale development projects are cordoned off to union-affiliated, and almost exclusively white-owned, companies, leaving nonunion firms to take on smaller projects.
He also knows the endeavor won't be easy, he said. Thor Construction, the teeming and seemingly secure Black-owned and union-affiliated construction company that helped inspire Edlund's goal, collapsed in 2019.
Calvin Littlejohn, co-founder of TRI-Construction in North Minneapolis, one of the few currently operating Black-owned union construction firms in Minnesota, told the Business Journal that a lack of access to capital and the costs of union dues and benefits have meant "this union construction landscape is littered with the bones of Black businesses.”
Edlund has a strategy to keep J. Benson solvent as it scales. The pivot away from the company's restoration work, which earns the firm around $6 million in revenue annually, toward larger-scale development projects, will happen slowly, keeping a reliable stream of capital available.
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J. Benson will rely on support and guidance from Minneapolis-based Kraus-Anderson and Alberta, Canada-based general contractor PCL Construction. The firms have been advising J. Benson on the nuances and implications of transitioning into union work, and helping J. Benson network in its search for commercial construction contracting opportunities.
Edlund's firm also won't be taking on any prime contracts for some time, pursuing instead safer subcontracting opportunities, for now.
"I've got a more conservative growth strategy because I'd like to make sure that we're around for the next 50 years, and not just to chase what may seemingly be a pot of gold at the minority contractor rainbow," he said.
On the employment end, J. Benson is working with Minneapolis vocational training organization Summit Academy OIC to recruit construction workers of color, and put them on the path to becoming well-trained, paid and benefited union laborers, Edlund said.
Unionizing our construction company allows us to keep the focus on your project. Contact us to learn more about our construction, emergency repair, and general contracting services.
