The owner of a Black River Falls-based construction company says a decision to expand in Minnesota because of Wisconsin’s right-to-work law is paying off.
Jim Hoffman, president of Hoffman Construction Co., opted to ramp up his business’ presence in the neighboring state last year because of the implications Wisconsin’s right-to-work law, and it has acquired $85 million in Minnesota state highway contracts because of it.
“It wasn’t a political decision — it was a business decision,” Hoffman said. “It was basically following our market. I saw indications that Wisconsin was headed in the wrong direction.
“As businessman, I had to listen to my market instead of fight it. I had to follow where I’d have the best luck for success, which so far has come true.”
Hoffman was a vocal opponent of the right-to-work law that was signed by Gov. Scott Walker in early 2015 because the nearly 100-year-old BRF company is a union contractor that use workers from International Union of Operating Engineers Local 139 in Wisconsin and 49 in Minnesota. Right-to-work legislation allows members to opt out of joining a union and paying related dues, a measure that Hoffman believes will “slowly erode the union’s ability to provide the skilled workers” needed over time.
“One of the reasons I am so successful as a businessman is because of my workers,” he said. “Our company is our people — that’s our company motto.”
Hoffman also noted Wisconsin passed some changes to its prevailing wage laws and the state currently bonds a “significant portion” of its highway program — another two factors for growing business in Minnesota, he said.
“It’s erosion of some of the reasons why we’ve been successful in the past,” Hoffman said. “I see changes going forward. We’re trying to move the political process with real-world construction business.”
“We are going to have to do a lot of hiring here in Minnesota,” John Klein, Hoffman Construction’s Minnesota area manager, said in a statement. “I’m looking forward to the opportunities out there. Currently the Minnesota legislature is deciding on a 2016 transportation budget. I’ve been in contact with my Minnesota representatives asking them to responsibly fund the Minnesota transportation program.”
The company on average has completed more than 80 percent of its work with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation in the past but the figure now has dropped to 50 percent.
“That’s a function of the type of work the (Wisconsin) DOT is bidding, the lack of work and also just increased competition,” Hoffman said. “There’s some carry-over jobs, but we just haven’t been able to add any new jobs. We keep bidding on them.”
Hoffman’s recent announcement about the effects of the company’s Minnesota expansion came on the same day a Dane County judge struck down Wisconsin’s right-to-work law. The judge the next week finalized the decision that bars the state from enforcing the law.
Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel said the state plans to appeal.
“We wholeheartedly disagree with Judge Foust’s decision and final order,” Schimel said in a statement. “I am confident the law ultimately will be upheld and Wisconsin will remain a right-to-work state.”
