Findings come courtesy of a recent analysis of census data and Twin Cities-area school construction projects. Written By: Matthew Guerry | × A pair of backhoes are being used Monday, June 14, 2021, to tear down a portion of the south campus at Brainerd High School. (Steve Kohls / Forum News Service.) ST. PAUL — Union construction work in Minnesota pays better than the nonunion peers without inflating project costs in the $16 billion industry, according to anew study out last week. Union contractors in Minnesota collected an average hourly pay of $33 between 2015 and 2019, according to the study, $8 more than their nonunion counterparts and only $2 less than the average Minnesota college graduate. Coupled with other findings in the study, Midwest Economic Policy Institute Policy Director Frank Manzo said Tuesday, July 6, is the takeaway "that Minnesota's union construction industry is no more costly than the nonunion alternative even though it produces higher wages."