Critics Say Roofing Industry has Too Much Unskilled Labor

Summary

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This article was originally published in Finance and Commerce, Minneapolis, another Dolan Media-owned publication.

Four years ago, Paul Leyendecker was doing OK in the roofing business. He tackled 150 to 200 jobs per year. At one point, he even started a Christmas in July promotion, in which his company would install a free roof for a deserving, low-income senior citizen.

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Extract

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Critics Say Roofing Industry has Too Much Unskilled Labor

Today, Leyendecker is out of the roofing business; not because business was slow, but because many of his competitors - looking for cheap, readily available labor - were using illegal workers.

I don't like the way the industry has changed, said Leyendecker, owner of Anoka, Minn.-based PTL Contracting, which specializes in roof gutter systems.

To be competitive in the industry, you have to resort to things like that...

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