42 non-union workers in the North Dakota Bakken oil field got stiffed nearly three quarters of a million dollars in wages and other compensation by WCE Oil Field Services going into receivership.

Laborers District Council of Minnesota and North Dakota along with Laborers Local 563 went to work on behalf of these non-union workers. The Laborers ultimately got an anonymous oil field investor to pay between $3,000 and $20,000 each in partial compensation to the workers.

And the union is working on getting more of the wages owed these workers into their pockets. So why did the Laborer's union step up to help these non-union workers?

Kevin Pranis is Marketing Manager for the Laborer's union in Minnesota and North Dakota. "One of the superintendents for the company had told one of our staff to stay off their right of way and not talk to their guys. So we didn't have a relationship with the workers but we were really concerned when we heard the story.

And the most basic principle for us is a fair day's wage for a fair day's work. And the idea that they wouldn't get paid at all seemed crazy to us."

Pranis says the Laborer's union wants to uphold standards in the construction industry, from wages to safety and environmental responsibility.

 "Obviously our mission encompasses our members who are already members. We also like to make sure that standards are decent for all workers.

I think upholding standards in the industry is our single most important job we do for our members, for the contractors that we partner with and for all workers."