By Doug Cunningham

ULLICO, the Union Labor Life Insurance Company, is committing $20 million in financing for a 37-story apartment building in downtown Minneapolis. The project will create 1,000 union jobs. ULLICO President and CEO Edward Smith says ULLICO is proud to be a part of the project. His comments came in a celebration event with members of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Minneapolis. Smith says J for Jobs - ULLICO’s $2.3 billion commercial real estate investment vehicle - has a 35-year history of investing in projects attractive to institutional investors while at the same time creating thousands of jobs for union members. Smith says using labor money to finance construction projects is a win-win because it grows investment and pension funds while putting union members and contractors back to work.