Apple Valley associate joins nationwide Walmart strike
An associate from Apple Valley is among more than 100 striking Walmart workers nationwide who are protesting outside the company’s annual shareholder meeting in Bentonville, Ark., this week. Gabriel Teneyuque, a member of the grassroots campaign OUR Walmart, joined the “Ride for Respect” to … [Continue Reading ...]
Musicians ratify contract, call for new SPCO leadership
Stressing that they “remain deeply concerned” about the ensemble’s future, musicians of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra today announced their vote to ratify a three-year agreement with the orchestra, officially ending the lockout that began Oct. 21, 2012. The new contract will reduce the … [Continue Reading ...]
Three bring labor endorsement into St. Paul DFL Convention
Planning on attending the City of St. Paul DFL Endorsing Convention? Three labor-endorsed candidates are counting on union members' support. St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman is seeking re-election with labor endorsement. Two incumbent candidates for St. Paul Board of Education also have labor … [Continue Reading ...]
St. Croix Valley Labor Assembly to host annual picnic June 26
The St. Croix Valley Labor Assembly will host its annual family picnic June 26, from 5 to 7 p.m., at Valley View Park in Oak Park Heights. The event offers an opportunity for the St. Croix Valley’s union members, elected officials and candidates for office to meet in an informal, fun … [Continue Reading ...]
Feature Story
Three bring labor endorsement into St. Paul DFL Convention
Planning on attending the City of St. Paul DFL Endorsing Convention? Three labor-endorsed candidates are counting on union members' support. St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman is seeking re-election with labor endorsement. Two incumbent candidates for St. Paul Board of … [Continue Reading ...]
Organizing News
Labor in the Community
St. Croix Valley Labor Assembly to host annual picnic June 26
The St. Croix Valley Labor Assembly will host its annual family picnic June 26, from 5 to 7 p.m., at Valley View Park in Oak Park Heights. The event offers an opportunity for the St. Croix Valley’s union members, elected officials and candidates for office to meet in an informal, fun … [Continue Reading ...]
Letter Carriers will hold ‘Stamp Out Hunger’ food drive May 11
Remember to place a bag of non-perishable food items near your mailbox Saturday, May 11, date of the 21st annual “Stamp Out Hunger” food drive, organized nationwide by the National Association of Letter Carriers union. It’s the nation’s largest one-day food drive, and Letter Carriers … [Continue Reading ...]
Community forum on ‘honest tax reform’ April 4 in Woodbury
A forum and panel discussion in Woodbury April 4 will demonstrate “the need for the Minnesota Legislature to make reforms that stop the cycle of recurring deficits, and instead establish a structurally sound budget now and in the future.” Sponsored by River Valley Action, the forum will run … [Continue Reading ...]
Apply now for Nellie Stone Johnson scholarships
Applications for the annual Nellie Stone Johnson Scholarship, available to minority students from union families, will be accepted through May 1. The scholarships range from $500 to $2,000. To be eligible, students must attend or plan on attending one of the 31 technical colleges, community … [Continue Reading ...]
Labor Voices
Letters to the Editor: Kudos to Metsa for walking in low-wage workers’ skin
A story in the May Union Advocate (“A constant juggling act”) about state Rep. Jason Metsa of Virginia trying to live for a week on a minimun-wage budget brings to mind a quote from the famous novel "To Kill a Mocking-bird,” in which lawyer Atticus Finch tells his young daughter, "You never … [Continue Reading ...]
Bobby Kasper: A successful session – with room for improvement
We here at the St. Paul Regional Labor Federation entered this session with high hopes. Having claimed the state-government trifecta – pro-worker majorities the House and Senate, as well as a pro-labor governor – for the first time in more than two decades, we believed that with some hard work … [Continue Reading ...]
Letters to the editor: DFL caucuses, HHS budget, communism
Emphasizing the ‘L’ in ‘DFL’ Joan and I attended the city precinct caucus on April 16, 2013, at the Highland High School. We are new members of the Highland community after living on the East Side for over 50 years. It was a great experience meeting people who we have known ourselves in … [Continue Reading ...]
Jamie Gulley & Eliot Seide: Working together to grow our movement
After years of attacks and attempts to weaken workers’ rights, this year could be a major win for labor in Minnesota. Right now bills in both the House and Senate would extend collective bargaining rights to more than 20,000 workers who currently lack the right to form a union under state … [Continue Reading ...]
This Month in the Archives
Looking back on a century of support for buying union in St. Paul
In the same spirit of The Union Advocate’s annual Buy Union edition, in which we encourage union members to support businesses that hire union workers, publishers of the Minnesota Union Advocate urged readers to “Buy Bread With the Union Label” in their June 6, 1913, edition. They weren’t … [Continue Reading ...]
