Labor leaders weigh in as Senate takes up immigration bill

Geraldine Crece and Luis Sanchez bow their heads during a prayer that opened a rally for immigration reform April 9.

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee began hearings last week on an 844-page bill to overhaul the nation’s broken immigration system. The proposal includes a pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants, as well as new boarder-security measures, guest-worker programs, employee-verification methods and other changes to the immigration system. In Minnesota labor leaders who have […]

Unions lead rally for immigration reform in Minneapolis

Josefina Garcia hoists her daughter Citlalli on her shoulders for a better view of the immigration rally downtown Minneapolis.

The time for bipartisan action to fix the country’s broken immigration system is now, according to a diverse group of more than 100 activists who rallied downtown Minneapolis yesterday for “commonsense” immigration reform that includes a pathway to citizenship. The event, one of several immigration rallies held across the country yesterday, drew support from unions, […]

Fair trade group honors Franken for TPP leadership

Sen. Al Franken cracks up the Minnesota Fair Trade Coalition leadership team while accepting his award. From L to R: coalition chair Kera Peterson, Franken, director Josh Wise and treasurer Russ Hess.

U.S. Sen. Al Franken has been at the forefront of congressional efforts to push the Obama administration to negotiate strong labor standards into the free-trade deal Obama has declared his top trade priority. Those efforts drew recognition yesterday from the Minnesota Fair Trade Coalition, which presented the senator with its Fair Trade Leadership Award. The […]

Franken takes the lead in Senate effort to sway Trans-Pacific trade negotiations

U.S. Sen. Al Franken, shown here at a union rally in St. Paul, co-authored a letter to President Obama urging enforceable protections for workers' rights in the TPP.

As negotiations on the latest U.S.-backed free-trade agreement resumed in Australia this week, U.S. Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota led a bipartisan appeal to President Obama, urging his administration to craft an deal that protects American jobs and workers’ rights worldwide. Franken, a DFLer, joined Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine in authoring a letter […]

Statewide labor convention opens with political call to action

mnaflcio

Election-year politics dominated Day 1 of the Minnesota AFL-CIO’s 51st Constitutional Convention in Rochester yesterday, as speakers, including U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, urged delegates to take action in support of labor-endorsed candidates up and down the Nov. 6 ballot. Klobuchar, whose campaign for a second term has the state labor federation’s endorsement, said unions will […]

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