AFSCME united for ‘substantive change’ in talks with U

“The U is interested in image,” Local 3800 President Cherrene Horazuk said during a rally last month. “U of M AFSCME is interested in substantive change.”

As Super Bowl approaches, NFL players take sides in local labor standoffs

Players union stands with Teamsters at U of M, calls out Franklin Street Bakery co-owner for abusing workers’ rights.

Teamsters to vote on U’s final contract offer [UPDATED]

Members of Teamsters Local 320 have voted to accept the U’s final offer, the union announced yesterday.

Ruling deals blow to faculty union drive at U’s Twin Cities campus

A Minnesota Court of Appeals ruling issued yesterday dealt a setback to faculty members organizing a union at the University of Minnesota’s Twin Cities campus, who are now weighing an appeal to the state’s Supreme Court. The ruling overturned a decision by the Bureau of Mediation Services, which oversees public employee labor disputes in Minnesota, […]

Teamsters say U of M policy punishes dining workers who use earned sick time

  On the steps of Morrill Hall Tuesday, front-line staff at the University of Minnesota rallied with other U of M workers, including faculty members seeking a union vote, to protest an attendance policy that, workers say, unfairly disciplines them for getting sick. Teamsters Local 320, which organized the rally, represents food-service workers at the […]

MCAD faculty members voting in union election this month

Like thousands of faculty members on campuses across the country, faculty at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design are seeking a stronger voice to advocate for themselves and their students – and they’re organizing a union in order to get it. MCAD’s part- and full-time faculty members will vote by mail in separate organizing […]

Ruling sets stage for 2,500 Twin Cities faculty to take union vote

The historic organizing drive among faculty at the University of Minnesota’s Twin Cities campus cleared a major hurdle today, when a state agency ruled contingent and tenure-track faculty could join together in one potential bargaining unit. The Minnesota Bureau of Mediation Services’ decision clears the way for about 1,000 contingent and 1,500 tenure-track faculty members […]

Safety expert weighs implications as job market shifts ‘from stability to precariousness’

The nature of work is changing dramatically, and it’s creating new challenges – and pitfalls – for regulators charged with protecting workers’ health and safety. The highest-ranking official at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health called on academics gathered Wednesday at the University of Minnesota to dig deep into the implications of emerging […]

Faculty blast U’s attempt to delay union vote with legal appeal

The University of Minnesota is asking the state Court of Appeals to slow down a historic union-organizing effort among faculty at the Twin Cities campus. Union supporters today branded the university’s decision as divisive and wasteful. “We are forming a union so we can gain a stronger voice in university governance, and this is a […]

Students, teachers, unions urge lawmakers to invest state budget surplus

  The projected $1.2 billion state budget surplus, announced by state officials today, creates an opportunity for lawmakers to strengthen communities and continue growing Minnesota’s middle class in the 2016 legislative session, union members and allies said. And the first place lawmakers should look to invest is education. That’s the message three Metro-area legislators heard […]