Building Trades notch win for prevailing wage in West St. Paul
By mobilizing their members and tapping solidarity from the local labor movement, Building Trades unions won an unexpected fight over prevailing wage in West St. Paul last year. The city has long required developers to pay prevailing wages on any project that receives $50,000 or more in public … [Continue Reading ...]
First union contract delivers gains for Mississippi Market workers
Members of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1189 voted last month to ratify a first contract with Mississippi Market after 11 months of bargaining with the St. Paul co-op grocer. Union negotiators said the three-year contract delivers on the demands that sparked co-op workers’ organizing … [Continue Reading ...]
New state grants support suicide prevention in construction industry
The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry awarded new grant funding last month to help two organizations tackle a leading safety hazard in the construction industry: mental health. Minnesota Building Trades unions partnered last year with their employers, represented by the Associated … [Continue Reading ...]
Poll finds ‘staggering’ support among Minnesotans for massive ICE protest
Faith, labor and nonprofit groups behind the massive “ICE Out of MN” day of action Jan. 23 released polling today that suggests nearly a quarter of Minnesota voters participated in the protest. Hundreds of businesses closed Jan. 23, as tens of thousands of protesters marked a “Day of Truth and … [Continue Reading ...]
Feature Story
New state grants support suicide prevention in construction industry
The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry awarded new grant funding last month to help two organizations tackle a leading safety hazard in the construction industry: mental health. Minnesota Building Trades unions partnered last year with their employers, represented … [Continue Reading ...]
Organizing News
Labor in the Community
Poll finds ‘staggering’ support among Minnesotans for massive ICE protest
Faith, labor and nonprofit groups behind the massive “ICE Out of MN” day of action Jan. 23 released polling today that suggests nearly a quarter of Minnesota voters participated in the protest. Hundreds of businesses closed Jan. 23, as tens of thousands of protesters marked a “Day of Truth and … [Continue Reading ...]
MSP Airport unions lead march on ICE terminal as labor shows solidarity with Somali community
One day after the Trump administration announced it would target the local Somali community with immigration raids, two airport unions led a march on the company that operates Minneapolis-St. Paul International’s charter terminal, where local detainees are being flown in shackles to deportation … [Continue Reading ...]
Families, educators, food shelves brace for SNAP cutoff: ‘This is a policy choice’
Matteo Halbesleben of Minneapolis is among 42 million people nationwide, including 440,000 in Minnesota, who will see food assistance from the federal government, known as SNAP, disappear tomorrow. Benny Roberts is executive director of the Hallie Q. Brown Food Shelf in St. Paul, where demand … [Continue Reading ...]
Ramsey County workers fight to save detox services: ‘It’s life or death’
Workers and community members staged a demonstration outside the Ramsey County Detoxification Center in St. Paul on Tuesday, protesting the county’s plan to wind down operations by the end of this year. Members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) … [Continue Reading ...]
Labor Voices
Thoemke: Responsible contracting, union organizing are good for business – just ask this local printer
As a union organizer, I meet a lot of workers who’ve been treated unfairly – and plenty of employers who want nothing to do with fixing it. So when I got a call about Seven Corners, a local printing shop, I expected another long, uphill battle. Workers there were fighting to dissolve their sham … [Continue Reading ...]
Unions decry Trump shutdown, urge health care fix
Using public-service workers as political pawns, President Donald Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress allowed the federal government to shut down Oct. 1 rather than negotiate with Senate Democrats over a mounting health care crisis. As the shutdown extends into a fourth week, over … [Continue Reading ...]
Union members at No Kings: ‘We have to show solidarity’
At “No Kings” demonstrations across the state Saturday, Minnesotans turned their individual anger over the alarming, anti-democratic trajectory of President Donald Trump’s second term into a collective display of strength, unity and hope. Many labor unions endorsed “No Kings” events both here and … [Continue Reading ...]
St. Paul school levy gets labor endorsement
Organized labor is backing the campaign to pass a new operating levy in the St. Paul school district this fall. Administrators and union leaders say the increased funds are necessary to maintain educational programming and avoid steep budget cuts. Delegates to the St. Paul Regional Labor … [Continue Reading ...]
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