Building Trades remember the fallen on Workers Memorial Day

Members of the Building Trades paused yesterday in St. Paul to honor members of their unions who died as a result of work-related injuries or illnesses in the previous year. The annual Workers Memorial Day ceremony was to take place at the Workers Memorial Garden on the Capitol grounds, but organizers moved the event indoors, […]

Ken Peterson: Fight for safer workplaces continues in Minnesota, worldwide

Workers Memorial Day is observed each April 28 because President Richard Nixon signed the OSHA law on that date in 1970. He called it the most significant legislation for working people enacted in American history. The new workplace-safety law was the culmination of decades of work by unions and safety advocates to reduce on-the-job deaths […]

On national day of action, union painters brighten disabled vet’s Shoreview home

Volunteers from the Painters and Allied Trades helped ready a new home in Shoreview for the family of a disabled military veteran last weekend. The project was part of a nationwide day of volunteer activity, IUPAT Gives Back Day, sponsored by the union. Terry Nelson, business manager of Upper Midwest-based IUPAT District Council 82, said […]

Nursing home workers see Fight for $15 as vital to quality care

On the same day over 100 Twin Cities fast-food workers went on strike, area nursing home workers took up the “Fight for $15” as well, rallying outside a Roseville care center for a contract that includes fair wages. Employees of Golden Living Center welcomed nursing-home residents, striking fast-food workers and other supporters to an informational […]

Unions, employers reach out to St. Paul’s East Side at job fair

Union employers, apprenticeship programs and community service agencies set up shop on St. Paul’s East Side last night, recruiting talent from the distinctly working-class neighborhood and beyond at the Union Jobs and Resource Fair. Many Latino, Hmong, Karen and East African families call the East Side home, and the job fair, organized by the St. […]

For Minnesota’s women workers, ‘Equal Pay Day’ no cause for celebration

Women working in Minnesota will earn $382,360 less than their male counterparts, on average, over the course of a 40-year career. As bad as that sounds, Minnesota’s lifetime wage gap is actually better than the national average. Pay disparities between women and men are in the spotlight today on “Equal Pay Day,” but it’s not […]

In tough talks with Allina, Teamsters win wage increases, avoid strike

Members of Teamsters Local 120 who provide home-delivery of oxygen and medical equipment for Allina Health ratified a new contract Saturday, narrowly avoiding a work stoppage. Frustrated by management’s refusal to consider meaningful wage increases in negotiating sessions last month, the 42 members of Local 120 unanimously authorized their bargaining team to call a strike […]

Talking more than weather, ZeVan’s memoir recalls a career ‘among the giants’

Barry ZeVan – “the weatherman” to television viewers in Minnesota and across the country – has written a memoir that looks back on his career in broadcasting and show business, and he’s donating a share of proceeds from the book to two union charities. The 78-year-old ZeVan self-published “My Life Among the Giants” earlier this […]

Workers OK first contract, making Wedge first union co-op in Minnesota

Workers at the Wedge voted Tuesday to ratify their first union contract, making the Minneapolis grocer the state’s first unionized co-op. Wedge Community Co-op workers voted last November to join United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1189, seeking higher wages, an equitable process for dealing with management and a voice in decisions that affect the co-op’s […]

Union job fair coming to St. Paul’s East Side April 14

Take the first step toward a career in construction, manufacturing, government, health care, hospitality or retail at the Union Job and Resource Fair April 14 at the East Side Freedom Library. Employers and union representatives at the event will provide information to both ready-to-hire job seekers and young people exploring their career options. Interpreters will […]