East Metro grocery workers reject ‘final offer,’ urge continued negotiations

In a nearly unanimous vote yesterday, East Metro grocery workers rejected a hastily crafted “final offer” from their employers. About 3,700 members of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1189 began contract negotiations in late February with several St. Paul-area retail grocers, including Cub Foods, Rainbow, Jerry’s Foods, Lunds & Byerlys, Kowalski’s Markets, Festival Foods, […]

5,000 Twin Cities nurses are poised to strike. Here’s how to show your support

In bargaining initiated by a federal mediator last Friday, Allina refused to budge from its demand that nurses give up their quality health insurance, setting the stage for 5,000 nurses at five Twin Cities health facilities to begin a weeklong strike Sunday morning. Members of the Minnesota Nurses Association plan to erect picket lines outside […]

Retail janitors win agreement with Best Buy on eve of shareholder summit

  A protest planned by retail janitors today outside Best Buy’s corporate headquarters turned into a celebration after executives agreed to partner with workers on efforts to ensure people who clean the company’s stores have safe and fair working conditions. The agreement, reached late last night on the eve of Best Buy’s annual shareholder meeting, […]

East Side Freedom Library plans labor-history events in June

Public events at the East Side Freedom Library this month include a discussion of German immigrants’ contribution to the the local labor movement, as well as a free Labor Movie Night screening. The independent, non-profit library is located at 1105 Greenbrier St. in St. Paul. “The German Contribution to St. Paul’s Labor History” As part […]

Staff cuts at embattled St. Paul charter school target union leaders

A St. Paul charter school’s campaign to deny employees a voice on the job reached a new low yesterday, when administrators announced a wave of staff cuts eliminating several key areas of classroom programming and decimating the union’s bargaining team. The number of teachers and support staff let go remains in flux, union leaders said […]

Nurses reject Allina’s contract offer, authorize leadership to call strike

Nurses at four Allina Health facilities in the Twin Cities area are preparing to strike after a “super majority” of union members voted to reject the health care provider’s latest contract offer. The vote sends a clear message to Allina, members of the Minnesota Nurses Association said, that nurses will continue to stand together for […]