The voice of Saint Paul's working families since 1897
State Rep. John Lesch, a prosecutor in St. Paul for 15 years, can recite the address from memory: 1450 University Avenue West. That’s Walmart’s Midway location, and it is a magnet for shoplifting and other petty crime that, like several other Walmart stores in Minnesota and across the country, absorbs a disproportionate amount of attention […]
Many of us are left reeling from the results of the 2016 election and what it will mean for this country moving forward. The future of U.S. trade policy is unclear, as is much of the political and economic landscape. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has officially been declared “dead.” That means that, in its current […]
Youth soccer players and local dignitaries sent dirt and snow flying during a ceremonial groundbreaking Dec. 12 for the planned 20,000-seat pro-soccer stadium in St. Paul’s Midway district. The $250 million construction project remains in the early, exploratory stages, and snarls remain both at the Capitol, where lawmakers must sign off on a property-tax exemption […]
Two years ago, Congress opened the door for troubled pension funds to cut retirees’ benefits, after Rep. John Kline slipped the provision into a must-pass bill keeping the federal government open. Now, with Congress poised to pass a similar stopgap bill, Kline is back with another “pension reform” bill, and it’s just as bad […]
MAPLE GROVE – Heartbreaking, gutless and dishonest were among the ways workers, union leaders and high-ranking elected officials described a Roseville trucking firm’s decision to withhold pay from 90 members of Teamsters Local 120 after abruptly closing the week of Thanksgiving. Out-of-work Teamsters staged a rally last night outside Finish Line Express, a Maple Grove-based […]
They fended off drastic cuts to their pension benefits earlier this year, but Teamsters retirees aren’t resting on their laurels. Instead, they are organizing to stop a new bill gaining momentum in Congress that would weaken, rather than strengthen, the funding of defined-benefit pension plans. It’s known in Washington as the “composite bill,” and retirees […]
Union Advocate 