
Their rallying cry: “One job should be enough.”
The voice of Saint Paul's working families since 1897

Gov. Tim Walz issued a proclamation last week declaring Wednesday, Nov. 27, Public Post Office Day in the state of Minnesota. The proclamation, signed by both the governor and Secretary of State Steve Simon, is a token of the state’s gratitude for the U.S. Postal Service and its employees as they brace for a busy […]

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz walked in a home health care worker’s shoes today in St. Paul. The governor helped 41-year-old Jay Spika, who has primary progressive multiple sclerosis, bathe, dress and depart his St. Paul home. Walz worked alongside one of Spika’s home health aides, SEIU Healthcare Minnesota member Deb Howze. The “walk-a-day” event offered […]

When a notorious wage broker pleaded guilty to two felony charges in Hennepin County this week, it was welcome news for unions and community groups working to rid Minnesota’s construction industry of labor abuses. “We are grateful that the legal system is holding those who commit wage theft and illegal trafficking of construction workers seriously,” […]

Saturday was a national day of service for the Electrical Workers Minority Caucus, and 25 volunteers from St. Paul-based Local 110 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers spent the morning roughing in a Habitat for Humanity home in Faribault. The service project brought together journey-level workers, apprentices and their family members. Volunteer turnout was […]

Latesha Hayes’ career path came full circle this morning. A fourth-year apprentice with the Carpenters union, Hayes was one of six tradeswomen who led 33 eighth-grade girls from Roseville on a tour of the union’s St. Paul training center. The students put on hard hats and safety glasses, worked with tools of the trade and […]

Candidates carrying the unified labor endorsement performed well in local elections across the East Metro last week, and union members helped pass several school-funding measures as well. The St. Paul Regional Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, endorsed 25 candidates on the ballot in 2019, and 23 won their races. All six school levy and bond referendums endorsed […]

BLAINE – Bosses at Carley Foundry learned an important lesson today. Pick a fight with one Minnesota union, and you’ll get a fight with them all. About 220 members of United Steelworkers Local 63B began an unfair-labor-practices strike Saturday at the Blaine plant, which supplies parts to aerospace and other firms. Their picket line swelled […]

Tina Smith isn’t on the ballot this November, but for Minnesota’s junior U.S. senator, the reprieve from campaigning will be brief. The seat Smith won in 2018 goes back on the ballot in November 2020, and the race already has attracted a well-funded opponent in former 2nd District Rep. Jason Lewis. For working families, the […]

In November 2015, when St. Paul last held regular City Council elections, the city had no earned sick and safe time ordinance on the books, and hardly anyone at City Hall was talking about a $15 minimum wage. What a difference four years make. When voters in St. Paul go back to the polls Nov. […]