Still on strike, Starbucks union gains strength with organizing win in St. Paul

Baristas at a Starbucks in St. Paul voted 18-1 in favor of forming a union with Workers United yesterday, as the union’s open-ended strike at over 130 cafés across the U.S. approaches the one-month point. Workers at the Starbucks at 2525 West 7th St., near the intersection with Davern, filed for … [Continue Reading ...]

Providers at Allina clinics, urgent cares plan one-day strike Nov. 5

The union of over 600 primary care providers at Allina Health clinics and urgent cares will hold a historic, one-day strike Nov. 5 unless negotiators make significant progress in two bargaining sessions scheduled before then. The strike would be the largest among private practitioners in U.S. … [Continue Reading ...]

Hospitality workers at MSP make gains after holiday strike threat

Travelers passing through Minneapolis-St. Paul International this holiday season can congratulate the airport’s food service-workers on a new union contract that delivered the strongest economic gains for their bargaining unit in recent memory. The victory for members of UNITE HERE Local 17 came … [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 ...]

Feature Story

Hospitality workers at MSP make gains after holiday strike threat

Travelers passing through Minneapolis-St. Paul International this holiday season can congratulate the airport’s food service-workers on a new union contract that delivered the strongest economic gains for their bargaining unit in recent memory. The victory for members of … [Continue Reading ...]

Labor in the Community

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 ...]

Pipefitters turn out for union’s annual Heat’s On service day

Local Pipefitters unions kick off their Heat’s On service day each year with a breakfast buffet in the conference room of a hotel in Roseville. So many union volunteers showed up this year that some had to eat in the lobby. It was as big a turnout as anyone in St. Paul Pipefitters Local 455 or … [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 ...]