Kate Perushek: Labor Department aims to increase awareness of rights, responsibilities

As we celebrate Labor Day, I am honored to begin a new role as commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI). For seven years, I have served at DLI, and this new role is a continuation of the same commitment that has guided me throughout my career: protecting worker rights, strengthening worker […]

Dreaming big on Labor Day: What if union membership tripled nationwide?

About 15 million American workers are union members, but polling shows that some 50 million more would join a union today if they could. What if that happened? That’s the question researchers at the Economic Policy Institute sought to answer in a first-of-its-kind report, “The Case for Tripling Union Membership,” published in July. Tripling union […]

‘Shared passion for community’ drives union campaign at Twin Cities climbing gyms

After a meeting with the CEO left more questions than answers, workers at two Bouldering Project gyms in the Twin Cities moved quickly to organize a union. Workers voted to 79-7 to form a bargaining unit with Workers United, an affiliate of the Service Employees (SEIU), in a landslide election Aug. 6 overseen by the […]

Gap between CEO, worker pay continues to widen, report shows

While the nationwide ratio for CEO-to-worker pay last year was 312-to-1, the ratio was even greater at six Minnesota-based, publicly traded firms.

AFT calls on educators, families to avoid Target during back-to-school season

As back-to-school shopping season ramps up, the American Federation of Teachers is urging educators and families nationwide to stock up on supplies someplace other than Target. The union’s “Shop Smart, Support Working Families” campaign is a response to Target’s refusal to condemn the unlawful Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity that continues to roil communities around […]

Bloomington video game workers ‘fighting tooth and nail’ with Microsoft for first contract

BLOOMINGTON – Video game workers rallied Aug. 18 for a fair first contract with their Microsoft-owned publishing firm, while also standing in solidarity with workers across the country fighting layoffs and corporate greed in Microsoft’s gaming studios. Members of Activision Quality Assurance United, an affiliate of the Communications Workers of America (CWA), held “Save Our […]

Feds spied on local unions during Operation Metro Surge

Minnesota’s largest labor federation accused the Trump administration of “bringing back McCarthyism” after court filings exposed wide-reaching federal surveillance of local unions during the deadly and chaotic immigration dragnet last winter. While purportedly investigating a criminal conspiracy to impede Operation Metro Surge, Department of Homeland Security agents infiltrated a meeting at the United Labor Center […]

Strike ends as Hazelden nurses ratify historic contract with safety guarantees

Nurses ended their strike at the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation’s Center City campus this week, settling a first contract that, union members say, will address concerns that sparked their historic organizing campaign. Members of the Minnesota Nurses Association’s bargaining unit – about 60 nurses in all – voted to ratify the contract today. Union negotiators […]

Union members sound alarm on threats to Postal Service, mail-in voting

Twin Cities postal workers rallied to raise awareness about threats to Minnesotans’ mail service coming out of Washington, D.C.

Hazelden nurses ‘not backing down’ as strike enters second week

Nurses bargaining a first union contract with the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation launched an open-ended strike July 15 at the renowned addiction-treatment facility in Center City, and their picket line remains up after two bargaining sessions this week. Members of the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) voted to authorize a strike nearly a year into negotiations. […]