The voice of Saint Paul's working families since 1897
When the new Hastings Bridge, which carries U.S. Highway 61 across the Mississippi River, opens all four lanes to vehicles tomorrow after two years of construction, traffic-weary residents won’t be the only ones celebrating. Union members who built the $130 million bridge are joining in ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremonies, and one union joined their contractors […]
Hennepin County Medical Center saw no need to consult its staff of professional interpreters before implementing new video interpreting (VRI) technology into its hospitals and clinics. That was before interpreters mounted a unique mobilization campaign and their union, the Minnesota Newspaper and Communications Guild, filed charges of unfair labor practices against the hospital system in […]
To prepare for negotiations on a new contract, the St. Paul Federation of Teachers reached out to parents and the general public, using the feedback they received to craft an innovative, community-driven set of guiding principles for their contract talks. So you can imagine teachers’ frustration when the St. Paul Public Schools asked the state […]
On Black Friday, will you shop for doorbusters? Or protest union-busters? Twin Cities labor activists have announced their plans for the unofficial kickoff of the holiday shopping season, which in recent years also has become a day of action for unions and worker-advocacy groups fighting back against big-box retailers’ crazy hours, frenzied working conditions and […]
IBEW Holiday Lights in the Park, the larger-than-life display of holiday-themed light sculptures, will open its gates Nov. 26 and light up St. Paul’s Phalen Park nightly through New Year’s Day. Developed by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and King of Kings Lutheran Church of Woodbury, Holiday Lights in the Park is a volunteer-run, […]
Skip Black Friday and try a sweatshop-free shopping spree instead with the annual Fair Trade/Union Made Holiday Sale in Minneapolis. A benefit for the nonprofit Minnesota Fair Trade Coalition, the sale will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 8 at the CWA Local 7200 Hall, 3521 E. Lake St. Vendors include Ten Thousand […]
Union volunteers gave labor-endorsed candidates and school levy campaigns a boost during the 2013 election cycle, aiding victories in the City of St. Paul and several East Metro suburbs. The St. Paul Regional Labor Federation, the AFL-CIO’s central labor council in Ramsey, Washington, Dakota and Chisago counties, recruited 125 volunteers for phone banks, door knocks […]
Since being sworn in as mayor in 2006, Chris Coleman has been standing up for St. Paul’s working families. On Nov. 5, working families have an opportunity to stand up for Coleman by reelecting the DFL mayor to a third term in office. Coleman earned labor’s endorsement, union leaders and activists said, by bringing structural […]
The Nov. 28, 1963 edition of The Union Advocate ran three front-page tributes to the nation’s fallen president, remembered as a great friend of organized labor. St. Paul Trades and Labor Assembly President Charles Rafferty said John F. Kennedy’s assassination Nov. 22, 1963 was a great loss for workers, but he added the president would […]
Noel Nix is a familiar face to residents of St. Paul’s Ward 1, and he is the labor-endorsed candidate in a special election to fill the ward’s seat on the St. Paul City Council this year. Nix worked as an aide to former Council Member Melvin Carter, who stepped down earlier this year, setting the […]
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