Harry Melander: Building builders, growing our economy

Drive to just about any region in our State. Look up or down, and you will see: “We are back.” You see new mining opportunities on the Iron Range and housing developments in our urban core. You see expansion of our medical center in Rochester and new investments in our regional transit system. All are […]

Laundry workers picket for fair contract on St. Paul’s East Side

Workers who clean linens for hospitals across the metro picketed outside Health Systems Cooperative Laundries on St. Paul’s East Side today, giving their employer a taste of what to expect if management continues to drag its feet in negotiations. About 240 Health Systems Cooperative employees, members of Workers United Local 150, have been working without […]

Union opposes U.S. Bank CEO’s campaign for Minneapolis Institute of Arts board

Local 26 of the Service Employees International Union announced today it will protest outside the Minneapolis Institute of Arts’ annual membership meeting tomorrow, urging members not to elect U.S. Bank CEO Richard Davis to their Board of Trustees. Davis is the immediate past chair of the Minnesota Orchestra’s board. The orchestra has been locking union […]

Community group plans dialogue on Minnesota Orchestra’s future

Orchestrate Excellence, a grassroots group of audience members and business owners working to end the Minnesota Orchestra lockout, will host a community forum, “Our Community’s Commitment to the Minnesota Orchestra,” Aug. 20 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis. The forum will explore the community’s role in supporting the Minnesota Orchestra. […]

Striking Cretex workers appeal to Shakopee City Council for support

Striking union members and their supporters filled the Shakopee City Council chambers last night in an appeal to local leaders for their help resolving the 29-day work stoppage at Cretex Companies’ concrete plant inside the city limits. “What’s going on right now is not good for Shakopee,” Tim Mackey, business manager of Laborers Local 563, […]

Summer internships introduce St. Paul teens to construction careers

A crew of 12 UnderConstruction interns arrived at a vacant lot in St. Paul’s Frogtown neighborhood before 9 a.m. today. Their task was to build a garage from the ground up, and within two hours the structure had begun taking shape. The concrete foundation had settled. The framework was up. Interns were taking turns shingling […]

HealthEast drags out negotiations with home-care nurses

HealthEast is dragging out negotiations on a first contract for nurses in its Home Care division, according to the Minnesota Nurses Association, which is seeking the public’s help in pressuring HealthEast to bargain in good faith. The MNA, which represents about 65 nurses at HealthEast Home Care, is asking supporters to call or e-mail HealthEast […]

Ellison urges ‘attention, activism’ to shed light on Trans-Pacific Partnership

Rep. Keith Ellison hasn’t seen a draft of the impending Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement, but executives at Cargill and Monsanto probably have. If that arrangement strikes you as skewed, you’re not alone. At a panel discussion on the TPP July 1 in Minneapolis, Ellison faced a fiery crowd of more than 50 people, who […]

CWA sponsors Almanac Trail concert stop in Minneapolis

The Almanac Trail concert tour hits Minneapolis Aug. 8, with a free 7:30 p.m. show at the Minneapolis Eagles, 2507 E 25th St., sponsored by the Minnesota State Council of the Communications Workers of America. The tour features musicians Rik Palieri and George Mann, who are tracing the steps of the Almanac Singers – folk-music […]

River Valley Action to celebrate 10 years in St. Croix Valley

Ten years ago, bolstered by a grant from the Minnesota AFL-CIO, union members and grassroots activists in the St. Croix Valley set out to create a forum for progressive dialogue in the region. The result was River Valley Action, which will mark its 10th year of advocating on issues that improve people’s lives with a […]