The voice of Saint Paul's working families since 1897
After years of attacks and attempts to weaken workers’ rights, this year could be a major win for labor in Minnesota. Right now bills in both the House and Senate would extend collective bargaining rights to more than 20,000 workers who currently lack the right to form a union under state law. The bills cover […]
Support for transportation and transit investments among state lawmakers this session appears lukewarm at best, and that baffles Rep. Alice Hausman. “With all the grumbling and complaining about roads and potholes, you wouldn’t think funding transportation would be this hard,” the DFLer from St. Paul said. Hausman, who chairs the House Capital Investment Committee, joined […]
Remember to place a bag of non-perishable food items near your mailbox Saturday, May 11, date of the 21st annual “Stamp Out Hunger” food drive, organized nationwide by the National Association of Letter Carriers union. It’s the nation’s largest one-day food drive, and Letter Carriers throughout the Metro Area will be participating. Last year St. […]
The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee began hearings last week on an 844-page bill to overhaul the nation’s broken immigration system. The proposal includes a pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants, as well as new boarder-security measures, guest-worker programs, employee-verification methods and other changes to the immigration system. In Minnesota labor leaders who have […]
Buoyed by broad-based community support, St. Paul teachers kicked off their contract campaign with a public celebration April 20, pledging to use negotiations with the district to build “the schools St. Paul children deserve.” Negotiators for the St. Paul Public Schools and the St. Paul Federation of Teachers Local 28 will open talks this spring […]
The state legislator spending a week on minimum wage met today with three Minnesotans for whom the minimum-wage challenge is an everyday reality. Four days into his five-day walk in the shoes of the state’s lowest-paid workers, Rep. Jason Metsa listened as three minimum-wage earners related the experiences Metsa wouldn’t have during his five-day experiment. […]
The time for bipartisan action to fix the country’s broken immigration system is now, according to a diverse group of more than 100 activists who rallied downtown Minneapolis yesterday for “commonsense” immigration reform that includes a pathway to citizenship. The event, one of several immigration rallies held across the country yesterday, drew support from unions, […]
Peanut butter or jelly? Juice or coffee? Dry spaghetti or ravioli in a can? Those aren’t decisions Rep. Jason Metsa usually wrestles with in the grocery store, but the Iron Range DFLer is tightening his belt this week after signing a pledge to live on Minnesota’s minimum wage of $7.25 per hour for five days. […]
International trade agreements have a profound effect on Minnesota’s economy. But what effect does Minnesota have on international trade agreements? Companion bills progressing through the Legislature, House File 883 and Senate File 640, seek to amplify the state’s voice in debate over trade agreements by breathing new life into the Minnesota Trade Policy Advisory Council. […]
The Minnesota Legislature adjourned in April 1913 after nearly three months in session, but not before passing several bills benefiting the state’s workers. The Union Advocate provided a list the Legislature’s accomplishments in it April 25 edition – from establishing a new worker’s compensation system to requiring employers to install safety devices where heavy machinery […]
Union Advocate 