‘Home Hankies’ fueled seniors’ rally for tax justice

In October 1987, “homer hankies” provided the magic the Minnesota Twins needed to win their first World Series championship. Five months later, Minnesota’s seniors attempted to recapture the magic during a rally for tax fairness at the Capitol. Seniors waved “home hankies,” during an event March 2, 1988, co-sponsored by the Minnesota Senior Federation and […]

MnSCU Chancellor Rosenstone to address labor-management council’s annual meeting

Steven Rosenstone, chancellor of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, will give the keynote address at the Twin City Area Labor Management Council’s annual meeting March 7. Registration is now open for the luncheon, which will run from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Operating Engineers Local 49 hall, 2829 Anthony Lane South, […]

Bill would grant bargaining rights to Minnesota child-care providers

Surrounded by more than a dozen family child-care providers clad in pro-union T-shirts, two state lawmakers unveiled legislation Feb. 25 that would grant collective-bargaining rights to providers who receive subsidies from the State of Minnesota. The Child Care Collective Bargaining Act, introduced by Sen. Sandy Pappas (DFL-St. Paul) and Rep. Mike Nelson (DFL-Brooklyn Park), could […]

Legislature will consider expanding union rights to home health care workers

DFL lawmakers last month introduced a bill that would grant home health care workers the right to form a union, a move advocates say will help the state address a looming workforce crisis in Minnesota’s public home care programs. Authored by Sen. Chris Eaton and Rep. Michael Nelson, the bill targets workers in so-called “self-directed” home […]

Eliot Seide: Minnesota’s moment to rebuild the middle class

Minnesota is poised to do great things this year, the first time in 22 years that Democrats control the governor’s office and both chambers of the Legislature. This is Minnesota’s moment to fix the budget, raise fair revenue, and build an economy that grows good jobs and the middle class. Union members campaigned hard to […]

Go bowling to benefit Community Services

Registration is open for Labor Bowl 2013, a team-bowling fundraiser to benefit the St. Paul Labor Studies and Resource Center on April 25 at Midway Pro Bowl in Saint Paul’s Midway Shopping Center. Click here to view registration details on the RLF website. The LSRC is a charitable nonprofit organization that assists and advocates for […]

Unions: Dayton’s State of the State provides roadmap to a better Minnesota

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton’s State of the State address last night drew glowing praise from the state’s union leaders, who applauded the DFL governor for his honesty, vision and commitment to middle class families. “In his address, Gov. Dayton rolled out a strong, reasonable path to a better Minnesota, a brighter future for our state,” […]

Republican governor blasted ‘right to work’ legislation 50 years ago

Fifty years ago, to the surprise of Minnesota’s labor community, Republican Gov. Elmer Anderson offered his opposition to a lethal brand of anti-union legislation unions are still fighting today. The Feb. 14, 1963, issue of The Union Advocate reported Anderson had issued a statement saying he would veto any “compulsory open shop legislation, which usually […]

Union members join push for immigration reform with path to citizenship

U.S. citizenship isn’t something Mitch Azarcon takes for granted – not after watching her Filipino-born mother wait 25 years to move her family to the U.S. Now Azarcon, a surgical core technician at Rochester Methodist Hospital, is exercising her rights as a citizen, taking action through her union, SEIU Healthcare Minnesota, to change federal law […]

Union agenda includes minimum-wage hike, privacy protections for Minnesota workers

Emboldened by victories won at the polls in November, the state’s largest labor federation will push an ambitious legislative agenda that calls for hiking the state’s minimum wage, extending unemployment benefits for locked-out workers and expanding the freedoms and protections Minnesotans enjoy in the workplace. The Minnesota AFL-CIO, which represents more than 1,000 affiliate unions […]