Archdiocese strips Catholic Spirit workers of their union contract

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis is moving forward with plans to dissolve the bargaining unit of workers at its official newspaper, The Catholic Spirit, when their current collective bargaining agreement expires at the end of this month. In an overhaul intended “to create a more integrated communications function,” the Archdiocesan Office of Communications […]

Union electricians vote to authorize strike

About 1,700 electricians in the East Metro are poised to strike if negotiations between their union and members of the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) do not progress in the coming weeks. Members of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 110 voted June 8 to reject their employers’ proposal for a new three-year contract. More […]

St. Paul City Council to consider resolution against corporate personhood

The St. Paul City Council will consider a labor-backed resolution opposing corporate personhood at its meeting Wednesday, June 13. Council Member Dave Thune, who authored the resolution, said he expects it to pass. Organizers with the Move to Amend coalition in St. Paul are planning a rally and press conference at 3:40 – 10 minutes […]

Letter Carriers collect 300,000 pounds of food for Second Harvest

St. Paul Letter carriers collected more than 300,000 pounds of non-perishable food items May 12 during their union’s annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive. The estimated total is a slight improvement over last year’s total – and a big boost for emergency food shelves maintained by Second Harvest Heartland in the East Metro area. The […]

More Than A Memoir: Acuff’s new book defends the ‘absolute necessity’ of organizing

In his new book, “Playing Bigger Than You Are: A Life in Organizing,” Stewart Acuff looks back on his 35-year career as a community, political and union organizer, including a stint as organizing director of the nation’s largest labor federation, the AFL-CIO, from 2001 to 2008. Acuff is quick to point out, however, that the […]

Union volunteers take center stage at Labor 2012 kickoff event

Regional labor federations from both sides of the Mississippi River fêted their union volunteers yesterday, hosting a barbecue at the Operating Engineers Hall in Minneapolis to thank activists for helping stave off a flood of attacks on workers during the 2012 legislative session. The event also kicked off the Labor 2012 political campaign in the […]

Labor Bowl fundraiser nets $14,000 for AFL-CIO Community Services program

The St. Paul Regional Labor Federation’s annual Labor Bowl event May 3 raised more than $14,000 raised for the St. Paul Labor Studies and Resource Center, making it the most successful Labor Bowl the Regional Labor Federation has ever hosted. The bowling fundraiser at Midway Pro Bowl in St. Paul drew 16 teams. Sponsors included […]

UPDATE: Health care workers reach agreement with Twin Cities hospitals

SEIU Healthcare Minnesota, the union representing 3,500 health care workers at eight Twin Cities hospitals, announced today it has reached a tentative agreement with management, averting a strike authorized by members earlier this week. The union said it would withhold details of the proposed contract until union members had reviewed and voted on it. Voting […]

Dakota County legislators dodge community meeting on school funding

A group of Dakota County residents convened a community meeting in Burnsville May 12, hoping to give people an opportunity to ask their legislators questions about things like school funding and property taxes. Unfortunately, not one of the area’s legislators acted on the invitation to attend, leaving the roomful of concerned parents, school district employees […]

Bobby Kasper: Let’s make sure the next Legislature stands with workers

I breathed a sigh of relief when the Minnesota Legislature finally adjourned the 2012 session. It meant an end to the seemingly endless string of Republican attacks on Minnesota’s working families – attacks on our union rights, attacks on our wages and pensions, attacks on our voting rights and more. I’m writing today to say […]