
Bigham, a DFLer and longtime resident of Cottage Grove, is the labor-endorsed candidate in a Feb. 12 special election in Senate District 54.
The voice of Saint Paul's working families since 1897

Bigham, a DFLer and longtime resident of Cottage Grove, is the labor-endorsed candidate in a Feb. 12 special election in Senate District 54.

In St. Paul, we can cross our fingers and wait for corporate tax cuts to trickle down, or we can pass a $15 minimum wage that ensures no one working in our city lives in poverty.

Several unions representing thousands of working people in St. Paul offered up statements of solidarity with SPFT members.

“We’re taught sports is this level playing field, this epitome of America, where anybody who’s good can make it. Yet the reality is it’s a very unlevel playing field.”

Activists called out the corporations funding the Super Bowl for prioritizing a high-profile game over people’s lives.

“Minnesota’s Super Bowl shouldn’t just be about entertaining the rich and the powerful,” bakery worker Travis Reinhart said.

Unions and worker advocacy groups oppose a two-tier wage system, arguing it leaves behind the very workers a minimum wage is supposed to benefit.

Frustrated by the St. Paul Public Schools’ refusal to take up their top priorities in contract negotiations, SPFT members will take a strike authorization vote Jan. 31.

Working people’s voice grew stronger last year in Minnesota, where organizing gains pushed union membership to its highest point since 2004.