The voice of Saint Paul's working families since 1897
A $140 million bonding initiative approved by voters in ISD 831 last fall will improve the security and structural integrity of buildings throughout the Forest Lake Area Schools. And thanks to a project labor agreement (PLA), the district’s investment will uphold area wage, benefit and safety standards as well. By a 7-0 vote, the Forest […]
Jim Hendricks clapped his hand five times, and the room bustling with more than 30 busy children Saturday morning fell silent. Everyone turned to face Hendricks, a business representative for the Carpenters union, awaiting his instructions. Holding up two pre-cut pieces of wood, Hendricks demonstrated the method for fashioning them into the sides of a […]
The Supreme Court will hear arguments Monday in a case with big implications for Minnesota firefighters, teachers and other public-sector workers who benefit from the collective bargaining process. At a press conference inside the Firefighters Hall and Museum in Minneapolis today, public workers warned that the case, Friedrichs v. CTA, is an attempt by corporate […]
Frontline workers at the University of Minnesota stood together for nearly six months, waging a contract campaign for raises and respect. Now that strategy is paying off, as three bargaining units – Teamsters Local 320 and AFSCME Locals 3800 and 3801 – have announced tentative agreements with the U that include 2 percent wage increases, equitable family […]
The projected $1.2 billion state budget surplus, announced by state officials today, creates an opportunity for lawmakers to strengthen communities and continue growing Minnesota’s middle class in the 2016 legislative session, union members and allies said. And the first place lawmakers should look to invest is education. That’s the message three Metro-area legislators heard […]
Decking the apprenticeship hall with festive concrete has become an annual tradition at Cement Masons Local 633. The local hosted a holiday party at its training center in New Brighton last night, and members strolled through a “Peanuts”-themed winter wonderland fashioned by first- and second-year apprentices. All of the work to create the concrete […]
In a policy address at the University of Minnesota yesterday, the nation’s highest-ranking labor leader pointed to “thousands of little groundswells” from across the country, including in the Twin Cities, as signs of a renaissance for collective action in American culture. “Right now workers are standing together and asking for a better life – and […]
SuperAmerica continues to stonewall workers looking to meet with corporate leadership to discuss concerns about low pay, favoritism and poor working conditions. Workers from the St. Cloud area, organizing with Working America and the Greater Minnesota Worker Center, brought their campaign to the Twin Cities yesterday. Joined by allies in the labor movement and students […]
Workers at the Wedge Community Co-Op in Minneapolis voted overwhelmingly in favor of forming a union yesterday, according to Local 1189 of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union. In an election overseen by the National Labor Relations Board, Wedge workers voted 76-31 in favor of a voice on the job. Wedge employees organized their […]
Frontline researchers alerted U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison to the impacts of dwindling federal and institutional support for their work in a meeting at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities yesterday. Ellison, a DFLer whose 5th District includes the Twin Cities campus, pledged to continue supporting research funding in Congress, and he praised U […]
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