Freedom Library plans arts festival for Labor Day weekend

The East Side Freedom Library, a new non-profit cultural institution on St. Paul’s East Side, will celebrate Labor Day weekend with a “celebration of the arts in labor” Saturday, Sept. 5, the library announced this week. Highlights of the program include live music, a puppet show, storytelling, an artist-guided tour of the St. Paul Labor […]

Union members join protest outside Walker’s St. Paul campaign stop

  Scott Walker’s knack for bringing people together was on full display in St. Paul last night. As the Wisconsin governor wooed local Republican lawmakers and raised funds for his presidential campaign inside O’Gara’s Bar & Grill, about 20 Building Trades union members and other protesters marched outside in a steady rain. Tempers flared briefly […]

Labor-endorsed Tobolt seeks council seat without help from shadowy ‘reform’ groups

[This report by Larry Sillanpa is adapted from his column, “A View from the Ditch,” in the July 22 edition of the Labor World, a Duluth-based publication Sillanpa edits.] DULUTH – It seemed like a stretch – a St. Paul City Council candidate was coming to Duluth to talk about how corporate “school reformers” are […]

Minnesota seniors to demand Democrats’ attention

Union retirees and other seniors plan to show up in force at an Aug. 29 meeting of the Democratic National Committee in Minneapolis and demand that party leaders do more to address older adults’ concerns. The Minnesota State Retiree Council, AFL-CIO, is urging seniors from across the region to attend the DNC Seniors Coordinating Council […]

MSP airport workers keep up fight for $15, union

Backed by supporters from the community, airport workers kept up their public campaign for $15 per hour and a union, rallying Saturday at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. “We work hard to make sure that the airport runs smoothly — even when it’s freezing cold or during the busy holidays — to make sure that Minnesotans […]

Solidarity action targets Chipotle festival in Minneapolis

Chipotle claims its motto “food with integrity” applies throughout its supply chain. But workers who make burrito bowls at a plant outside Los Angeles say the company has turned a blind eye to their fight for respect and a voice on the job. The workers have been organizing with the United Steelworkers for over a […]

Staffing, safety concerns prompt HealthEast officers’ union drive

  There is safety in numbers and strength in a union. Security officers at HealthEast hospitals are organizing to achieve both. Officers say they’ve been warning management for years about dangerously low staffing levels among their ranks. HealthEast usually keeps just two security officers on duty at each of its four East Metro hospitals – […]

St. Paul unions weigh support for campaign to pass citywide $15 minimum wage

  Backing the emergent campaign for a $15 minimum wage in St. Paul is the right thing to do, labor leaders said in a meeting with AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler last night. But as unions look to reverse the trend of declining density, joining the fight to raise wages is also about remaining relevant. “We […]

In new report, St. Paul teachers give ‘cookie-cutter’ policies a failing grade

  There is no one-size-fits-all solution for improving under-performing schools, according to a report issued yesterday by the St. Paul Federation of Teachers. To achieve lasting improvement, district leaders must engage a school’s surrounding community and address the unique, underlying challenges in students’ neighborhoods, homes and lives. That’s the conclusion policy researcher Michael Diedrich, author […]

A ‘labor hall for the community,’ East Side Freedom Library off to promising start

Since the 99-year-old Carnegie library at Greenbrier and Jessamine reopened as the East Side Freedom Library last year, it’s hosted concerts and film screenings, lectures and panel discussions, an economics workshop and a Juneteenth celebration. The independent, nonprofit library is becoming the center of grassroots community activity, history and storytelling that East Siders Peter Rachleff […]