Looking to ‘step up our game,’ Ironworkers open new training center in St. Paul

  Calling it an investment critical to the union’s survival, Ironworkers Local 512 Business Manager Charlie Roberts cut the ribbon on a new $3.1 million apprenticeship training center in St. Paul yesterday. A large crowd of journey-level, apprentice and retired Ironworkers attended the ceremony, which marked the completion of Local 512’s 18,000-square-foot facility on Pierce […]

Minnesota AFL-CIO unveils Labor Pavilion programming for 2015 State Fair

  Make sure your visit to the Minnesota State Fair this year includes a stop at the Minnesota AFL-CIO Labor Pavilion, where programming includes live music and entertainment, interactive demonstrations and opportunities to learn about what unions do. The State Fair runs Aug. 27 through Labor Day, Sept. 7. The Labor Pavilion, located at Dan […]

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 […]