Still waiting on back pay, former workers spoil grocer’s grand reopening

When Fresh Seasons Markets in Victoria and Glen Lake closed a year ago, owner Tom Wartman failed to pay his employees the vacation and personal-holiday pay they had earned, their union alleges. Local 653 of the United Food and Commercial Workers has taken legal action to recoup workers’ pay, and the union’s Health, Welfare and […]

CTUL activist Dominguez named Saint Paul Foundation’s Facing Race Ambassador

The Saint Paul Foundation honored workers rights activist Lucila Dominguez with one of its Facing Race Ambassador Awards at a program today in St. Paul. The award honors leaders in the fight for racial equity and against racism, and promotes the need for productive community‐wide conversations about race. Dominguez is an organizer and activists with […]

Pilots picket at MSP, protest Sun Country’s ‘unacceptable’ offer

In shifts of about 50, Sun Country pilots and their colleagues from other airlines marched silently in single file outside Terminal 2 at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport this afternoon. The informational picket, attended by virtually all of Sun Country’s 247 active pilots who were not flying or in training, put the Minnesota-based airline on notice […]

St. Paul City Council takes stance against ‘poor trade policies,’ including fast track

The St. Paul City Council took up the fight to stop fast track Wednesday, when members unanimously approved a resolution “opposing the extension of bad trade policies.” “The people of the City of Saint Paul have the best chance to benefit from pending trade and investment agreements only if the process by which they are […]

Not So Fast: Unions ramp up pressure on Congress to stop fast track

More than a year after sending proponents of fast track back to the drawing board, Congress is poised to consider a modified version of the trade measure this spring. But unions and their allies in the fair-trade movement say the “new” fast track bill amounts to little more than lipstick on a pig. Like previous […]

Allina hospital workers ratify contract establishing $15 minimum wage

Capping a week that saw fast food workers, bank tellers, students and other workers across the Twin Cities mobilize for higher wages, SEIU Healthcare Minnesota announced today that members have ratified a new contract with Allina that establishes a $15 minimum wage at seven Twin Cities hospitals. Allina backed out of metro-wide negotiations between the […]

Unions back Move MN rally for comprehensive, long-term transportation fix

Marcus Smith would like more reliable bus service from south Minneapolis to his job in St. Paul. Jessica Treat wants dedicated lanes that make bicycling to work safer. James Boney hopes rebuilding and repairing the state’s roads and bridges will mean jobs for workers who need them. From bicyclists to Building Trades members, public employees […]

Tax Day actions echo worldwide call for higher wages, union rights

Fast food workers kicked off a Twin Cities-wide day of action for higher pay early this morning, going on strike for the third time in the last seven months. Although McDonald’s recently announced it would raise its minimum wage to $9 per hour, striking workers, organizing locally with the low-wage worker center CTUL, pledged to […]

Tellers, teachers, Somali immigrants take on big banks during St. Paul rally

Been targeted with a high-pressure sales pitch at your bank recently? You’re not alone, according to a report released earlier this month exposing a “new era of predatory lending” in the industry. But Wells Fargo employee Michael Lewis offered this plea to frustrated customers yesterday: “The average bank workers, they want to work with you,” […]

East Side Freedom Library plans April film screenings, lectures

Programming at the East Side Freedom Library this month includes film screenings, discussions and a presentation on social justice. All events at the nonprofit, independent library, located at 1105 Greenbrier St. in St. Paul, are free and open to the public. For more information go to the library’s website. • Filmmaker John DeGraaf will appear […]