The voice of Saint Paul's working families since 1897
It’s hard to believe it’s been two decades since NAFTA went into effect – 20 years since I walked among abandoned factories in El Paso, Texas, and cement and tarpaper shacks in Anapra, a shantytown on the edge of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. In November 1993, as editor of The Union Advocate, I took part in […]
Democrats in Congress introduced legislation to provide a pathway to “legal residency” for an estimated 9 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. a decade ago. The measure drew support from unions, religious groups and immigrant organizations. Ten years later, of course, the fight for immigration reform continues. Unions 10 years ago made up a […]
In the early 1990s, Doug Williams was serving as president of Local 1140 of the International Union of Electrical Workers, an industrial union that has since folded into the Communications Workers. Williams and other union activists, particularly in the industrial sector, were in full campaign mode at the time, handing out fliers during shift changes, […]
U.S. Postal Service employees from the Twin Cities rallied with supporters April 24 outside a Staples store in Roseville, part of a nationwide day of action opposing plans to put USPS service counters inside Staples locations across the country. Already, 82 Staples stores in Georgia, California, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts house USPS service counters, and postal […]
The 40th anniversary of iconic civil rights leader Martin Luther King’s assassination April 4 was marked with vigils locally and across the country in support of the most pressing civil rights issue of today, immigration reform. The MLK vigils and the “Two Million Too Many National Day of Action” a day later drew support from […]
Work should be less dangerous. Fewer people should die or be injured at work. That’s why Canadian labor unions started the first Workers Memorial Day in 1985. They picked April 28 because it was the date Canada’s first workers’ compensation law was passed in 1914. Recognizing the significance of what the Canadians had begun, U.S. […]
Members of St. Paul Plumbers Local 34 were among 96 union plumbers from across Minnesota who volunteered to fix plumbing problems for 81 elderly, disabled and low-income homeowners April 5, during the annual “Water’s Off” service event. It marked the 20th consecutive year Minnesota’s union plumbers teamed up with their contractors, members of the Minnesota […]
On April 14, Gov. Mark Dayton signed a bill gradually raising Minnesota’s minimum wage to $9.50 per hour by 2016 and indexing the wage so that it keeps pace with inflation beginning in 2018. The bill signing was a victory for more than 350,000 workers statewide who are expected to see a raise as a […]
The Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council held its annual Workers Memorial Day observance last Friday, honoring nine union workers who died over the previous year as a result of workplace injuries or illnesses. The ceremony, held at the Workers Memorial Garden on the State Capitol grounds, included remarks from St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, […]
The University of Minnesota Labor Education Service is accepting applications for the 2014-15 Minnesota Union Leadership Program, which will begin in September. The deadline to apply is May 23. Through six in-depth sessions scheduled over nine months, participants in the program will study the labor movement and discuss how to address the challenges facing unions […]
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