Friedrichs is history (maybe), but Minnesota workers aren’t letting their guard down

  Labor History Month kicked off in St. Paul last night with a discussion of history in the making, as panelists offered insight into public-sector workers’ recent push to breath new life into their unions and defend their right to a voice on the job. The public forum, titled “The Friedrichs Case and the Future […]

Building Trades remember the fallen on Workers Memorial Day

Members of the Building Trades paused yesterday in St. Paul to honor members of their unions who died as a result of work-related injuries or illnesses in the previous year. The annual Workers Memorial Day ceremony was to take place at the Workers Memorial Garden on the Capitol grounds, but organizers moved the event indoors, […]

On national day of action, union painters brighten disabled vet’s Shoreview home

Volunteers from the Painters and Allied Trades helped ready a new home in Shoreview for the family of a disabled military veteran last weekend. The project was part of a nationwide day of volunteer activity, IUPAT Gives Back Day, sponsored by the union. Terry Nelson, business manager of Upper Midwest-based IUPAT District Council 82, said […]

Talking more than weather, ZeVan’s memoir recalls a career ‘among the giants’

Barry ZeVan – “the weatherman” to television viewers in Minnesota and across the country – has written a memoir that looks back on his career in broadcasting and show business, and he’s donating a share of proceeds from the book to two union charities. The 78-year-old ZeVan self-published “My Life Among the Giants” earlier this […]

Union job fair coming to St. Paul’s East Side April 14

Take the first step toward a career in construction, manufacturing, government, health care, hospitality or retail at the Union Job and Resource Fair April 14 at the East Side Freedom Library. Employers and union representatives at the event will provide information to both ready-to-hire job seekers and young people exploring their career options. Interpreters will […]

For St. Paul plumbers, giving back is an annual tradition

Members of St. Paul Plumbers Local 34 and union plumbers from across Minnesota volunteered to fix plumbing problems for elderly, disabled and low-income homeowners during the annual “Water’s Off” service event March 19. For the 22nd consecutive year, union plumbers provided free labor, and their employers, members of the Minnesota Mechanical Contractors Association, donated replacement […]

Remembering Wayne Wittman, the conscience of St. Paul’s labor community

Wayne Wittman, who served as chair of the St. Paul Regional Labor Federation’s Community Services Committee for three decades, died unexpectedly Wednesday. He was 86. A passionate activist for peace and social justice, Wittman attended the labor federation’s first meeting at the new St. Paul Labor Center earlier this month. Today at the same labor […]

In Minnesota, public-sector workers building power from the inside out

They may no longer be on the brink of a Supreme Court-imposed Right-to-Work rule, but Minnesota’s public-sector union members aren’t celebrating. They’re organizing. “What we got was a reprieve, not clemency – and surely not a pardon,” Education Minnesota attorney Meg Luger-Nikolai warned a standing-room-only audience of activists last night at the East Side Freedom […]

Union investment fund backs $42.3 million project in Lowertown

A union investment fund announced plans today to renovate an aging, eight-story office building in St. Paul’s Lowertown district. The project will create 134 market-rate multifamily housing units and an estimated 190 union construction jobs. The AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust (HIT) unveiled the $42.3 million project, dubbed “333 on the Park,” in a press release. […]

East Side Freedom Library announces Black History Month programming

St. Paul’s East Side Freedom Library will make the most of the five Mondays in February by hosting a Black History film each evening, part of a series of free, public events the non-profit library has planned for Black History Month. Additionally, the library will host the February installment of Twin Cities Labor Movie Night, […]