Turning t-shirts into totes on United Way Day at the Labor Pavilion

Volunteer fairgoers helped repurpose about 85 t-shirts into reusable tote bags for a Minneapolis food shelf yesterday during United Way Day at the Minnesota AFL-CIO Labor Pavilion. “Most food shelves have a lack of bags to send food out,” Greater Twin Cities United Way volunteer coordinator Mary Smith said. “They never seem to have enough […]

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 […]

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 […]

Carpenters to host charity car show in St. Paul

Antique-car enthusiasts won’t want to miss the 4th Annual NCSRCC Car Show, hosted in St. Paul by local Carpenters unions Saturday, Aug. 8. The show will benefit the union’s food shelf. Admission is two non-perishable food items or a freewill cash donation. Car owners will compete for 20 trophies, including Best in Show, and the […]

City of St. Paul employees volunteer to help build Habitat house in Frogtown

City of St. Paul employees serve the public every day at work. But this summer, some are using their vacation time to give back to the community as well. In a coordinated effort among the city’s agencies and departments, city staffers are adopting six daylong volunteer shifts on a Habitat for Humanity construction site in […]

Marker honoring fallen Minneapolis Teamsters to be dedicated July 18

After a lengthy fundraising campaign, the Remember 1934 Committee will unveil a permanent plaque July 18 in the Warehouse District of downtown Minneapolis commemorating the historic Teamsters strikes that echoed across the U.S. – and made Minneapolis a union town. The committee will host an unveiling and celebration at 11 a.m. July 18 at the […]

Leading scholars to discuss past, present and future of labor movement

The East Side Freedom Library will host a conversation on labor history July 18 with two of the nation’s leading activist scholars in the field. The event is free and open to all. University of California at Santa Barbara professors Eileen Boris and Nelson Lichtenstein will lead the informal conversation. Boris and Lichtenstein “have produced […]

Nurses plan BBQ Bash for Medicare

Wish Medicare a happy 50th birthday at a free barbecue and celebration hosted by the Minnesota Nurses Association from 5 to 9 p.m. July 30 at the Highland Park Shelter, 1200 Montreal Ave., St. Paul. Nurses are marking Medicare’s birthday with calls for lawmakers to protect, improve and expand the popular program, which provides high-quality […]