The voice of Saint Paul's working families since 1897
Our Minnesota State Fair prides itself in offering new things to be found on the fairgrounds each year. But this year, I found one of the State Fair’s new offerings distressing – and insulting – to me. I have regularly attended our “Great Minnesota Get-Together” since childhood, and for as long as I can remember […]
Labor Day is an opportunity to celebrate the vital, incredible contributions Minnesota’s working people make every day to their workplaces, to the economy, to their families and to our communities. It is the one day of each year we collectively tip our cap to the working men and women who continue to build this nation […]
Drive to just about any region in our State. Look up or down, and you will see: “We are back.” You see new mining opportunities on the Iron Range and housing developments in our urban core. You see expansion of our medical center in Rochester and new investments in our regional transit system. All are […]
(This letter was received by Bobby Kasper, president of the St. Paul Regional Labor Federation. In addition to donating funds to the locked-out workers’ cause, the RLF organized two holiday drives, collecting more than $50,000 worth of toys, household supplies and cash donations for sugar workers and their families.) Dear President Bobby Kasper, We would […]
I know that to many people, the words “Medicare solvency,” which is the ability of Medicare to meet its obligations, sound like an invitation to a nice nap. But union workers pay into Medicare every month, and you deserve to know that the benefits you’ve paid for will be there when you need them. And […]
A story in the May Union Advocate (“A constant juggling act”) about state Rep. Jason Metsa of Virginia trying to live for a week on a minimun-wage budget brings to mind a quote from the famous novel “To Kill a Mocking-bird,” in which lawyer Atticus Finch tells his young daughter, “You never really understand a […]
We here at the St. Paul Regional Labor Federation entered this session with high hopes. Having claimed the state-government trifecta – pro-worker majorities the House and Senate, as well as a pro-labor governor – for the first time in more than two decades, we believed that with some hard work lobbying and some help from […]
Emphasizing the ‘L’ in ‘DFL’ Joan and I attended the city precinct caucus on April 16, 2013, at the Highland High School. We are new members of the Highland community after living on the East Side for over 50 years. It was a great experience meeting people who we have known ourselves in our new […]
After years of attacks and attempts to weaken workers’ rights, this year could be a major win for labor in Minnesota. Right now bills in both the House and Senate would extend collective bargaining rights to more than 20,000 workers who currently lack the right to form a union under state law. The bills cover […]
Minnesota is one of only seven states that does not have “tip credit” or Tip Penalty laws. Minnesota minimum wage was last increased in 2007. As the current legislators look to increase our state minimum wage, which is among the lowest in the country, Hospitality Minnesota, the restaurant employers association, is once again trying to […]
Union Advocate 