It was exciting to celebrate Labor Day this year with new polls showing the highest approval ratings for unions in decades. But we need to meet this moment.
Electric Machinery workers rally in Minneapolis: ‘Two percent isn’t going to cut it’
August 31, 2022 by
Members of IUE-CWA Local 1140 held an informational rally outside WEG Electric Machinery in northeast Minneapolis yesterday to show management their solidarity – and to clear up a potential misconception. “The company seems to think this is bargaining as usual,” Local 1140 representative Richard Shorter said. “We know that’s not the case. “We’ve been bargaining […]
Peter Rachleff: Labor Day roots trace to St. Paul’s East Side
August 31, 2022 by
Most of us, from St. Paul workers and labor activists to labor historians like me, have been unaware of the role that St. Paul workers played in the establishment of the Labor Day holiday.
Kera Peterson: Organizing surge shows what’s possible at the polls
August 30, 2022 by
It’s imperative that we take the same momentum driving this surge in workplace organizing and use it to mobilize union members to get to the polls.
Unions decry Supreme Court ruling, urge action to protect abortion access
June 27, 2022 by
Minnesota’s highest-ranking union officer added to the chorus of labor voices decrying the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, eliminating the federal right to abortion. “Reproductive rights are workers’ rights,” Minnesota AFL-CIO President Bernie Burnham said in a public statement, calling the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade after nearly […]
Wilfs’ company turned deaf ear to warnings of wage theft at Viking Lakes development
May 10, 2022 by
Tradespeople who worked on the Viking Lakes luxury apartments in Eagan went public last week with accusations of wage theft on the project, owned and developed by the same family that owns the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings. Worker advocacy groups, including the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters (NCSRCC), pinned responsibility for the alleged labor […]
St. Paul Starbucks workers win union election
April 27, 2022 by
Baristas in St. Paul won their union election today, giving Minnesota its first corporate-owned, unionized Starbucks.
County attorneys take aim at criminal wage theft
April 27, 2022 by
“It’s not a clerical mistake; people are actually stealing,” Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said. “And I think this is one of those areas that needs improvement to make sure these cases get the attention of the justice system.”
Roslyn Robertson: ‘Every fatality crosses my desk, and my stomach just cringes’
April 26, 2022 by
Minnesota’s labor commissioner discusses the state’s efforts to promote safe workplaces and more in this Union Advocate interview.
Bree Halverson: Buying clean and fair for workers and the environment
April 18, 2022 by
“Buy Clean” is a policy to promote spending taxpayer dollars on materials that are manufactured in a cleaner, more efficient, environmentally friendly manner, while supporting family-sustaining jobs and building globally competitive domestic manufacturing.
Union Advocate 