Teamsters say U of M policy punishes dining workers who use earned sick time

  On the steps of Morrill Hall Tuesday, front-line staff at the University of Minnesota rallied with other U of M workers, including faculty members seeking a union vote, to protest an attendance policy that, workers say, unfairly disciplines them for getting sick. Teamsters Local 320, which organized the rally, represents food-service workers at the […]

Protesters say Trump, Walmart share the same values

From selling goods manufactured overseas to avoiding federal taxes, Walmart and Donald Trump have a lot in common. In fact, it’s a connection so strong that Walmart sells products promoting Trump’s presidential campaign on its website. Nearly 50 people connected the dots between Trump and Walmart at a protest Monday in St. Paul’s Midway shopping […]

MCAD faculty members unionize; Augsburg adjuncts on track to vote soon

Faculty at Minneapolis College of Art and Design have voted overwhelmingly to unionize after an organizing drive sponsored by Local 284 of the Service Employees International Union. The election results were announced this afternoon, just days after adjunct faculty at Augsburg College filed for a union election of their own. MCAD’s part- and full-time instructors […]

Allina nurses end strike, pledge to keep up fight for patient care, workplace safety

Allina nurses voted yesterday to ratify a three-year contract and end their historic strike at five Twin Cities facilities, but their fight for workplace safety, adequate staffing and respect on the job isn’t over. And after spending nearly a month and a half on the picket line this year, nurses know it’s a fight they […]

Nurses take over street outside Allina board member’s St. Paul office (photos)

Striking nurses poured into the streets of downtown St. Paul today and joined a boisterous, traffic-snarling rally outside Securian Center, the high-rise building that houses Allina Health board member David Kuplic’s offices. Kuplic, a senior vice president at Securian, refused to meet with a delegation of nurses who entered the high-rise office building at 4th […]

MCAD faculty members voting in union election this month

Like thousands of faculty members on campuses across the country, faculty at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design are seeking a stronger voice to advocate for themselves and their students – and they’re organizing a union in order to get it. MCAD’s part- and full-time faculty members will vote by mail in separate organizing […]

In contract talks, home care workers hope to address crisis facing state, industry

Minnesota’s home care workers are set to begin negotiating a new union contract Friday. At a Capitol press conference today, workers and their clients framed the talks as an opportunity for the state to begin addressing the workforce crisis in their industry. As Minnesota’s population continues to age, the demand for workers who provide in-home […]

‘On the ropes,’ 3M’s Cottage Grove workers say they’re ready to strike

  UPDATE 9/29/16 – United Steelworkers Local 11-00418 announced on its Facebook page that its members will vote on a contract proposal from the company, reached during bargaining Monday. The local is withholding details of the proposal until the ratification vote Oct. 3, but acknowledged that it made some concessions to the company: “You all […]

Ruling sets stage for 2,500 Twin Cities faculty to take union vote

The historic organizing drive among faculty at the University of Minnesota’s Twin Cities campus cleared a major hurdle today, when a state agency ruled contingent and tenure-track faculty could join together in one potential bargaining unit. The Minnesota Bureau of Mediation Services’ decision clears the way for about 1,000 contingent and 1,500 tenure-track faculty members […]

Laser focused on cutting health care, Allina turns deaf ear to nurses’ safety concerns

  When Celeste Kopacek’s patient in the neuroscience unit at Abbott Northwestern Hospital told her he was going home to get his gun and would come back to find her, she reported the threat to Allina security. “They told me to call back if he showed up,” Kopacek said. Since contract negotiations with Allina began […]