The voice of Saint Paul's working families since 1897
The parent company of T.J. Maxx and Marshalls yesterday announced it would copy Walmart’s decision to raise minimum hourly wages for U.S. workers to $9 per hour by June. But a Twin Cities-based worker center cast doubt on whether the change would benefit the low-wage workers who clean those stores. That’s because TJX Cos. contracts […]
With their contract negotiations stuck in a holding pattern, Sun Country Airlines pilots have voted unanimously in favor of authorizing union representatives to call a strike. The Air Line Pilots Association announced the voting results yesterday, noting that 209 of the 216 eligible Sun Country pilots participated in balloting. Pilots have been in negotiations with […]
Workers at Minnesota Medical Solutions, one of two firms authorized by state regulators to manufacture and dispense medical cannabis, announced today they have unionized and ratified their first contract, all in the last week. The state’s Bureau of Mediation Services on Tuesday authorized Local 1189 of the United Food and Commercial Workers – a St. […]
More than 100 activists gathered in a Minneapolis union hall last night to begin the work of raising the minimum wage within city limits to $15 per hour. Lest anyone suggest tempering expectations, 15 Now organizers invited Kshama Sawant, the city council member who spearheaded Seattle’s successful fight for $15 just over a year ago, […]
Low-wage workers at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport now have a voice on the airport’s governing body, thanks to Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton. Last week Dayton filled two vacancies on the Metropolitan Airports Commission, which owns MSP and six smaller airports in the Metro. One of Dayton’s appointees, Ibrahim Mohamed, works as a cart driver for […]
After receiving a petition signed by 225 employees based at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, managers at Airserv agreed last month to provide its workers with paper copies of their paycheck stubs. It was a small victory, but another step forward for a growing number of workers joining together to improve wages and working conditions at […]
For many of the 1,800 Delta flight attendants based at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, the upcoming vote to form a union is about more than wages, benefits and work rules. It’s about getting back what they lost after Delta’s merger with MSP-based Northwest Airlines four years ago. “I’ve lived with a contract and without a […]
The percentage of workers who are members of labor unions dropped slightly in 2014 both nationally and in Minnesota, while the earnings advantage enjoyed by union members remained significant, according to an annual report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The report, released today, found the number of union members nationwide last year was about […]
Suado Gabo, a wheelchair agent at Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport, arrives at work not knowing if she’ll be sent home midway through her scheduled shift. And on her way out the door, Gabo checks to see if her employer, Airserv, has picked up her “standby” days later in the week. Airserv’s new scheduling practices […]
Five months after their historic vote to form a union, home health care workers represented by SEIU Healthcare Minnesota today announced they have reached a tentative agreement on a first contract with the State of Minnesota. The agreement includes several gains for the new bargaining unit of 27,000 workers in publicly funded home care programs […]
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