The voice of Saint Paul's working families since 1897
Musicians locked out of their jobs by the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra voted unanimously today to reject a contract offer from management, prolonging a work stoppage that began Oct. 21. Management’s proposed reductions to current musicians’ salaries and benefits are unacceptable, union members said. They warned even bigger proposed cuts to future musicians’ compensation would […]
Union musicians in Minneapolis and St. Paul have been locked out of their jobs by the Minneapolis-based Minnesota Orchestra and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO), leaving a deafening void in the Twin Cities cultural scene. SPCO musicians, who had been working under a “talk-and-play” agreement after their contract expired in September, were locked out […]
It’s finally official: The AFL-CIO has endorsed a nationwide consumer boycott of American Crystal Sugar products in response to the company’s 15-month lockout of 1,300 workers at facilities in Iowa, Minnesota and North Dakota. The boycott, which began Oct. 15, is part of the broader labor movement’s continued support for locked-out members of the Bakery, Confectionery, […]
With their contract set to expire Sunday, the Musicians of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra are encouraging supporters to show their appreciation for the quality and artistry union members bring to the SPCO by attending one of two concerts this weekend – and by calling SPCO management. The SPCO will give performances of “American Romantics […]
The union musicians of The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO), currently engaged in a contentious round of negotiations with their employer, will present a free concert for the public at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 2 on the Macalester College campus, with St. Paul-based author and radio personality Garrison Keillor serving as host. The musician-led program will […]
Fed up with Metro Transit’s casual approach to negotiating a new contract, members of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1005 shared their frustration yesterday with Metro Transit’s governing body, the Met Council. Carrying homemade signs and wearing their Metro Transit uniforms, about 30 members of ATU Local 1005 packed the gallery during the Met Council’s meeting […]
If free-trade agreements like the forthcoming Trans-Pacific Partnership are in the public interest, then why are they negotiated in private? That’s the question supporters of the Minnesota Fair Trade Coalition asked during a July 9 rally in Hopkins. The coalition of labor, environmental and agricultural organizations is mounting a public campaign to pressure the Obama […]
The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis is moving forward with plans to dissolve the bargaining unit of workers at its official newspaper, The Catholic Spirit, when their current collective bargaining agreement expires at the end of this month. In an overhaul intended “to create a more integrated communications function,” the Archdiocesan Office of Communications […]
About 1,700 electricians in the East Metro are poised to strike if negotiations between their union and members of the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) do not progress in the coming weeks. Members of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 110 voted June 8 to reject their employers’ proposal for a new three-year contract. More […]
In his new book, “Playing Bigger Than You Are: A Life in Organizing,” Stewart Acuff looks back on his 35-year career as a community, political and union organizer, including a stint as organizing director of the nation’s largest labor federation, the AFL-CIO, from 2001 to 2008. Acuff is quick to point out, however, that the […]
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