The voice of Saint Paul's working families since 1897
Workers in Minnesota’s largest public-employee bargaining unit reached a tentative agreement Friday on a new two-year contract that includes annual raises of 3 percent and requires workers to cover more of their health care costs, the union said in a statement released today. The tentative agreement covers 17,000 craft, service, health care, clerical and technical […]
Stressing that they “remain deeply concerned” about the ensemble’s future, musicians of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra today announced their vote to ratify a three-year agreement with the orchestra, officially ending the lockout that began Oct. 21, 2012. The new contract will reduce the size of the SPCO from 34 to 28 musicians. It also […]
Buoyed by broad-based community support, St. Paul teachers kicked off their contract campaign with a public celebration April 20, pledging to use negotiations with the district to build “the schools St. Paul children deserve.” Negotiators for the St. Paul Public Schools and the St. Paul Federation of Teachers Local 28 will open talks this spring […]
Working to change a state law denying them the right to form a union, home health care workers “made it rain” at the Capitol yesterday, streaming more than 1,000 purple cutouts – each representing a home-care worker who has signed up for the union – from the second level onto the rotunda floor. It was […]
Surrounded by more than a dozen family child-care providers clad in pro-union T-shirts, two state lawmakers unveiled legislation Feb. 25 that would grant collective-bargaining rights to providers who receive subsidies from the State of Minnesota. The Child Care Collective Bargaining Act, introduced by Sen. Sandy Pappas (DFL-St. Paul) and Rep. Mike Nelson (DFL-Brooklyn Park), could […]
DFL lawmakers last month introduced a bill that would grant home health care workers the right to form a union, a move advocates say will help the state address a looming workforce crisis in Minnesota’s public home care programs. Authored by Sen. Chris Eaton and Rep. Michael Nelson, the bill targets workers in so-called “self-directed” home […]
Progressive Rail is harassing, intimidating and firing its workers in an attempt to supplant their union, leaders and members of the United Transportation Union said during informational picketing outside the company this morning. Eight workers at the Lakeville-based railway have been fired or harassed into resignation since February 2012, when a union contract covering 12 […]
The AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust announced Dec. 19 it would commit $23.5 million toward constructing the West Side Flats Apartments, a $31 million mixed-use development on the edge of downtown St. Paul. The project is expected to generate 160 union construction jobs at a time when unemployment in the industry remains high. The HIT is […]
Local 110 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers is targeting a contractor that union leaders say has undermined area-standard wages and benefits – and may be putting his workers at risk. Jim Crockarell, vice president of Madison Equities, drew a “Shame On” banner from the union last month after contracting with Reliance Electric do […]
International trade policy affects everyone, no matter where you live, where you work or what you buy. Find out exactly how during the Minnesota Fair Trade Coalition’s Jan. 26 workshop “The Everyday Impacts of International Trade.” Designed for leaders of organizations and unions affiliated with the coalition, the workshop will equip participants with “the big […]
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