
Nurses described a snowball effect to the staffing crisis. The worse it gets, the more likely others are to leave the profession.
The voice of Saint Paul's working families since 1897

Nurses described a snowball effect to the staffing crisis. The worse it gets, the more likely others are to leave the profession.

Amazon workers this week confirmed the findings of a new report that paints a troubling picture of labor conditions and inequities at the retailer’s Minnesota warehouses, prompting one state lawmaker to pledge action in the coming legislative session.

McCarthy’s accomplishments include recalibrating the federation to lead on racial and social justice issues, and overseeing political and lobbying programs that thwarted a wave of state-level attacks on union rights.

In Minnesota, OSHA inspectors found 40% fewer violations per inspection on union worksites than they did on nonunion sites.

Nurses, janitors, educators and other essential workers spelled out exactly what they want from state lawmakers during a rally in downtown Minneapolis.

The district has shown little interest, workers said, in addressing their concerns about wages, workloads and turnover.

“We can’t adequately serve others until we are adequately taken care of,” said Andrew Vanden Broeke, a day treatment therapist who works with children 12 to 17 years old.

“The U is interested in image,” Local 3800 President Cherrene Horazuk said during a rally last month. “U of M AFSCME is interested in substantive change.”

“I don’t think they’ve considered how these changes might push families further away,” Galtier science teacher Peter Ratzloff said.

Workers accuse politicians of holding up the process in an attempt to pit frontline workers against each other.