The voice of Saint Paul's working families since 1897
In his State of the State Address last night, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton called on legislators to join him in addressing the state’s racial and geographic disparities, and in making needed investments in public education, transportation and infrastructure. Afterward, union leaders from across the state praised Dayton’s speech. Education Minnesota President Denise Specht called Dayton […]
Steelworkers pleaded with members of a House committee yesterday to pass a clean bill extending unemployment benefits to workers impacted by the Iron Range mining slowdown, but they couldn’t convince Republicans, who continued holding the relief package hostage for $271 million in tax cuts for businesses. “Believe me, this is not an easy thing for […]
Energized by the prospect of keeping a pro-labor president in the White House, union volunteers in Minnesota are hitting the streets, working the phones and planning a major presence at tonight’s precinct caucuses, one of 14 Super Tuesday nominating contests nationwide. [Click here to learn how to participate in the caucus process. Click here […]
Parents, students and community members rallied with members of the St. Paul Federation of Teachers outside school buildings across the city this morning, demanding progress in contract talks between SPFT and the St. Paul Public Schools, scheduled to resume tomorrow. Wearing hats and scarves in SPFT’s signature red, participants chanted and carried signs expressing […]
When President Obama called a Worker Voice Summit at the White House last October, he pledged his administration would hold regional summits across the country in 2016 to continue the conversation about common issues working people face on the job. The first of those summits took place in Minneapolis today – and with good […]
Union members made up 14.2 percent of Minnesota’s wage-earning and salaried workforce last year, a membership rate unchanged from 2014, according to an annual report released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. A similar trend played out nationwide, as the union membership rate held steady at 11.1 percent of the U.S. workforce. But […]
Currents across the country created a wave of support for $15 as a just minimum wage last year, with fast-food workers in New York and airport workers in Seattle scoring high-profile victories in the so-called “Fight for $15.” But the rising tide is lifting wages for local workers as well, including some who carry union […]
Gov. Mark Dayton today proposed investing $1.4 billion in infrastructure improvements across Minnesota, including $82 million earmarked for projects in St. Paul. The governor called the bonding proposal a “jobs bill” and, drawing on academic research, estimated it would create work for nearly 40,000 Minnesotans. [The calculation does not include an additional $600 million Dayton’s […]
A $140 million bonding initiative approved by voters in ISD 831 last fall will improve the security and structural integrity of buildings throughout the Forest Lake Area Schools. And thanks to a project labor agreement (PLA), the district’s investment will uphold area wage, benefit and safety standards as well. By a 7-0 vote, the Forest […]
The Supreme Court will hear arguments Monday in a case with big implications for Minnesota firefighters, teachers and other public-sector workers who benefit from the collective bargaining process. At a press conference inside the Firefighters Hall and Museum in Minneapolis today, public workers warned that the case, Friedrichs v. CTA, is an attempt by corporate […]
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