The voice of Saint Paul's working families since 1897
Union members did more than just build The Penfield, the comprehensive, mixed-use development downtown St. Paul that celebrated its grand opening Feb. 6. They financed the project as well. The Penfield is the latest local investment by the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust (HIT), which backs union-build construction jobs across the country with capital from union […]
Raising the minimum wage to $9.50 would boost the paychecks of an estimated 20,000 workers in St. Paul, injecting $27 million into the city’s economy. In Minneapolis 30,000 workers would get a raise, a $40 million bump for the city’s economy. It’s no surprise, then, that both Twin Cities mayors today added theirs to the […]
Union members today called on U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar to take a stand against efforts in Congress to put job-killing free-trade agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) on the fast track. Members of the Communications Workers of America marked a worldwide day of action against the TPP – the NAFTA-style trade agreement being negotiated in […]
President Obama is pushing Congress to approve the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities Act, introduced in the U.S. House earlier this month and better known as “Fast Track authorization.” Fast Track would force Congress to take an up-or-down vote on trade agreements without offering amendments. But a large coalition of labor, environmental, family-farm and other grassroots […]
Minnesota’s economy continues to recover from the Great Recession, but an increasing number of workers are finding employment through temp agencies and subcontracting firms. That trend drew scrutiny from the Legislature’s Select Committee on Living Wage Jobs at a hearing Dec. 19 in St. Paul. Jobs in the economy’s “employment services” sector, which includes subcontractors […]
As fast-food workers in an estimated 100 U.S. cities walked off the job today to protest the industry’s poverty-level wages, union members and faith leaders in Minnesota showed their solidarity – and their support for raising the state’s minimum wage – outside a block of fast-food restaurants in Northeast Minneapolis. The demonstration took place over […]
Hundreds of people flocked to the Midway Walmart in St. Paul today, but it wasn’t deep discounts or door-buster deals they wanted. It was justice for workers who make the holiday season happen. Black Friday protests in the Twin Cities took on a renewed vigor this year, as activists from labor, faith and community groups […]
Retail workers and activists who join the protest outside Walmart in St. Paul on Black Friday will be armed with a scathing new report shedding light on the public cost of poverty-level wages paid by Walmart, Target and other big-box department stores. “At What Cost,” released Nov. 12 by the union-backed Minnesotans for a Fair […]
Union volunteers gave labor-endorsed candidates and school levy campaigns a boost during the 2013 election cycle, aiding victories in the City of St. Paul and several East Metro suburbs. The St. Paul Regional Labor Federation, the AFL-CIO’s central labor council in Ramsey, Washington, Dakota and Chisago counties, recruited 125 volunteers for phone banks, door knocks […]
Since being sworn in as mayor in 2006, Chris Coleman has been standing up for St. Paul’s working families. On Nov. 5, working families have an opportunity to stand up for Coleman by reelecting the DFL mayor to a third term in office. Coleman earned labor’s endorsement, union leaders and activists said, by bringing structural […]
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