The voice of Saint Paul's working families since 1897
Rep. Keith Ellison hasn’t seen a draft of the impending Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement, but executives at Cargill and Monsanto probably have. If that arrangement strikes you as skewed, you’re not alone. At a panel discussion on the TPP July 1 in Minneapolis, Ellison faced a fiery crowd of more than 50 people, who […]
Twin Cities members of the Communications Workers of America have some major concerns about the latest proposed free-trade agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership. On June 20 they took those concerns to union members in West St. Paul and asked supporters to sign onto a letter to 2nd Congressional District Rep. John Kline. The letter asked Kline […]
If your job offers a defined-benefit retirement plan, odds are good you’ve heard it before, maybe even across the negotiating table: Pensions are a relic of the past. Bolstered by slick marketing campaigns underwritten by Wall Street investment firms, employers have been successful in convincing a generation of American workers they don’t need pensions to […]
Planning on attending the City of St. Paul DFL Endorsing Convention? Three labor-endorsed candidates are counting on union members’ support. St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman is seeking re-election with labor endorsement. Two incumbent candidates for St. Paul Board of Education also have labor endorsements: John Brodrick and Jean O’Connell. The endorsing convention will begin at 9 a.m. […]
Legislative leaders called 2013 the “education session” for the new investments in E-12 students, and a bill to extend union rights to 21,000 child-care providers and home health care workers grabbed headlines as Republicans tried to filibuster it to death. But the 2013 legislative session yielded many other victories for union members and middle class […]
The Minnesota Trade Policy Advisory Council is back and, fair-trade advocates believe, better than ever. The Jobs and Economic Development bill signed into law by Gov. Mark Dayton this week included reauthorization of the Trade Policy Advisory Council, which saw its authority “sunset” in 2012, but in a new form – one more inclusive of […]
Minnesota’s working families will see the most obvious fruits of the 2013 legislative session in their public schools and property-tax bills, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg of investments, reforms and initiatives passed by labor-endorsed majorities in the Legislature this year, union leaders said. The Minnesota AFL-CIO called the session, which adjourned May […]
Minnesota unions are keeping the pressure on state lawmakers to pass a meaningful minimum-wage hike before the Legislature adjourns next week, despite increasing signals from Senate leaders the issue – a top priority for the state’s largest labor federation, the Minnesota AFL-CIO, heading into the 2013 session – may be a lost cause. “Hard work […]
Plans to furlough 800,000 civilian employees in the Department of Defense will put the nation’s economic recovery – and its military readiness – at risk, U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison said yesterday during a fiery speech to more than 100 members of the American Federation of Government Employees. AFGE’s Defense Conference, which represents more than 270,000 civilian […]
Think the minimum-wage hike progressing through the Legislature is bad news for Minnesota’s small businesses? Think again. A survey released last week indicates strong support among small business owners nationwide for raising the federal minimum wage and adjusting it annually to account for inflation. Small business owners gathered at the Minnesota Capitol yesterday explained the […]
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