The voice of Saint Paul's working families since 1897
Youth soccer players and local dignitaries sent dirt and snow flying during a ceremonial groundbreaking Dec. 12 for the planned 20,000-seat pro-soccer stadium in St. Paul’s Midway district. The $250 million construction project remains in the early, exploratory stages, and snarls remain both at the Capitol, where lawmakers must sign off on a property-tax exemption […]
MAPLE GROVE – Heartbreaking, gutless and dishonest were among the ways workers, union leaders and high-ranking elected officials described a Roseville trucking firm’s decision to withhold pay from 90 members of Teamsters Local 120 after abruptly closing the week of Thanksgiving. Out-of-work Teamsters staged a rally last night outside Finish Line Express, a Maple Grove-based […]
Car dealerships in the East Metro long have offered registered apprenticeship training opportunities to their mechanics, but the number of journey-level workers graduating from the program has declined in recent years. Looking to shift that trend into reverse, East Metro dealerships, state regulators and representatives of the Machinists union met with technical college faculty and […]
About 85 percent of registered apprentices in Minnesota are employed in the construction trades, but federal grant funds are helping more of the state’s manufacturers harness the power of apprenticeship to boost their employees’ skills – and remain competitive in a global economy. Hood Packaging is among a growing number of firms taking advantage […]
During the 2015 legislative session, a group of DFLers in the Minnesota Legislature put forth a bold set of proposals for paid family leave, earned sick and safe time, fair scheduling and protections to ensure people get paid for their work. They called it the “Working Parents Act,” and it went absolutely nowhere. “We couldn’t […]
From selling goods manufactured overseas to avoiding federal taxes, Walmart and Donald Trump have a lot in common. In fact, it’s a connection so strong that Walmart sells products promoting Trump’s presidential campaign on its website. Nearly 50 people connected the dots between Trump and Walmart at a protest Monday in St. Paul’s Midway shopping […]
Faculty at Minneapolis College of Art and Design have voted overwhelmingly to unionize after an organizing drive sponsored by Local 284 of the Service Employees International Union. The election results were announced this afternoon, just days after adjunct faculty at Augsburg College filed for a union election of their own. MCAD’s part- and full-time instructors […]
Two days after voting 3M’s contract proposal down, Steelworkers at the company’s Cottage Grove chemicals plant are putting their informational picket lines back up. Members of United Steelworkers Local 11-00418 said they hoped the overwhelming opposition to 3M’s proposal, rejected by a 5-to-1 margin, delivers a message to the company, which made nearly $5 […]
Striking nurses will vote Monday on a three-year contract proposal from Allina that makes some gains on staffing and safety – two of their top issues – but wasn’t good enough to win a recommendation from the union’s bargaining team. Nurses fought tooth and nail with Allina over the course of mediated talks this week […]
UPDATE 9/29/16 – United Steelworkers Local 11-00418 announced on its Facebook page that its members will vote on a contract proposal from the company, reached during bargaining Monday. The local is withholding details of the proposal until the ratification vote Oct. 3, but acknowledged that it made some concessions to the company: “You all […]
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