The voice of Saint Paul's working families since 1897
The U.S. immigration system is broken, and both new American immigrants and American-born workers are suffering the consequences. On Oct. 5, supporters of comprehensive immigration reform will take part in a National Day for Dignity and Respect, with events in more than 40 cities nationwide. Locally, activists will gather at 12:30 p.m. at the Basilica […]
Folk-rocker Billy Bragg gave a union rally on the University of Minnesota’s Twin Cities campus a kick in the pants today, performing an impromptu, two-song set on the steps of Morrill Hall – and throwing his support behind the U’s frontline workers as they bargain for affordable health care coverage. [Click here to sign a […]
After voting unanimously to reject management’s final contract offer, seven members of Teamsters Local 120 who work at Minneapolis-based Metal-Matic, Inc. went on strike Tuesday morning. They remained on the picket line this afternoon. The workers, drivers for the steel-tubing manufacturer, rejected what Local 120 representative Bill Wedebrand called “extreme concessions” regarding their pension benefits. […]
Gabriel Teneyuque was among 130 Walmart workers who went on strike in June. Sixty of the workers he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with during that strike have been fired or targeted for discipline by the company for speaking out. Yesterday, standing before a crowd of 50-plus protesters gathered outside the Midway Walmart in St. Paul, Teneyuque explained […]
Fifty years after the March on Washington, the march toward justice continues. That was the tone struck by union members, elected officials and civil rights advocates who gathered on the Capitol grounds in St. Paul today to honor the 50th anniversary of the watershed event in the civil rights movement. Nearly 200 people participated in […]
Disappointed with the demands Allina Health is making in negotiations on a new contract, workers at Aspen Medical Group picketed outside the Allina-operated provider’s Maplewood clinic over the lunch hour today. The workers, members of SEIU Healthcare Minnesota, accused Allina management of seeking to strip their contract of every meaningful benefit they have fought for […]
Anticipating attempts to sidestep Congressional oversight of the latest free-trade agreement, activists will rally downtown Minneapolis Aug. 20 against the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a massive, NAFTA-style trade pact being negotiated in secret by representatives of 12 countries with Pacific shorelines. The noon rally will take place at the corner of 7th Street and Nicollet Avenue. Click […]
The union representing 38 workers on strike at the Cretex concrete plant in Shakopee will stage a public rally Aug. 6 at 10 a.m. on the picket line. Elected officials from the state and local levels will join supporters from the labor community, putting pressure on the company to reach a settlement that would end […]
Workers who clean linens for hospitals across the metro picketed outside Health Systems Cooperative Laundries on St. Paul’s East Side today, giving their employer a taste of what to expect if management continues to drag its feet in negotiations. About 240 Health Systems Cooperative employees, members of Workers United Local 150, have been working without […]
A crew of 12 UnderConstruction interns arrived at a vacant lot in St. Paul’s Frogtown neighborhood before 9 a.m. today. Their task was to build a garage from the ground up, and within two hours the structure had begun taking shape. The concrete foundation had settled. The framework was up. Interns were taking turns shingling […]
Union Advocate 