St. Paul unions weigh support for campaign to pass citywide $15 minimum wage

August 12, 2015 by
AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler leads a discussion about the Raising Wages Agenda at the East Side Freedom Library in St. Paul.

AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler leads a discussion about the Raising Wages Agenda at the East Side Freedom Library in St. Paul.

 

Backing the emergent campaign for a $15 minimum wage in St. Paul is the right thing to do, labor leaders said in a meeting with AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler last night. But as unions look to reverse the trend of declining density, joining the fight to raise wages is also about remaining relevant.

“We want the union movement to be seen as out there fighting for working families beyond just our members,” Shuler said. “It’s our job to make the labor movement relevant to everyone who works for a living, and I think that’s what raising wages is all about.”

AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler listens to St. Paul RLF President Bobby Kasper's remarks.

AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler listens to St. Paul RLF President Bobby Kasper’s remarks.

Shuler, the second-ranking officer in the nation’s largest labor federation, joined St. Paul Regional Labor Federation President Bobby Kasper at the East Side Freedom Library in leading a frank discussion about the AFL-CIO’s Raising Wages Agenda. St. Paul and Minneapolis are among the 13 cities targeted by the AFL-CIO’s campaign.

Shuler emphasized there’s no “cookie-cutter approach” cities must follow, but what most campaigns have in common is a focus on electing candidates who pledge to support working families – and holding them accountable.

Kasper said the St. Paul RLF, which unites more than 100 local unions in Ramsey, Washington, Dakota and Chisago counties, aims to do more than increase the city’s minimum wage. The RLF and its community partners – including faith-based, progressive, minority and immigrant-rights groups – plan to form a St. Paul Works coalition to advocate for policies stepping up enforcement of wage theft, guaranteeing access to earned sick time and supporting fair schedules.

About 30 union activists and labor leaders join the Raising Wages discussion.

About 30 union activists and labor leaders join the Raising Wages discussion.

A similar coalition is gaining momentum in Minneapolis. And St. Paul community groups launched a 15Now campaign earlier this month.

15Now’s push to raise the minimum wage and improve working conditions in cities across the country, Kasper said, “is a golden opportunity to get together with community groups and work on common goals, common interests. But we need buy-in from the unions.”

That investment will pay off for unions in the long run, Kasper added. “We need to have the community working with us. We’re a small speck in the community. But if we can take the lead and not be ashamed of who we are … then when we run organizing or political campaigns in the future, we’ve got the community on our side.”

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Victory in Los Angeles buoys hopes of local 15 Now supporters

May 29, 2015 by
Paul Ahrens, a business representative for IATSE Local 44 in Southern California, offers details on the 15 Now victory in Los Angeles during a forum on the movement in St. Paul.

Paul Ahrens, a business representative for the Stagehands union in California, offers details on the 15 Now victory in Los Angeles during a forum in St. Paul.

 

Workers taking collective action and communities organizing for political change form the groundwork of 15 Now, panelists said Wednesday during a forum on the nationwide movement to raise wages.

The discussion was the second in a new series of monthly educational events hosted by the East Side Freedom Library in St. Paul, co-sponsored by the St. Paul Regional Labor Federation’s Community Connections Committee.

Panelists included low-wage workers, union organizers and local activists in the 15 Now campaign, which advocates for $15 minimum-wage laws at the local level.

The East Side Freedom Library hosts a forum on 15 Now.

The East Side Freedom Library hosts a forum on 15 Now.

Already, 15 Now has achieved victories in Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago and, most recently, Los Angeles. Organizers are pushing a similar measure in Minneapolis, and if they succeed, St. Paul likely would be next.

Several unions are backing the 15 Now campaign, both in rhetoric and with resources – even though most union members already earn more than $15 per hour. Why?

“It’s the right thing to do,” Machinists union representative Rick Ryan said.

Paul Ahrens, a business representative for IATSE Local 44 in Southern California, said organized labor in Los Angeles “really came together around (the $15 minimum wage) in a big way.” The wage increase stands to benefit an estimated 800,000 workers in the city.

But political organizing alone isn’t enough to win a $15 minimum wage, panelists agreed.

Ahrens credited the heavy lifting in Los Angeles to “feeder movements” like OUR Walmart, fast food workers’ Fight for $15 and other groups organizing low-wage workers.

15 Now panelists include Cantare Davunt of OUR Walmart, Rick Ryan of the Machinists union (center) and Kip Hedges.

15 Now panelists include Cantare Davunt of OUR Walmart, Rick Ryan of the Machinists union (center) and Kip Hedges.

Such groups are alive and thriving in the Twin Cities too, former Walmart worker Cantaré Davunt said. Davunt was fired last winter, she believes, as a result of her support for OUR Walmart, a nationwide campaign to improve wages and working conditions at the retail chain.

“Without taking political or organizing action, we end up having to beg or hope they’ll give us decent pay,” Davunt said. “Meanwhile, too many workers can’t afford to take those risks to make our lives better.”

Low-wage workers at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport have taken collective action to make gains at work, winning paid sick days and, potentially, a $10 minimum wage by August. So, too, have janitors at big-box retailers across the Twin Cities, organizing with the local worker center CTUL.

The challenge for 15 Now, local activist Kip Hedges said, is building a coalition around these organizations, bolstering it with support from the labor movement and the progressive community, and turning that collective strength into political change.

“The ghost of 15 is kind of dancing around all these things,” said Hedges, a former Delta baggage handler who was fired for publicly supporting 15 Now. “It will push forward the effort to get $15 in Minneapolis and St. Paul.”

The next Community Connections forum at the East Side Freedom Library, scheduled for June 24, is on the topic “Common Sense Economics.” To learn more about the series, or about the St. Paul RLF’s Community Connections Committee, contact Vicki Beebe at vbeebe@stpaulunions.org or 651-222-3787, extension 20.

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Picketers: Walmart’s raising wages, so why won’t Target?

March 4, 2015 by
Demonstrators march outside Target's headquarters on Nicollet Mall.

Demonstrators march outside Target’s headquarters on Nicollet Mall.

Activists picketed outside Target Corp.’s headquarters downtown Minneapolis yesterday, calling on CEO Brian Cornell to make raising wages for frontline workers a part of the company’s massive restructuring effort.

Organizers of 15 Now, a grassroots movement working to raise the minimum wage in Minneapolis, looked to pressure Target into following the lead of its primary competitor, Walmart, which announced plans last month to raise its workers’ wages to a $10 minimum by next year.

“If Target wants to do what’s right, they’ll set themselves apart from Walmart” by increasing wages even further, Walmart associate and 15 Now supporter Cantare Davunt said. “We are not going away until they do.”

web.Target-wages2The picket began at 4:30 p.m. and lasted about an hour. It drew more than 25 supporters, including members of the Minneapolis-based community group Neighborhoods Organizing for Change, which is backing 15 Now’s campaign to raise wages.

“It cannot wait,” NOC organizer Octancia Adams said, “because the rent cannot wait.”

Activists also used the event to respond to Mayor Betsy Hodges’ statement that she would not support an ordinance to raise the minimum wage in Minneapolis, favoring a regional or statewide solution instead.

Kip Hedges, the former Delta Air Lines baggage handler fired for his support of 15 Now, found himself in unfamiliar territory, urging the mayor to be more like Walmart.

The retailer’s decision to raise wages prompted several others, including Marshalls and T.J. Maxx, to follow suit. If Minneapolis raises its minimum wage, Hedges said, other cities will do the same.

“When one big player takes a big step and raises wages, the other big players follow,” he said. “Help us lead the fight, Mayor Hodges.”

15 Now plans a major action to ramp up its campaign in Minneapolis April 15. Monitor 15 Now Minnesota’s Facebook page for details.

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A $15 minimum wage in Minneapolis? Backers look to Seattle for blueprint

February 16, 2015 by
Kip Hedges, a former baggage handler fired by Delta for publicly supporting 15 Now, addressed a meeting in Minneapolis Sunday night.

Kip Hedges, a baggage handler fired by Delta for publicly supporting 15 Now, spoke during the coalition’s meeting in Minneapolis Sunday night.

More than 100 activists gathered in a Minneapolis union hall last night to begin the work of raising the minimum wage within city limits to $15 per hour.

Lest anyone suggest tempering expectations, 15 Now organizers invited Kshama Sawant, the city council member who spearheaded Seattle’s successful fight for $15 just over a year ago, to recount how labor, faith and community activists there turned an improbable goal into a reality for working people.

“Minneapolis is one of the cities that is poised to win $15 this year,” Sawant told activists. “Let the fight for $15 in Seattle be your guide, that with only one member of the City Council (initially supportive), we were able to get this done.”

Indeed, Seattle’s minimum wage will jump from $9.47 an hour to $11 an hour April 1, and it’s slated to reach $15 by 2021 at the latest. Sawant, an economics professor who upset a four-term incumbent on the Council, said the minimum-wage hike could lift as many as 100,000 workers out of poverty.

“Ultimately, what we are talking about are real people,” she said. “These are the people who make this city run. Just imagine if all of them decided not to go to work on one day. The city would shut down.”

Seattle City Council Member Ksharma Sawant addressed 15 Now supporters in Minneapolis.

Seattle City Council Member Kshama Sawant addressed 15 Now supporters in Minneapolis.

How did Seattle do it?

Success in Minneapolis – as it did in Seattle – will depend on 15 Now’s ability to build a broad coalition of support, Sawant said. That means faith groups, community organizations and, of course, labor unions.

A delegate to Seattle’s central labor council, Sawant said local unions in her city supported 15 Now out of a shared belief that a rising tide lifts all boats.

Most union members in Seattle earn much more than $15 per hour, she said. “They have pensions, they have health care,” Sawant said. “But they were there in solidarity with their sisters and brothers anyway.”

Ubah Aden was among them. A member of the Service Employees International Union and a leader in her neighborhood, Aden wanted to “walk the walk” when it came to advocating for a higher minimum wage. So she quit a higher-paying job and took one in health care that paid $10.95 per hour.

With two children monthly rent of $1,200, Aden found it impossible to make ends meet. “I couldn’t do it,” she said, adding that she quit the lower-paying job and went back to her previous field.

Aden, who also traveled to Minneapolis last week, acknowledged she was lucky to have a career path to resume. “Many low-wage workers don’t have that opportunity,” she said. “It’s just sad that they don’t have enough money to meet their basic needs.”

Expect a fight

No matter how broad a coalition 15 Now builds in Minneapolis, opposition will be fierce and well-financed, Sawant warned.

In Seattle opponents lamented the impact of a $15 minimum wage on small businesses – a public-relations campaign underwritten, covertly and ironically, by the city’s biggest corporations. “Suddenly, you found Starbucks lamenting the fate of local coffee shops,” Sawant said.

In response, 15 Now tapped into popular frustration with a global economy and political structures that seem rigged in favor of corporations and the very wealthy. In that sense, Sawant said, 15 Now builds on the message of Occupy Wall Street and the resistance of fast-food and retail strikers, offering a plan of political action to combat the growth of income inequality.

“We have been on the retreat, on the defensive,” she said. “That’s the beautiful thing about 15 Now – it’s the beginning of an offense… When we organize collectively around concrete political demands, we can absolutely win.”

Guillermo Lindsey, a McDonald’s worker, member of CTUL, said he usually works 55 hours per week with just one day off to spend with his family.

Guillermo Lindsey, a McDonald’s worker, member of CTUL, said he usually works 55 hours per week with just one day off to spend with his family.

Moving the Council

If turnout for Sawant’s appearance is any indication, 15 Now already has a strong base of support from which to draw in Minneapolis.

Two members of the Minneapolis City Council who attended the rally said they supported raising the city’s minimum wage. Alondra Cano of Ward 9 pledged to support $15 per hour; Ward 3’s Jacob Frey said he would support an increase, but needed more time to research how much.

Several community organizations had a presence at the event as well, including the low-wage worker center CTUL and Neighborhoods Organizing for Change, a grassroots organizing effort for racial and economic justice in Minneapolis.

“It’s time for us to stop settling for a minimum wage and start reaching for a living wage,” NOC Field Director Mike Griffin said.

Ty Moore, a national organizer for 15 Now, pointed to an already-successful 15 Now campaign at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport – where a worker-led rally briefly shut down traffic on a roadway to Terminal 1 in December – as helping “boost the credibility” of 15 Now locally.

“The debate is alive, and big campaigns are moving to help raise up working people’s wages and working conditions,” Moore said. “We need (Minneapolis) city leaders to play the kind of role of … Kshama Sawant, to stand steadfastly in the interest of working-class policies.”

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Airport workers win paid sick leave, continue fight to reinstate fired Delta worker

December 15, 2014 by
Members of the 15 Now coalition stand in support of Ahmed Ahmed, who testified at the Metropolitan Airports Commission meeting today in favor of a proposed paid leave policy, passed by commissioners later in the meeting

Members of the 15 Now coalition stand in support of Ahmed Ahmed, who testified at the Metropolitan Airports Commission meeting today in favor of a proposed paid leave policy, passed by commissioners later in the meeting

Airport workers’ campaign for better wages and conditions took a step forward today, as the Metropolitan Airports Commission unanimously approved a measure requiring employers to provide paid sick leave to all workers at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

Supporters of 15 Now, a worker-led coalition seeking to raise the minimum wage at MSP to $15 per hour, cheered the MAC’s vote as a victory, but one that came at a steep cost for one of the campaign’s most vocal supporters.

Kip Hedges, a baggage handler and 26-year airline employee, was fired by Delta Air Lines recently for comments he made in support of the 15 Now campaign in an interview with the labor-news website Workday Minnesota. During the open forum portion of today’s meeting, Hedges and other airport workers urged MAC members to publicly denounce the firing.

“It’s important that MAC supports the rights of workers who are fighting for change,” AirServ worker Ahmed Ahmed said, “because we know there’s a lot that must change.”

Hedges praised MAC members for supporting paid sick leave, and he acknowledged they have no say over hiring and firing at Delta. “But what you do have is moral authority,” Hedges said. “I would like you to make it clear to Delta Air Lines that they stand alone on this.”

Fired Delta worker Kip Hedges speaks during the open forum portion of the MAC meeting. "I can assure everyone here that I, for sure, am not going to stop doing what I’m doing," he said.

Fired Delta worker Kip Hedges: “I can assure everyone here that I, for sure, am not going to stop doing what I’m doing.”

“Come out on my side,” he added. “Come out on Ahmed’s side, for the workers who make this the best airport in the country.”

[Add your name to a petition calling on Delta to reinstate Hedges.]

If the MAC fails to send a message, Delta and other employers will be emboldened to retaliate against other workers who, like Hedges, take a stand against low wages – or for collective bargaining.

Before being fired, Hedges was active in efforts to organize baggage handlers at Delta, a campaign supported by the Machinists union. He said a former co-worker reported being questioned last week by Delta management about his role in collecting signed cards in support of an organizing election.

“It was a shot across the bow,” Hedges said. “You can do something about that by using your moral authority to make sure that Delta and other employers understand that … workers have the right to raise their voice in the workplace and get a union.”

MAC members appeared receptive to workers’ concerns.

Carl Crimmins, a past president of the Minnesota Pipe Trades Association who serves on the MAC, said attempts by any employer to intimidate pro-union workers were unacceptable. He called for an ordinance to establish standards for labor relations at the airport.

“I think a good, healthy discussion on a labor peace ordinance is something this commission should take up,” Crimmins said.

Commissioner Erica Prosser said the work of drafting and implementing a paid leave policy, which will allow airport workers to accrue up to 72 hours of sick, family or emergency leave annually, would not fall on the MAC “if all the employees at the airport were allowed collective-bargaining rights.”

“We wouldn’t, as a commission, have to deal with these issues ourselves,” Prosser said.

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