Minnesota union members led the fight to secure bonus pay for 1 million frontline workers

Over 1 million Minnesotans will begin receiving payments of $487.45 from the State of Minnesota this week as a token of public appreciation for their work on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Union members push back on AT&T’s return-to-office plan

Call-center workers said absenteeism is down and productivity is up since they began working from home.

Hospital nurses in Twin Cities, Duluth vote to authorize strike

Nurses at 15 Minnesota hospitals voted yesterday to authorize a strike, after union negotiators accused health care executives of refusing to bargain contracts that protect the safety of their patients and address the crisis facing their profession. “What we are being forced to do is totally against every ethical principal that we have,” Minnesota Nurses […]

In memoir, United Hospital nurse reflects on experiences in COVID ICU

After accepting a post in United Hospital’s COVID intensive care unit, Amanda V. Peterson began writing as a form of what she calls “paper therapy.” Two years later her memoir has sold out its first press run in just three weeks.

Frontline workers’ focus turns to Senate after House passes bonus pay

Worker advocacy groups pledged not to be divided as they push for legislation that recognizes the sacrifices of all who showed up to work.

As staffing crisis deepens, DFL lawmakers respond with bill to keep nurses at bedside

Sen. Erin Murphy, a registered nurse and the bill’s chief author, called the measure “a hyperlocal, hospital-by-hospital approach” to dealing with the staffing crisis.

As session begins, Minnesota unions see opportunity for investments in infrastructure, frontline workers

It’s a bonding year, but a record budget surplus and unspent federal pandemic relief funds could allow for more broad spending measures, including long-delayed compensation for frontline workers.

After hitting the streets, Ramsey County workers win raises

By showing up in force outside the Ramsey County Courthouse, members of five AFSCME locals persuaded county negotiators to put their proposed wage freeze on ice.

Quick fix for staffing crisis not enough, hospital nurses warn

Nurses described a snowball effect to the staffing crisis. The worse it gets, the more likely others are to leave the profession.

Essential workers call bonus pay holdup ‘a slap in the face’

Nurses, janitors, educators and other essential workers spelled out exactly what they want from state lawmakers during a rally in downtown Minneapolis.