The voice of Saint Paul's working families since 1897
One of Cretex’s key business partners won’t meet with workers on strike at the company’s Shakopee plant. So on Sunday those workers will take their message to Medtronic’s highest-profile event of the year: the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon. Thousands of marathon runners and spectators will find a billboard placed prominently along the route at Hennepin […]
Addressing a roomful of union retirees in Maplewood today, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton recounted his morning meeting with members of Laborers Local 563 who are on strike, fighting to ensure a secure retirement of their own. Dayton’s remarks to the Minnesota State Retiree Council’s 17th convention came on the heels of a dialogue with workers […]
The picket line outside Cretex’s concrete plant in Shakopee swelled with supporters yesterday, as more than 200 people rallied behind 38 striking members of Laborers Local 536 who are fighting for their retirement security. The crowd included Laborers International Union President Terry O’Sullivan, state and local labor leaders and the highest-ranking members of the Minnesota […]
The Twin Cities Labor Chorus put solidarity into song Tuesday night, hosting “Labor Sing” with Minnesota musician Charlie Maguire at the State Fairgrounds’ Labor Pavilion. The sing-along did more than raise the spirits of 30-plus people in attendance, however. Donations collected at the concert were split evenly between relief funds supporting locked-out musicians of the […]
The union representing workers on strike at a Shakopee concrete plant opened a new front in the labor dispute today, when 15 members of Laborers Local 563 filed civil rights charges with the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission alleging Cretex mistreated Latino employees. Local 563 represents 38 Cretex workers who have been on strike since June […]
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 […]
Striking union members and their supporters filled the Shakopee City Council chambers last night in an appeal to local leaders for their help resolving the 29-day work stoppage at Cretex Companies’ concrete plant inside the city limits. “What’s going on right now is not good for Shakopee,” Tim Mackey, business manager of Laborers Local 563, […]
The Twin Cities Labor Chorus and Minnesota musician Charlie McGuire will host “Labor Sing,” a sing-along and fundraiser, July 30 at the Minnesota AFL-CIO Labor Pavilion on the State Fairgrounds. The Labor Chorus announced the event Monday in a press release: “It’s an excuse to get together, enjoy a summer evening, and have fun. It’s […]
Union workers at a concrete products manufacturing facility in Shakopee went on strike yesterday, pledging to walk the picket line until Cretex Companies abandons its attempt to strip workers of their pension benefits. Since negotiations on a new contract for 38 members of Laborers Local 563 began in January, Cretex has refused to budge from […]
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