The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry is putting a spotlight on workers’ rights this week, with hundreds of outreach events across the state to educate workers and employers.
Workers encouraged to make sure they see full benefit of Minnesota’s new sick time law
January 30, 2024 by
Minnesota’s new earned sick and safe time mandate took effect Jan. 1, and state lawmakers and regulators are encouraging workers to check with their employers to make sure they are earning the full benefit provided by the new law. That means banking a minimum of one hour of earned sick and safe time for every […]
Minnesota union members led the fight to secure bonus pay for 1 million frontline workers
October 4, 2022 by
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.
Wilfs’ company turned deaf ear to warnings of wage theft at Viking Lakes development
May 10, 2022 by
Tradespeople who worked on the Viking Lakes luxury apartments in Eagan went public last week with accusations of wage theft on the project, owned and developed by the same family that owns the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings. Worker advocacy groups, including the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters (NCSRCC), pinned responsibility for the alleged labor […]
Roslyn Robertson: ‘Every fatality crosses my desk, and my stomach just cringes’
April 26, 2022 by
Minnesota’s labor commissioner discusses the state’s efforts to promote safe workplaces and more in this Union Advocate interview.
March events: Expo to connect women with pathways into trades
March 1, 2021 by
Women in Construction Week runs from March 7 to 13, and local tradeswomen, in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI), will celebrate with a virtual event showcasing career opportunities available in the unionized trades. The Women Building Success Info Expo is open to women statewide who are interested in learning more […]
Senate GOP ousts MN labor commissioner, plays politics with worker health, safety
August 13, 2020 by
Minnesota AFL-CIO President Bill McCarthy called the party-line vote a “slap in the face to working Minnesotans.”
In victory for unions, Trump administration leaves construction out of new apprenticeship rule
March 30, 2020 by
Allowing IRAPs in the industry would have created a shortcut around the rigorous standards of registered apprenticeship, unions argued.
Ken Peterson: On Workers Memorial Day we remember the dead, fight for the living
April 28, 2017 by
Four workers from St. Louis will not be alive to observe Workers Memorial Day on April 28 this year. Their unnecessary deaths earlier in the month are a stark reminder that despite calls for cutting back government regulations, we cannot allow workplace safety standards or enforcement to be reduced. At about 7:30 a.m., Monday, April […]
Native pride meets union pride in Cement Masons’ training program
August 2, 2016 by
NEW BRIGHTON – As the first trickle of mud oozed out of the concrete truck’s chute, 13 trainees dressed in hardhats, safety vests and tall rubber boots sprung into action, using shovels and trowels to distribute the concrete evenly across 13 rectangular slabs. The July heat was pushing 90 degrees, and the trainees, participants […]
Union Advocate 