Most of us, from St. Paul workers and labor activists to labor historians like me, have been unaware of the role that St. Paul workers played in the establishment of the Labor Day holiday.
From the Eight-Hour Day to the $15 Minimum Wage: A conversation between past and present
March 24, 2021 by
In its inclusive membership, its vision of broad and sweeping change, and its insistence that all workers should share in the wealth that they produce, the Fight for $15 shares a kinship with the movement for the eight-hour day.
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 […]
A ‘prime opportunity’ for workers, communities to take on Amazon
October 1, 2020 by
A century ago, farmer, labor and community activists used an octopus to depict capitalist greed grasping for control over social, economic and political life. Today, it is hard to imagine a more appropriate metaphor for Amazon.
No picnics, no parades, but Freedom Library will mark Labor Day with virtual event on organizing Amazon
September 2, 2020 by
The East Side Freedom Library in St. Paul will celebrate Labor Day early and online this year, with a virtual discussion about worker organizing at the world’s largest retailer, Amazon. The event, “Labor Day Ain’t No Picnic,” will broadcast on the ESFL’s Facebook and YouTube pages Sept. 3, bringing together activists who are using research, […]
More than a building, a building block on city’s East Side
May 8, 2020 by
There’s a new book about St. Paul’s East Side Freedom Library, and it offers “a nicely woven story about a place, a people and a public space,” according to our reviewer.
Lessons from labor history can inform our labor movement during COVID-19 crisis
May 4, 2020 by
The Minneapolis Teamsters strikes of 1934 offer lessons valuable to our present challenge.
Strikes surge nationwide
March 2, 2020 by
#RedForEd movement, sluggish wage growth behind big uptick in major work stoppages.
New labor college launching this spring in St. Paul
February 13, 2019 by
New Brookwood Labor College looks to build the labor movement of the future by educating workers into the working class.
In some local unions, #MeToo has galvanized members
December 14, 2018 by
Workplace cultures don’t change on their own.
Union Advocate 