In Minnesota, public-sector workers building power from the inside out

They may no longer be on the brink of a Supreme Court-imposed Right-to-Work rule, but Minnesota’s public-sector union members aren’t celebrating. They’re organizing. “What we got was a reprieve, not clemency – and surely not a pardon,” Education Minnesota attorney Meg Luger-Nikolai warned a standing-room-only audience of activists last night at the East Side Freedom […]

East Side Freedom Library announces Black History Month programming

St. Paul’s East Side Freedom Library will make the most of the five Mondays in February by hosting a Black History film each evening, part of a series of free, public events the non-profit library has planned for Black History Month. Additionally, the library will host the February installment of Twin Cities Labor Movie Night, […]

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

  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 […]

In new report, St. Paul teachers give ‘cookie-cutter’ policies a failing grade

  There is no one-size-fits-all solution for improving under-performing schools, according to a report issued yesterday by the St. Paul Federation of Teachers. To achieve lasting improvement, district leaders must engage a school’s surrounding community and address the unique, underlying challenges in students’ neighborhoods, homes and lives. That’s the conclusion policy researcher Michael Diedrich, author […]

A ‘labor hall for the community,’ East Side Freedom Library off to promising start

Since the 99-year-old Carnegie library at Greenbrier and Jessamine reopened as the East Side Freedom Library last year, it’s hosted concerts and film screenings, lectures and panel discussions, an economics workshop and a Juneteenth celebration. The independent, nonprofit library is becoming the center of grassroots community activity, history and storytelling that East Siders Peter Rachleff […]

Leading scholars to discuss past, present and future of labor movement

The East Side Freedom Library will host a conversation on labor history July 18 with two of the nation’s leading activist scholars in the field. The event is free and open to all. University of California at Santa Barbara professors Eileen Boris and Nelson Lichtenstein will lead the informal conversation. Boris and Lichtenstein “have produced […]

Victory in Los Angeles buoys hopes of local 15 Now supporters

  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 […]

East Side Freedom Library plans April film screenings, lectures

Programming at the East Side Freedom Library this month includes film screenings, discussions and a presentation on social justice. All events at the nonprofit, independent library, located at 1105 Greenbrier St. in St. Paul, are free and open to the public. For more information go to the library’s website. • Filmmaker John DeGraaf will appear […]

Standardized testing the subject of two events this month

Two public events in March – a film screening and a lecture – will consider the wisdom of increasing the use of standardized testing in public education. St. Paul Federation of Teachers Local 28 will co-sponsor a screening of “Standardized” at 6 p.m. March 10 at the East Side Freedom Library, 1105 Greenbrier St. The […]

Films, stories, lectures celebrate Black History Month at East Side Freedom Library

The East Side Freedom Library will mark Black History Month with a series of free, public programs at 1105 Greenbrier Street, St. Paul. “Brooklyn Castles” (flier). St. Paul Federation of Teachers Local 28 will co-sonsor a screening and discussion of the film, which follows students at an impoverished school who win national championships in chess, […]