Teamsters to vote on U’s final contract offer [UPDATED]

Members of Teamsters Local 320 have voted to accept the U’s final offer, the union announced yesterday.

St. Paul fast-food workers strike for $15 on Labor Day

Striking fast-food workers rallied with supporters outside a St. Paul McDonald’s this morning, demanding $15 per hour and respect on the job. “We need something to live on,” said 27-year-old Tay Polite, on strike from her job at McDonald’s in the city’s Midway district. “Even with a job we’re still struggling to support our families. […]

Campaign for $15 sets sights on St. Paul

After an inspiring victory in Minneapolis, the coalition of unions, faith groups and community organizations working in support of a $15 minimum wage has shifted its focus to St. Paul, where a wide-open mayoral contest creates a strategic window of opportunity. After it passed the City Council by an 11-1 vote, Mayor Betsy Hodges signed […]

As local preemption debate heats up, new book charts CA city’s progressive renewal

Mayoral elections are on the horizon in both Minneapolis and St. Paul. Corporate lobbyists at the Minnesota Capitol are taking aim at local ordinances expanding access to earned sick and safe time. The timing, it seems, couldn’t be better for author Steve Early’s book reading and discussion at 7 p.m. March 7 at the East […]

Five reasons workers are fighting Trump’s pick for labor secretary

Working people aren’t waiting for fast-food CEO and robotics enthusiast Andy Puzder’s confirmation hearings – twice delayed because he’s having difficulty completing the required ethics paperwork – to oppose President Donald Trump’s nominee for Labor secretary. Last week fast-food workers led a demonstration outside Hardee’s, a chain operated by Puzder-led CKE Restaurants, in St. Paul. […]

Nursing home workers see Fight for $15 as vital to quality care

On the same day over 100 Twin Cities fast-food workers went on strike, area nursing home workers took up the “Fight for $15” as well, rallying outside a Roseville care center for a contract that includes fair wages. Employees of Golden Living Center welcomed nursing-home residents, striking fast-food workers and other supporters to an informational […]

Retail janitors pledge strikes will continue until conditions improve

A day after union janitors walked off the job in an unfair-labor-practices strike, non-union janitors organizing with the Twin Cities-based worker center CTUL did the same, picketing early this morning outside Macy’s on the Nicollet Mall. It marked the seventh time in the last three years CTUL janitors, who clean big-box stores, car dealerships and […]

Twin Cities security officers announce tentative agreement with $15 guarantee

Most union security officers in the Twin Cities will earn at least $15 per hour – and future officers will be on track to do the same – under the terms of a tentative contract agreement struck late last night, according to union leaders. Local 26 of the Service Employees International Union, which represents more than […]

Fight for $15 putting upward pressure where it’s needed – on wages

Currents across the country created a wave of support for $15 as a just minimum wage last year, with fast-food workers in New York and airport workers in Seattle scoring high-profile victories in the so-called “Fight for $15.” But the rising tide is lifting wages for local workers as well, including some who carry union […]

U of M relents in contract talks as workers stick together for raises and respect

Frontline workers at the University of Minnesota stood together for nearly six months, waging a contract campaign for raises and respect. Now that strategy is paying off, as three bargaining units – Teamsters Local 320 and AFSCME Locals 3800 and 3801 – have announced tentative agreements with the U that include 2 percent wage increases, equitable family […]