Union members urge Klobuchar to take a stand against Fast Track

Union members today called on U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar to take a stand against efforts in Congress to put job-killing free-trade agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) on the fast track. Members of the Communications Workers of America marked a worldwide day of action against the TPP – the NAFTA-style trade agreement being negotiated in […]

Labor leaders weigh in as Senate takes up immigration bill

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee began hearings last week on an 844-page bill to overhaul the nation’s broken immigration system. The proposal includes a pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants, as well as new boarder-security measures, guest-worker programs, employee-verification methods and other changes to the immigration system. In Minnesota labor leaders who have […]

Unions lead rally for immigration reform in Minneapolis

The time for bipartisan action to fix the country’s broken immigration system is now, according to a diverse group of more than 100 activists who rallied downtown Minneapolis yesterday for “commonsense” immigration reform that includes a pathway to citizenship. The event, one of several immigration rallies held across the country yesterday, drew support from unions, […]

Fair trade group honors Franken for TPP leadership

U.S. Sen. Al Franken has been at the forefront of congressional efforts to push the Obama administration to negotiate strong labor standards into the free-trade deal Obama has declared his top trade priority. Those efforts drew recognition yesterday from the Minnesota Fair Trade Coalition, which presented the senator with its Fair Trade Leadership Award. The […]

Franken takes the lead in Senate effort to sway Trans-Pacific trade negotiations

As negotiations on the latest U.S.-backed free-trade agreement resumed in Australia this week, U.S. Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota led a bipartisan appeal to President Obama, urging his administration to craft an deal that protects American jobs and workers’ rights worldwide. Franken, a DFLer, joined Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine in authoring a letter […]

Statewide labor convention opens with political call to action

Election-year politics dominated Day 1 of the Minnesota AFL-CIO’s 51st Constitutional Convention in Rochester yesterday, as speakers, including U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, urged delegates to take action in support of labor-endorsed candidates up and down the Nov. 6 ballot. Klobuchar, whose campaign for a second term has the state labor federation’s endorsement, said unions will […]