The voice of Saint Paul's working families since 1897
On June 30, Laborers Local 563 won its federal court case to enforce an arbitration award that stopped an employer from using a physical machine test to screen members. The union believes that this type of test has nothing to do with the ability to do the work and may unfairly exclude people who have […]
The frenzied finish at the Capitol yielded mixed – and uncertain – results for Minnesota’s working families. Although the Legislature approved a record investment in long-term care before adjourning last night, unions said lawmakers squandered an opportunity to use the state’s $1.9 billion budget surplus to restore cuts to public schools, expand access to pre-kindergarten […]
The Laborers District Council of Minnesota and North Dakota hosted a family picnic for LIUNA members in Minneapolis’ Minnehaha Park on Aug. 16, featuring food, carnival games, a car and motorcycle show – and a big boost for local charities. The inaugural event raised over $23,000 for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Upper […]
Laborers Local 563 today called on the Minnetonka School Board to commission an independent investigation into possible violations of state and federal child-labor laws stemming from construction work at district’s Scenic Heights Elementary School. Earlier this month, the Laborers notified state and federal regulators, as well as the school district, that a minor was apparently […]
Minnesotans celebrated the opening of Metro Transit’s Green Line with ribbon-cuttings, neighborhood-centric events and more than 107,000 free rides June 14-15. But there was more to celebrate than the long-anticipated arrival of a sleek, new transit option between the Twin Cities’ downtown areas. Jobs – and plenty of them – were also reason to celebrate. […]
Ronald McDonald House of the Twin Cities honored the Minnesota Laborers Ride for Charity with its prestigious 2013 Don Shelby Service Award at a banquet Oct. 5 in Minneapolis. In 2013 the Laborers Ride raised $12,000 for Ronald McDonald House charities. The ride has delivered over $75,000 to the charity over its 10-year run since […]
One of Cretex’s key business partners won’t meet with workers on strike at the company’s Shakopee plant. So on Sunday those workers will take their message to Medtronic’s highest-profile event of the year: the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon. Thousands of marathon runners and spectators will find a billboard placed prominently along the route at Hennepin […]
The picket line outside Cretex’s concrete plant in Shakopee swelled with supporters yesterday, as more than 200 people rallied behind 38 striking members of Laborers Local 536 who are fighting for their retirement security. The crowd included Laborers International Union President Terry O’Sullivan, state and local labor leaders and the highest-ranking members of the Minnesota […]
Striking union members and their supporters filled the Shakopee City Council chambers last night in an appeal to local leaders for their help resolving the 29-day work stoppage at Cretex Companies’ concrete plant inside the city limits. “What’s going on right now is not good for Shakopee,” Tim Mackey, business manager of Laborers Local 563, […]
Union workers at a concrete products manufacturing facility in Shakopee went on strike yesterday, pledging to walk the picket line until Cretex Companies abandons its attempt to strip workers of their pension benefits. Since negotiations on a new contract for 38 members of Laborers Local 563 began in January, Cretex has refused to budge from […]
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