The voice of Saint Paul's working families since 1897
Pushing back against an upswing in reports of Minnesota workers struggling to meet their employers’ increasingly irregular scheduling demands, a coalition of worker-advocacy groups today unveiled legislation to bring fairness to the state’s workplace scheduling laws. The House bill, authored by DFL Rep. Rena Moran of St. Paul, would require employers to provide hourly employees with […]
The Communications Workers of America is rallying support for two members of the union who face criminal charges resulting from their participation in the massive protest against police brutality and racism at Mall of America in December. Todd Dahlstrom and Kandace Montgomery, members of the Minnesota Newspaper and Communications Guild, TNG-CWA Local 37002, are among […]
The 2015 legislative session is nearly one month old, and Minnesotans are presented with a very different situation than we were in 2013 and 2014. While Gov. Dayton was reelected and a DFL majority remains in the Senate, Republicans now control the Minnesota House. With a DFL-controlled state government, Minnesota’s labor movement successfully advocated for […]
Lynn Barten stood up in a conference room Sunday morning in St. Paul and gave a stump speech for a campaign she isn’t running – not yet, anyway – before a roomful of people who couldn’t vote for her anyway. Barten, an AFSCME member from Alexandria, was one of more than 70 people who enrolled […]
As part of its Path to Power program, the Minnesota AFL-CIO will sponsor a two-day training to equip potential candidates for public office with the tools they need to win and be an effective advocate for workers once elected. Workshops will focus on developing a message, building a campaign team, raising money and targeting voters, […]
“GOP tightens grip on white working class,” read the headline on an Oct. 31 Wall Street Journal story datelined Aitkin, Minn. The story reported how Democrats have been losing their hold on rural Congressional districts with largely white populations, where incomes lag the national average and college graduates are relatively sparse. The authors quoted men […]
Jeff Johnson, the Republican nominee for governor, doesn’t have much executive experience, but the former state legislator provided a glimpse of his leadership style May 15, telling a Tea Party group he would “go all Scott Walker on Minnesota” if elected. “I don’t know exactly what that means,” Minnesota AFL-CIO President Shar Knutson responded, “but […]
How do minimum-wage workers feel about Republican gubernatorial candidate Jeff Johnson’s opposition to wage increases scheduled for 2015 and 2016, and cost-of-living increases scheduled to begin in 2018? Ask Darcy Landau, one of tens of thousands of workers statewide who saw their wages climb to $8 per hour Aug. 1. “Does Mr. Johnson realize the […]
On the 94th anniversary of women’s suffrage in the U.S., a panel of three state lawmakers from the East Metro discussed the gains women workers in Minnesota made with passage of the Women’s Economic Security Act this year – and the work for equality that remains to be done. Sen. Sandy Pappas of St. Paul, […]
Heading to the great Minnesota get-together? Stop by the Labor Pavilion for live music and entertainment, interactive exhibits and several opportunities to take action in support of working Minnesotans. The Labor Pavilion is open daily throughout the fair at the corner of Dan Patch and Cooper, 1657 Dan Patch Ave. The Minnesota AFL-CIO coordinates daily […]
Union Advocate 