The voice of Saint Paul's working families since 1897
In contract negotiations with Allina, union nurses are standing together to defend their health insurance. And outside the health care provider’s Minneapolis headquarters today, the community showed it’s standing with nurses. Informational picketing of Allina Commons drew hundreds of nurses, who arrived in busloads from five metro-area Allina facilities. Supporters from the community, including […]
With fiery speeches and foam “No. 1” fingers, advocates of paid family leave rallied outside the Minnesota Capitol today, calling on House Republicans to take up the issue, which Gov. Mark Dayton called “a moral responsibility.” Earlier this month, the DFL-controlled Senate approved a measure designed to prevent workers from being forced to choose between […]
In union-organizing and contract campaigns, information is power. And a first-of-its-kind training in Minnesota this week aims to equip more unions with the skills needed to access – and utilize – information that builds power for working people. More than 40 officers, organizers and activists from 27 local unions, labor federations and community allies are […]
It’s fair to say state Rep. Steve Drazkowski has a reputation for advancing extreme ideas. He’s supported logging in Minnesota’s state parks and eliminating the Pay Equity Act, even floated the idea of replacing health care workers with baby monitors. The Mazeppa Republican is at it again this session, inserting Wisconsin-style Right to Work […]
In his State of the State Address last night, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton called on legislators to join him in addressing the state’s racial and geographic disparities, and in making needed investments in public education, transportation and infrastructure. Afterward, union leaders from across the state praised Dayton’s speech. Education Minnesota President Denise Specht called Dayton […]
Steelworkers pleaded with members of a House committee yesterday to pass a clean bill extending unemployment benefits to workers impacted by the Iron Range mining slowdown, but they couldn’t convince Republicans, who continued holding the relief package hostage for $271 million in tax cuts for businesses. “Believe me, this is not an easy thing for […]
Union members made up 14.2 percent of Minnesota’s wage-earning and salaried workforce last year, a membership rate unchanged from 2014, according to an annual report released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. A similar trend played out nationwide, as the union membership rate held steady at 11.1 percent of the U.S. workforce. But […]
Gov. Mark Dayton today proposed investing $1.4 billion in infrastructure improvements across Minnesota, including $82 million earmarked for projects in St. Paul. The governor called the bonding proposal a “jobs bill” and, drawing on academic research, estimated it would create work for nearly 40,000 Minnesotans. [The calculation does not include an additional $600 million Dayton’s […]
The projected $1.2 billion state budget surplus, announced by state officials today, creates an opportunity for lawmakers to strengthen communities and continue growing Minnesota’s middle class in the 2016 legislative session, union members and allies said. And the first place lawmakers should look to invest is education. That’s the message three Metro-area legislators heard […]
Ellen Fahey and Marge Newmaster, two of three labor-endorsed candidates for White Bear Lake school board, understand the challenges working families face, value public education and appreciate the collective bargaining process. It’s no coincidence Fahey and Newmaster also are union members. Minnesota unions have put a focus in recent years on training and equipping members, […]
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