The voice of Saint Paul's working families since 1897
State lawmakers will hear from union members Monday, April 8, at the Capitol during the Minnesota AFL-CIO’s annual Working Families Day at the Capitol. We need union members to step up and make their voices heard on issues like fair taxes, job creation, raising the minimum wage and protecting locked-out workers. To get involved, call […]
Working to change a state law denying them the right to form a union, home health care workers “made it rain” at the Capitol yesterday, streaming more than 1,000 purple cutouts – each representing a home-care worker who has signed up for the union – from the second level onto the rotunda floor. It was […]
Transit advocates gathered at the Capitol today to show broad-based support for expanding investments in the state’s transportation system, from commuter rail and bus lines to bike paths and sidewalks. Such investments deliver a “trifecta” of benefits for state taxpayers, spurring business and job growth, reducing pollution and providing low- and moderate-income workers with greater […]
In October 1987, “homer hankies” provided the magic the Minnesota Twins needed to win their first World Series championship. Five months later, Minnesota’s seniors attempted to recapture the magic during a rally for tax fairness at the Capitol. Seniors waved “home hankies,” during an event March 2, 1988, co-sponsored by the Minnesota Senior Federation and […]
Surrounded by more than a dozen family child-care providers clad in pro-union T-shirts, two state lawmakers unveiled legislation Feb. 25 that would grant collective-bargaining rights to providers who receive subsidies from the State of Minnesota. The Child Care Collective Bargaining Act, introduced by Sen. Sandy Pappas (DFL-St. Paul) and Rep. Mike Nelson (DFL-Brooklyn Park), could […]
DFL lawmakers last month introduced a bill that would grant home health care workers the right to form a union, a move advocates say will help the state address a looming workforce crisis in Minnesota’s public home care programs. Authored by Sen. Chris Eaton and Rep. Michael Nelson, the bill targets workers in so-called “self-directed” home […]
Fifty years ago, to the surprise of Minnesota’s labor community, Republican Gov. Elmer Anderson offered his opposition to a lethal brand of anti-union legislation unions are still fighting today. The Feb. 14, 1963, issue of The Union Advocate reported Anderson had issued a statement saying he would veto any “compulsory open shop legislation, which usually […]
Emboldened by victories won at the polls in November, the state’s largest labor federation will push an ambitious legislative agenda that calls for hiking the state’s minimum wage, extending unemployment benefits for locked-out workers and expanding the freedoms and protections Minnesotans enjoy in the workplace. The Minnesota AFL-CIO, which represents more than 1,000 affiliate unions […]
Business owners say Minnesota’s economic climate is poor, urging lower tax rates and steep cuts to government spending. Union leaders say Minnesota owes its high quality of life to public investments in education and infrastructure that are a catalyst for economic growth. That’s the debate likely to take place when state lawmakers return to the […]
After an amazing 2012 political election in Minnesota, we as union members must stay politically involved. It must be a year-round campaign. Our focus is to make sure our electoral gains translate into effective pro-labor, pro-jobs agenda. We must push for policy reform that strengthens the union workers. After a 22-year hiatus of having a […]
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