Bigham, a DFLer and longtime resident of Cottage Grove, is the labor-endorsed candidate in a Feb. 12 special election in Senate District 54.
Home care workers ratify new contract, urge lawmakers to get serious about looming care crisis
June 20, 2017 by
Union members who provide in-home health services to clients across Minnesota have ratified a new contract with the state that will lift wages, provide holiday pay, boost paid-time off and expand training opportunities for an estimated 27,000 home care workers statewide. The new contract, home care workers’ second since voting to join SEIU Healthcare Minnesota […]
Transit operators, riders urge Dayton to stand strong against cuts
May 18, 2017 by
Gov. Mark Dayton vetoed a transportation bill Monday that would have slashed funding for Metro Transit bus and rail services by $17.5 million over the next two years. Transit riders and operators cheered the governor’s veto at a rally Tuesday outside the Capitol, urging Dayton to continue standing firm against service cuts and fare hikes. […]
Transit riders, drivers team up to fight proposed cuts, fare hikes
April 19, 2017 by
Transit riders and operators rallied at the Capitol light rail station in St. Paul yesterday, looking to derail House Republicans’ plan to cut funding for bus, rail and Metro Mobility services by $122 million over the next two years. The Metropolitan Council, which operates Metro Transit and Metro Mobility, has warned the budget proposal would […]
Bobby Kasper: We’re organizing to amplify working people’s voice
April 17, 2017 by
State lawmakers are more than a month away from the deadline for finishing their work, and although negotiations over big-ticket items like the state budget, an infrastructure bill and long-term transportation investments have yet to begin in earnest, it already has been a disappointing legislative session for Minnesota’s working families. It’s been clear from the […]
Photos: Labor, faith, community activists stand up for sick time, resist corporate interference
March 3, 2017 by
The Minnesota House passed a bill last night that would strip 150,000 Minnesotans of newly won earned-sick-and-safe-time benefits and block local governments from raising labor standards in their communities. As debate raged inside the Republican-controlled House, opponents from labor, faith and community groups rallied outside the chamber, calling the bill a corporate power grab and […]
Remembering David Roe, who expanded labor’s political clout in Minnesota
February 16, 2017 by
David Roe, whose 19-year tenure as president of the Minnesota AFL-CIO saw historic expansions of workers’ rights and protections in the state, died Feb. 13. He was 92. Labor leaders and lawmakers remembered Roe as a major player in Minnesota politics and devoted family man, whose concern for the welfare of working people was genuine […]
Nurses, allies back MinnesotaCare expansion as fix for state’s individual market woes
February 14, 2017 by
Union nurses rallied at the Capitol today with family farmers, small business owners, clergy and other allies in their push to expand health care coverage to all Minnesotans – and hold insurance companies accountable. Members of the Minnesota Nurses Association spent the day talking to state representatives about making health care more accessible and affordable, […]
‘End run’ around local sick-pay victories advances at Capitol
February 3, 2017 by
Corporate special interests clashed with working people during a Capitol hearing last night on legislation that would roll back ordinances extending earned sick and safe time to an estimated 150,000 workers in Minneapolis and St. Paul. The local preemption bill, authored by Rep. Pat Garafalo (R-Farmington), passed its first committee hearing after a lengthy round […]
Home care union, state reach tentative agreement on new contract
January 5, 2017 by
After negotiations that took nearly four months to conclude, home care workers are poised to vote on a tentative agreement for a new union contract with the State of Minnesota that would raise their wage floor from $11 to $13. The home care workers’ union, SEIU Healthcare Minnesota, announced the tentative agreement in a press […]
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