Albert Lea hospital workers stand up to Mayo with historic one-day strike

December 19, 2017 by

ALBERT LEA – Minnesota’s largest hospital system has picked a fight with two of its smallest bargaining units, but union members at the Mayo Clinic Albert Lea hospital aren’t backing down in their fight for job security and quality rural health care.

Workers aren’t standing alone against the health care Goliath, either.

Nursing assistants, housekeepers, maintenance staff and other frontline workers at the Albert Lea hospital staged the first-ever strike at a Mayo Clinic facility today. Their picket line swelled with community supporters, members of other unions and elected officials.

“We are out on strike today because it is insulting that Mayo has treated us and our community this way,” said Sheri Wichmann, an employee in the facility’s sterile processing unit. “We hope this will make Mayo realize they need to come to the table and negotiate in good faith.”

Striking workers are members of SEIU Healthcare Minnesota, which represents two Albert Lea bargaining units in negotiations with Mayo. The one-day strike pulled together members of both units, 85 workers in all.

Picket lines went up at 6 a.m. and were scheduled to come down at 6 p.m. The strike, called in response to alleged unfair labor practices, is a legally protected action, and workers hoped to return to their jobs tomorrow, though Mayo has threatened to lock them out for six more days.

That kind of bullying typifies Mayo’s approach to contract negotiations in Albert Lea, striking workers said. Perry Jensen, a utility worker with 20 years of experience at the hospital, called it “my way or the highway.”

“It’s hard to feel valued or appreciated with what they are offering us and what they are proposing to take away,” said Jensen. “It feels like there isn’t the concern for us as employees and community members like there used to be. They won’t budge at all and want to force us to take what they want without sitting down and bargaining. It is a slap in the face.”

Jensen and other workers want protections for local jobs and contract language to prevent further erosion of rural health care in southern Minnesota. Workers have reason to be wary of potential outsourcing at Mayo, which last year handed over its food service operations to a subcontractor from Atlanta.

Mayo negotiators, meanwhile, want to strip workers of their right to “negotiate over pensions, over benefits, over disability plans, over paid time off,” SEIU Healthcare Minnesota President Jamie Gulley said.

 

At picket-line rallies throughout the day, speakers decried an increasingly corporate feel in Mayo’s expanding network.

State Rep. Tina Liebling, whose district includes Mayo’s headquarters in Rochester, said the hospital’s nonprofit status should mean more than an exemption from paying taxes. “Mayo needs to understand that … it has to be about the people that it serves, and that includes the people who work for it, who give Mayo its soul,” she said.

Others renewed concerns about the dwindling number of services Mayo offers in Albert Lea – and at other hospitals and clinics across southern Minnesota. State Rep. Paul Thissen said it’s worth revisiting the statute that provides state funding for Rochester’s $6.5 billion Destination Medical Center “to make sure Mayo’s obligations to the people of Minnesota are spelled out clearly.”

Mary Turner, president of the Minnesota Nurses Association, added: “I’m very concerned about the people of Albert Lea come winter when the services that they need are not here, and they’re supposed to get on a freeway that they’ve just put the gates across because of a blizzard.”

Turner also presented striking workers with a $10,000 check for their hardship fund. “We may not always say it, but you guys are the right arm of the nurses,” she told striking workers. “We appreciate you 100 percent.”

Filed Under: Organizing, Politics Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Minimum-wage victory showcases potential of labor-community partnerships

April 29, 2014 by
Surrounded by legislative supporters and members of the Raise the Wage Coalition, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton signed a bill increasing the minimum wage to $9.50 by 2016 – and indexing it to inflation.

Surrounded by legislative supporters and members of the Raise the Wage Coalition, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton signed a bill increasing the minimum wage to $9.50 by 2016 – and indexing it to inflation.

On April 14, Gov. Mark Dayton signed a bill gradually raising Minnesota’s minimum wage to $9.50 per hour by 2016 and indexing the wage so that it keeps pace with inflation beginning in 2018.

The bill signing was a victory for more than 350,000 workers statewide who are expected to see a raise as a result of the bill. But it also marked a victory for the coalition of unions, religious groups and other non-profits that united to push the minimum-wage hike across the finish line.

“We’ve seen what an impact we can make when we come together,” Minnesota AFL-CIO President Shar Knutson said after the bill-signing ceremony in the Capitol rotunda. “It felt good.”

The Minnesota AFL-CIO, the state’s largest labor federation, was one of several union groups that took a leadership role in the Raise the Wage Coalition, which united more than 70 diverse organizations behind a minimum-wage increase.

After DFL majorities in the House and Senate failed to agree on a minimum-wage bill last spring, unions and labor federations pledged to invest energy, resources and political capital into seeing a meaningful increase pass before the 2014 session gaveled to a close. They made the commitment despite the fact, as Knutson pointed out, “the vast majority of Minnesota’s union workforce makes well above the minimum wage.”

“The labor movement is committed to improving the lives of all working people,” Knutson said. “Like Paul Wellstone said, ‘We all do better when we all do better.’”

RaisetheWageWeb_0A step toward ‘enduring partnerships’

Unions’ leadership role in the Raise the Wage Coalition reflected local action on a nationwide directive put forth at the AFL-CIO Convention in Los Angeles last year. Known as “Resolution 16,” the directive calls on state and local labor federations to build “enduring partnerships” with community groups that share values and goals with the labor movement.

With the minimum-wage campaign, Minnesota unions backed up the AFL-CIO’s talk with action, said St. Paul Regional Labor Federation President Bobby Kasper, whose office coordinated 96 volunteer shifts on behalf of the minimum-wage push this year.

“Building a movement for economic justice isn’t possible unless we look beyond our own unions and reach out to our allies in that struggle,” Kasper said. “Whether it’s fighting Right to Work or defending prevailing wage, our position will only be stronger if we have members of the broader community behind us, but we can’t expect their support if we don’t step up when they need us.”

‘Speaking with a collective voice’

Labor’s role in the minimum-wage victory was not lost on the non-profit and faith-based organizations that joined the Capitol celebration April 14.

“It’s really inspiring seeing labor behind a broad, social justice issue like the minimum wage of concern to the community, not just their own members,” said Doran Schrantz, executive director of ISAIAH, a faith-based member of the Raise the Wage Coalition. “Seeing labor really throw everything, all their political might and muscle, behind this was really inspiring.”

The non-profit group A Minnesota Without Poverty had been organizing in support of a minimum-wage increase since 2008, coordinating events like one last year in which activists handed out ketchup bottles at the Capitol, urging lawmakers to “catch up to the cost of living.”

“We were doing our own thing,” Executive Director Nancy Maeker said. “We knew there were others working on the issue, and we were appreciative. But it didn’t seem like there was a lot of coordination among those groups.”

That changed last fall, when A Minnesota Without Poverty accepted an invitation to join the Raise the Wage Coalition. Maeker said she quickly realized the power of “speaking with a collective voice,” and she appreciated the “organizational wherewithal” union groups lent to the campaign.

“I was pretty positive toward labor to begin with, but I didn’t know labor would be interested in collaborating on an issue like minimum wage,” Maeker said. “That’s the part I was most appreciative of.”

Organizers of the Raise the Wage Coalition held a press conference before delivering thousands of postcards to state senators from supporters of a $9.50 minimum wage.

The Raise the Wage Coalition held a press conference before delivering thousands of postcards to state senators from supporters of a $9.50 minimum wage earlier this year.

Doing what labor does best

After lawmakers failed to pass a wage hike in 2013, Raise the Wage Coalition members realized they needed to engage the public to make their campaign successful in 2014. “It wasn’t just a campaign that could happen here under the (Capitol) dome,” Schrantz said. “We really needed to engage the wider community.”

Grassroots campaigning – knocking on doors, phone banking – is labor’s strong suit, and labor federations like the St. Paul RLF joined Working America, the AFL-CIO’s outreach initiative to non-union workers, in a leading role.

“We came out of last session knowing we needed to mobilize and mobilize big,” Working America State Director Bree Halverson said. “At Working America in Minnesota, we kept the conversation going all year-round.”

Working America began door-to-door canvasses across the state around the minimum wage June 1, 2013, Halverson said. By April 4, canvassers had knocked on 100,239 doors, engaged 43,172 Minnesotans in conversations about the issue and generated 4,000 letters or phone calls to lawmakers asking them to support the coalition’s bill.

As it turned out, Halverson said, it wasn’t a tough sell for most Minnesotans.

“People got it,” she said. “Even if minimum wage didn’t affect them directly, it was important to their kids who were struggling to find good employment after college, or it was important for their community because if people were making better wages, then their whole community would be stronger.”

Working America and other coalition members, like Jewish Community Action, proved critical in generating support in areas where unions don’t have a lot of membership or haven’t been traditionally active politically.

“Some of the senators that needed to be moved, that needed to hear a strong voice for social justice were from areas that Jewish Community Action had a base,” JCA organizer Rachel English said. “JCA played an important role in making sure more of the suburban senators heard from their constituents that this is an important social justice issue to them.”

Toward a economic justice for all

While lawmakers, union leaders and other coalition members celebrated the minimum-wage victory, they were also quick to point out that work remains in building a more economically just Minnesota.

“Our work is not done,” Speaker of the House Paul Thissen said. “There are still lots and lots of Minnesotans struggling to remain in or get into the middle class.”

Are there initiatives members of the Raise the Wage Coalition can unite around in the future? Some members think so.

“I would love for this coalition to keep working,” English said. “You can see the kind of impact it had up on Capitol Hill.”

English pointed to provisions left out of the minimum-wage bill – language to strengthen the 40-hour workweek and protect guest workers – and the inclusion of a “training wage” that, she fears, could incentivize employing teenagers at a lower wage than adult workers.

Halverson agreed: “Minimum wage is just the first step, I feel, to some really great stuff going forward,” she said. “It’s exciting.

“Hopefully, we’ll be able to work on issues together in the future that are going to help workers in Minnesota. It may not be the Raise the Wage Coalition, but there are relationships we’ve as a labor movement made that we’re going to have for a very long time.”

“I’m proud of the work we did to pass minimum wage,” St. Paul RLF President Kasper said. “I’m even more excited about the prospect of continuing to build a better Minnesota with the new friends and allies we gained during the campaign.”

Filed Under: Politics Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Rally gives striking Cretex workers a boost

August 7, 2013 by
Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk stands with striking members of Laborers Local 563 and their families at the rally outside Cretex's concrete plant in Shakopee.

Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk stands with striking members of Laborers Local 563 and their families at the rally outside Cretex’s concrete plant in Shakopee.

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 Legislature, Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk and Speaker of the House Paul Thissen.

Cretex workers have been on strike since June 19, fighting the company’s attempt to replace their defined-benefit pensions with a 401(k) plan. Workers say the change would amount to a $4-per-hour cut in their wages – and squander pension contributions many have been making for decades.

“We work hard for our pensions. We fund them. We do the right thing,” Laborers Local 563 Business Manager Tim Mackey said. “We’re not going to let someone take them away. That’s what this fight is about.”

Laborers International Union President Terry O'Sullivan fires up the crowd outside Cretex.

Laborers International Union President Terry O’Sullivan fires up the crowd outside Cretex.

Mackey asked supporters to call Cretex CEO Lynn Schuler at 763-441-2121 and “let him know that Minnesota workers deserve better from a Minnesota-based company.”

O’Sullivan, a fiery speaker, noted Cretex had funded workers’ pensions over the years because Local 563 negotiated it into workers’ collective-bargaining agreement with the company, trading wage increases and other benefits in order to remain in the Laborers’ pension plan.

“Where did that money come from?” O’Sullivan asked of the pension contributions. “It came out of your pocket.”

O’Sullivan praised the strikers for taking on a fight playing out across the country.

“This is ground zero,” he said. “Every time you pick up the paper … somebody is trying to destroy defined-benefit pension plans. Today it’s Minnesota; tomorrow it will be somewhere else.

“I get that. You get that. And that’s why losing is not an option. That’s why the next time we’re on that side of the fence, we’ll have a defined-benefit pension plan, brothers and sisters.”

House Speaker Paul Thissen says Cretex's actions show the company has forgotten the important role its workers played in making the company successful.

House Speaker Paul Thissen says Cretex has forgotten the important role its workers played in making the company successful.

Legislative leaders, meanwhile, called on Cretex to do right by the employees who have helped make the Elk River-based company profitable.

“Let’s hash this out,” Bakk said. “Let’s get back to the bargaining table so we can end this.”

U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken sent members of their staff to the rally with letters of support, as did Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District.

“You need to know that after years of hard work you can count on a secure retirement,” Ellison’s letter said. “I will continue to stand with Local 536 as you push for a secure retirement.”

Although retirement benefits are the sticking point in negotiations between the union and Cretex, Mackey said Local 563 has reached out to management about civil rights charges filed with Equal Employment Opportunities Commission last week by 15 Cretex workers, alleging the company mistreated Latino employees.

“That call has yet to be acknowledged by (Cretex),” Mackey said. “That is a big part of this strike. We will not tolerate that treatment of workers – not in this day and age.”

Follow the striking workers on Facebook for updates on negotiations and ways you can show your support.

The rally drew more than 200 people to the picket line outside Cretex's Shakopee plant.

The rally drew more than 200 people to the picket line outside Cretex’s Shakopee plant.

Filed Under: Politics Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Politics take center stage at state Building Trades convention

July 20, 2012 by

Minnesota Building Trades Council President Harry Melander watches as Gov. Mark Dayton addresses the convention.

One by one, DFL state lawmakers took the podium on the opening day of the Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council’s annual convention July 19-20 in St. Cloud. Invariably, each offered his own variation on three common themes:

• DFLers salvaged the 2012 legislative session by providing the votes – or the veto power – necessary to create construction jobs and fend off attacks on union members’ wages, work conditions and collective-bargaining rights.

• None of the victories achieved in 2012 would have been possible without the support, leadership and activism of Building Trades members.

• Little of it will matter if DFLers do not reclaim in November the Legislative majorities they lost two years ago.

“Please recognize the importance of this election,” Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton said. “Help your members to recognize the importance of this election, and let’s win this election.”

Delegates to the Building Trades Council, which represents 50,000 union members in construction trades statewide, greeted Dayton with their warmest reception of the convention. Council President Harry Melander praised the governor’s leading role in efforts to pass a bonding bill and finance construction of a new Vikings stadium – initiatives that will create thousands of jobs for union members.

Dayton deflected the praise back to his audience. “You really were stupendous on turning out, standing up, letting (lawmakers) know where you were at,” Dayton told delegates, pointing to rallies staged at the Capitol by unions in favor of bonding and stadium bills.

Dayton also praised delegates for stepping up in one battle the governor was powerless to fight: Republican efforts to put a constitutional amendment regarding Right to Work on the November ballot.

“That was absolutely your victory, achieved by strong leadership, by standing strong together and by putting the pressure on (Republicans) – and they backed off,” Dayton said.

Bipartisan spirit?

Melander warned that Right to Work “will continue to rear its ugly head” until voters install pro-labor majorities in the Minnesota House or Senate. For now, he added, the council must continue to count on relationships with members of both political parties.

But Rep. Tim Mahoney, a DFLer and a member of St. Paul Pipefitters Local 455, said it is becoming increasingly difficult to work across party lines at the Capitol. “This crew that came in last election, they had all the answers,” he said. “They didn’t really bother to talk to anybody. I’ve been there 14 years, and I’ve never seen that kind of behavior before.”

Senate Minority Leader Tom Bakk, a former member of the Carpenters Union, cautioned delegates about the risks of backing Republican candidates on the ballot this fall. Operating Engineers Local 49, one of the state’s largest Building Trades unions, announced July 12 it will support Republican U.S. Rep. Chip Cravaack in the 8th Congressional District, a seat targeted by Democrats this election cycle.

“I’m concerned about some of the endorsements I see coming down… It confuses our membership,” Bakk said. “(Republicans) don’t share the same values about improving the standard of living of working class people.”

House Minority Leader Paul Thissen, a Minneapolis DFLer, said keeping their majorities in the Legislature will embolden Republicans to wage more attacks on unions and their members next session.

“After the Wisconsin recall election, the very next day, House Speaker (Kurt) Zellers was on the radio saying (the results) are a signal to us of what we can accomplish if we’re in the majority next year,” Thissen said. “If they hold on to their majority, we are going to see a Right to Work constitutional amendment coming – undoubtedly.”

Jobs on the horizon

Although election-year rhetoric dominated much of the convention’s first day, some speakers looked forward to the jobs soon to be created on major construction projects throughout the state.

Lester Bagley, the Minnesota Vikings’ vice president for public affairs, said the process of building a new stadium in Minneapolis is entering the design phase, with groundbreaking following as early as April 2013. The team plans to begin play in the new stadium during the 2016 season.

“We look forward to building an iconic facility, and we look forward to building it with union labor,” Bagley said.

Noting that the stadium bill passed both the House and Senate with a majority of DFL votes, Bagley also made a point of thanking Building Trades delegates. “A lot of that was due to (DFLers’) vision of doing the right thing and creating thousands of jobs, but it was also because of their relationships with you,” he said.

The $475 million infrastructure jobs bill – also known as the bonding bill – will create about 14,000 jobs for Building Trades members. Dayton said he takes pride in seeing Building Trades members working on public-works jobsites as he travels the state.

But the governor couldn’t resist pointing out that the bonding bill could have created more jobs, had Republicans in the Legislature accepted his proposal for a $786 million package.

“They cut a third of it out,” Dayton said. “They left 7,000 jobs sitting on the table at the Capitol (because) it doesn’t fit their ideology.

“They don’t get that the public sector, we the people, have a role to play in creating jobs. The role of government is to make things happen… It’s we the people, pooling our resources together to accomplish things we can’t accomplish by ourselves.”

Filed Under: Politics Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,