After walking away from workers, Millennium gets heat from convention delegates

August 18, 2022 by

Workers at the Millennium Hotel lead a march from the convention floor into the lobby.

Housekeepers and other hotel employees took the stage on Day 1 of the AFL-CIO’s Pride at Work convention and told delegates that the Millennium Hotel had pulled back tentative agreements with their union two months after booking the convention.

Delegates didn’t take the news sitting down.

They marched out of the Millennium ballroom and into the lobby, with hotel staff in the lead, and held a lively rally in their defense. When security guards demanded demonstrators move to the sidewalk outside, they refused, holding the lobby for nearly a half hour.

The action marked a spirited start to the three-day convention that began Aug. 18, bringing together representatives of the AFL-CIO’s constituency group for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer-plus workers.

Christa Sarrack, president of UNITE HERE Local 17, said the situation could have been avoided if the Millennium had honored the agreements it struck with union members in May.

“When the convention contacted us to see if it was OK to have it at this hotel, there was no labor dispute,” Sarrack said. “We thought we had a tentative agreement.”

Two months later, the hotel sent an “incredibly regressive” settlement agreement for the union to sign. It would have stripped longstanding language around breaks and schedule adjustments for housekeepers.

Local 17, which represents about 45 Millennium employees, has filed charges of unfair labor practices with the National Labor Relations Board, but the show of solidarity will help keep morale high, Sarrack said, as the process plays out.

“Workers don’t always get to see the actual support that they have,” she said. “So I think this was incredibly meaningful for the workers to see. And to be able to be onstage in a group like this – they’re normally in the back of the house and don’t interact in this way with the groups – is huge.”

Back in the ballroom, delegates to the convention worked their way through an agenda packed with panels, workshops and awards. The group’s convention call promised to tackle two big issues: combating the radical right, and gathering allies for that work in advance of the November election.

Speakers included several Minnesota elected officials and labor leaders, including Minnesota AFL-CIO President Bernie Burnham.

The convention also honored AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond and News Guild President Jon Schleuss with Solidarity Awards for championing LGBTQ+ workers.

– PAI Union News Service contributed reporting.

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East Side Freedom Library plans labor-history events in June

June 9, 2016 by

esfl-bldgPublic events at the East Side Freedom Library this month include a discussion of German immigrants’ contribution to the the local labor movement, as well as a free Labor Movie Night screening. The independent, non-profit library is located at 1105 Greenbrier St. in St. Paul.

“The German Contribution to St. Paul’s Labor History”

As part of the first-ever Deutsche Days, a weeklong celebration of Germanic culture leading up to GermanFest Minnesota, the ESFL will host a discussion about the connection between Germanic immigrants with St. Paul and the labor movement.

ESFL co-founder and Macalester history professor Peter Rachleff will lead the discussion, scheduled from 6 to 9 p.m. June 14.

“St. Paul is often thought of as an ‘Irish City,’ but that’s not quite the whole truth.” Rachleff said. “Germanic-Americans played a vital role in building the foundation of this city through the labor movements in the 19th and 20th century – the effects of which are still felt today.”

Labor Movie Night screening: “Pride”

The Labor Movie Night series will continue June 17 with a screening of “Pride,” beginning at 6 p.m. at the ESFL.

Set in Britain and based on a true story, “Pride” is a comedic drama about a group of gay and lesbian activists who raised money to help families affected by the British miners’ strike of 1984. The help is warily received at first, but solidarity triumphs.

Admission is free, and donations are welcome.

“Labor Movie Night” is sponsored by AFSCME Local 3800, AFSCME Council 5, AFSCME Council 5 Next Wave, AFSCME Locals 34, 552, 607, 1164 and 2822, IBEW Local 292, Teamsters Local 638, UNITE HERE Local 17, the ESFL and the Minneapolis Labor Review.

For a complete list of programming at the ESFL, visit www.eastsidefreedomlibrary.org.

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Love wins! Union members join celebration at Twin Cities Pride Parade

June 29, 2015 by
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Joanne Hager and her daughter Amelia march in the Pride Parade along Hennepin Avenue.

 

Union members joined the party at the Ashley Rukes GLBT Pride Parade in Minneapolis yesterday, cheering the Supreme Court’s historic decision making marriage equality the law of the land.

“We’re always fighting; it feels good to be celebrating for a change,” Charli Haataja, a member of Local 7250 of the Communications Workers of America, said.

Haataja was among more than 50 people who marched in the parade behind the Minnesota AFL-CIO’s banner. [Click here to view photos of the marching unit on Facebook.] The labor federation has maintained a presence in the parade for years, and Minnesota unions – and unions across the country – have been staunch allies in fight for LGBT rights.

web.Pride15-gjertson“We want to show our solidarity with other workers no matter if they’re gay, straight, transgender – it doesn’t matter,” CWA Local 7250 member Alaric Poseley-Hatton said. “We fight for equality in the workplace, and it’s great to have equality in marriage too.”

In a 5-4 decision released Friday, the Supreme Court found states that deny same-sex couples the right to marry are in violation of the 14th Amendment, which guarantees all citizens equal protection of the laws. The ruling extends marriage rights to same-sex couples in all 50 states.

July 1 will mark the two-year anniversary of marriage equality in Minnesota, where lawmakers moved swiftly to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples after the state’s voters rejected a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage in November 2012. Minnesota unions and labor organizations, including the Minnesota AFL-CIO, joined the coalition of groups fighting for marriage equality.

The Supreme Court ruling means same-sex couples wed in Minnesota will maintain their married status no matter where in the U.S. they go. Liz Shuler, secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO, called it “a win for children, families, workers and our entire country.”

web.Pride15-groupBut union members at the Pride Parade said the fight for equality is far from over.

LGBT workers’ rights, in particular, need strengthening, as most states do not have laws protecting all workers from discrimination on the job as a result of sexual orientation. Jerame Davis, director of the labor-backed advocacy group Pride at Work, said there remains a “very real possibility that a worker could marry the person they love on Saturday and then get fired from their job Monday morning when they show pictures around the water cooler.”

“There’s still a fight out there,” Claire Zupatz, a member of the Twin Cities Musicians Union, said. “If you can do the job, you should be able to go and do the work and not be afraid of being fired because of your lifestyle.”

Collective bargaining agreements, of course, provide protection from employment discrimination based on sexual orientation, but union contracts cover only a fraction of the private-sector workforce.

LGBT workers also face more subtle forms of discrimination in the workplace – union and non-union alike, Laborers Local 563 member Joanne Hager said.

“In the construction trades, it’s sometimes difficult to be open about who you are,” Hager said. “There is some homophobia in our industry, as in all industries.

“We’re in need of more workers in our industry, and we need to make sure these jobs are inclusive of everyone who wants to work to support their families.”

Hager and her 13-year-old daughter, Amelia, marched in the Pride Parade wearing hardhats and carrying a homemade banner that proclaimed, “Building MN with Quality and PRIDE!”

“People should be equally treated and not discriminated against because of who they love,” Amelia Hager said.

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