After tumultuous month, staff at St. Paul charter school near first contract

  Earlier this month, teachers at Community School of Excellence in St. Paul pushed back against administrators’ plan to cut classroom programming and lay off personnel, including most members of the fledgling staff union’s bargaining team. Now, not only have several programs been taken off the chopping block, but members of the Federation of Charter […]

Staff cuts at embattled St. Paul charter school target union leaders

A St. Paul charter school’s campaign to deny employees a voice on the job reached a new low yesterday, when administrators announced a wave of staff cuts eliminating several key areas of classroom programming and decimating the union’s bargaining team. The number of teachers and support staff let go remains in flux, union leaders said […]

Janitors fired after joining strike confront dealerships they used to clean

  WAYZATA – Backed by a delegation of supporters, three janitors fired after going on strike confronted the car dealerships they used to clean yesterday, asking managers to use their influence with cleaning contractor ROC to help them get their jobs back. “I am angry because they’re not listening to us,” fired worker Julio Romero […]

Fired after joining strike, four janitors suspect retaliation

  Four janitors with 8 years of experience cleaning car dealerships in Wayzata were fired June 9, the same day they joined a Twin Cities-wide strike for better wages and working conditions. Suspecting retaliation was the motive behind their release, the janitors and their supporters are pressuring the dealerships and their cleaning contractor, ROC Commercial […]

Fight for $15 strikes: Legal, protected, effective

  From fast food to retail, workers in low-wage jobs around the country, including Minnesota, are increasingly staging short-term, high-profile strikes to advance their movements for higher wages and a voice on the job. Walking off the job in protest is a costly, risky tactic to employ – even for one day. In addition to […]

Twin Cities workers join nationwide Walmart strike

BROOKLYN CENTER – Walmart associates from Apple Valley and Brooklyn Center walked off the job today, joining another nationwide wave of strikes and demonstrations targeting the world’s largest retailer for its low pay and retaliation against workers looking to organize. Similar strikes took place today in 20 other U.S. cities, as members of the workers’ […]

Walmart fires Brooklyn Center associate who joined one-day strike

April Williams knew the risk she ran last November, when she joined two co-workers in a one-day strike for higher wages, full-time scheduling and a voice on the job. But Williams, a single mother who lives with her sister and relies on public assistance to make ends meet, said she’d rather face those risks than […]