The labor movement was at its strongest when we took on fights that benefited the entire working class.
Minnesota gained 46,000 union members last year, reversing decade-long decline
January 19, 2018 by
Working people’s voice grew stronger last year in Minnesota, where organizing gains pushed union membership to its highest point since 2004.
Organizing drive pays off for big-box janitors with landmark first contract
February 22, 2017 by
What’s the value of a union contract? For nearly 500 retail janitors in the Twin Cities, who made history last year by forming the industry’s first metro-wide union, it’s a cool $4.5 million in wage increases and paid time off over the course of their new, three-year contract. Local 26 of the Service Employees International […]
‘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 […]
After security contractor reneges, officers at Eagan postal facility strike
September 12, 2016 by
Laurie Mattson-Collier left a meeting with Command Security Corporation managers last month relieved they had reached a compromise to stave off severe pay cuts for her unit of 13 security officers at a postal facility in Eagan. Less than a week later, Command told Mattson-Collier it was backing out of the verbal agreement, citing […]
UPDATE: With strike deadline looming, janitors reach landmark tentative pact
March 3, 2016 by
Union janitors in the Twin Cities reached a tentative agreement on a new four-year contract with area cleaning contractors after a marathon bargaining session ended in the early-morning hours March 7. The settlement prevented janitors from staging a second strike. About 4,000 janitors, 90 percent of whom are people of color, will see […]
Retail janitors pledge strikes will continue until conditions improve
February 18, 2016 by
A day after union janitors walked off the job in an unfair-labor-practices strike, non-union janitors organizing with the Twin Cities-based worker center CTUL did the same, picketing early this morning outside Macy’s on the Nicollet Mall. It marked the seventh time in the last three years CTUL janitors, who clean big-box stores, car dealerships and […]
Striking janitors: ‘We do the dirty work, we deserve a better wage’
February 17, 2016 by
Union janitors are setting up picket lines across the Twin Cities today, raising the stakes in their fight to win a $15 minimum wage and address alarming workload issues. The one-day strike over unfair labor practices will impact nearly 200 office buildings in the area before the day is done, according to Local 26 of […]
Twin Cities security officers announce tentative agreement with $15 guarantee
February 4, 2016 by
Most union security officers in the Twin Cities will earn at least $15 per hour – and future officers will be on track to do the same – under the terms of a tentative contract agreement struck late last night, according to union leaders. Local 26 of the Service Employees International Union, which represents more than […]
MSP airport workers keep up fight for $15, union
August 18, 2015 by
Backed by supporters from the community, airport workers kept up their public campaign for $15 per hour and a union, rallying Saturday at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. “We work hard to make sure that the airport runs smoothly — even when it’s freezing cold or during the busy holidays — to make sure that Minnesotans […]
