Bobby Kasper: On Labor Day, we recommit to keeping the American Dream alive

Labor Day is an opportunity to celebrate the vital, incredible contributions Minnesota’s working people make every day to their workplaces, to the economy, to their families and to our communities. It is the one day of each year we collectively tip our cap to the working men and women who continue to build this nation […]

Loaned executives look to grow labor’s support of United Way

United Way was there to support Sheila Pokorny and Joan Killeen when they needed a helping hand. Now the two are returning the favor as loaned labor executives supporting Greater Twin Cities United Way’s 2013 campaign. Pokorny and Killeen began work July 25 and will continue through mid-November, reaching out to area union offices and […]

In negotiations on first contract, North Star Steel dropped anchor

North Star Steel approached “a new level of absurdity” in an attempt to avoid negotiating a first contract with 30 clerical and sales employees at its Newport facility, The Advocate reported in August 1988. The workers had voted a year earlier to join the United Steelworkers, but management refused to bargain with the union. After […]

River Valley Action to celebrate 10 years in St. Croix Valley

Ten years ago, bolstered by a grant from the Minnesota AFL-CIO, union members and grassroots activists in the St. Croix Valley set out to create a forum for progressive dialogue in the region. The result was River Valley Action, which will mark its 10th year of advocating on issues that improve people’s lives with a […]

St. Croix Valley Labor Assembly to host annual picnic June 26

The St. Croix Valley Labor Assembly will host its annual family picnic June 26, from 5 to 7 p.m., at Valley View Park in Oak Park Heights. The event offers an opportunity for the St. Croix Valley’s union members, elected officials and candidates for office to meet in an informal, fun setting. The picnic is […]

UPDATED: Labor-endorsed candidates sail through DFL endorsing convention

Planning on attending the City of St. Paul DFL Endorsing Convention? Three labor-endorsed candidates are counting on union members’ support. St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman is seeking re-election with labor endorsement. Two incumbent candidates for St. Paul Board of Education also have labor endorsements: John Brodrick and Jean O’Connell. The endorsing convention will begin at 9 a.m. […]

Bobby Kasper: A successful session – with room for improvement

We here at the St. Paul Regional Labor Federation entered this session with high hopes. Having claimed the state-government trifecta – pro-worker majorities the House and Senate, as well as a pro-labor governor – for the first time in more than two decades, we believed that with some hard work lobbying and some help from […]

Letters to the editor: DFL caucuses, HHS budget, communism

Emphasizing the ‘L’ in ‘DFL’ Joan and I attended the city precinct caucus on April 16, 2013, at the Highland High School. We are new members of the Highland community after living on the East Side for over 50 years. It was a great experience meeting people who we have known ourselves in our new […]

Working Families Day at the Capitol is April 8

State lawmakers will hear from union members Monday, April 8, at the Capitol during the Minnesota AFL-CIO’s annual Working Families Day at the Capitol. We need union members to step up and make their voices heard on issues like fair taxes, job creation, raising the minimum wage and protecting locked-out workers. To get involved, call […]

St. Paul unions donate 127 winter coats to students in need

The Jean Jones Coats Initiative, an annual winter-clothing drive sponsored by the St. Paul Regional Labor Federation’s Labor Studies & Resource Center, had a record-breaking year, donating 127 new or gently used coats to homeless students in the St. Paul Public Schools. St. Paul unions and union members contributed $3,683 to the initiative this year, more […]