The voice of Saint Paul's working families since 1897
The union representing workers on strike at a Shakopee concrete plant opened a new front in the labor dispute today, when 15 members of Laborers Local 563 filed civil rights charges with the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission alleging Cretex mistreated Latino employees. Local 563 represents 38 Cretex workers who have been on strike since June […]
The union representing 38 workers on strike at the Cretex concrete plant in Shakopee will stage a public rally Aug. 6 at 10 a.m. on the picket line. Elected officials from the state and local levels will join supporters from the labor community, putting pressure on the company to reach a settlement that would end […]
Striking union members and their supporters filled the Shakopee City Council chambers last night in an appeal to local leaders for their help resolving the 29-day work stoppage at Cretex Companies’ concrete plant inside the city limits. “What’s going on right now is not good for Shakopee,” Tim Mackey, business manager of Laborers Local 563, […]
Immigration reform is on the front burner in Congress this summer, but 10 years ago immigrant “freedom riders,” including some from Minnesota, traveled to Washington to raise awareness of the need for reform, including a pathway to citizenship for undocumented workers. The Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride kicked off its Minnesota leg with an event at […]
Union workers at a concrete products manufacturing facility in Shakopee went on strike yesterday, pledging to walk the picket line until Cretex Companies abandons its attempt to strip workers of their pension benefits. Since negotiations on a new contract for 38 members of Laborers Local 563 began in January, Cretex has refused to budge from […]
An associate from Apple Valley is among more than 100 striking Walmart workers nationwide who are protesting outside the company’s annual shareholder meeting in Bentonville, Ark., this week. Gabriel Teneyuque, a member of the grassroots campaign OUR Walmart, joined the “Ride for Respect” to company headquarters last week. The caravan traveled through about 30 cities, […]
Fifty years ago, to the surprise of Minnesota’s labor community, Republican Gov. Elmer Anderson offered his opposition to a lethal brand of anti-union legislation unions are still fighting today. The Feb. 14, 1963, issue of The Union Advocate reported Anderson had issued a statement saying he would veto any “compulsory open shop legislation, which usually […]
Big-box retailers like Walmart pushed their Black Friday sales to new extremes this year, but retail workers and their supporters are pushing back. More than 200 protesters lined the sidewalk outside Walmart’s University Avenue location in St. Paul today. They pledged to stand with Walmart associates like Gabriel Teneyuque, who protested the company’s low wages […]
Fallout from Hostess Brands’ decision to cease operations has extended to about 20 union workers in Minnesota and western Wisconsin, who face layoffs as the bankrupt baker begins liquidating its assets. Hostess’ bakery outlet stores, which sell day-old Wonder Bread, Twinkies and other Hostess products, have been shuttering operations gradually since last Friday, when the […]
The Lex-Ham Community Theater will present Lillian Hellman’s drama “Days to Come” in six performances this month at the Wellstone Center on St. Paul’s West Side. The play, directed by John Townsend, is set in 1930s Ohio, and it tells the story of a strike – and the discord it creates within a family-owned business, […]
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