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 […]

Labor of Love helps families in need during holiday season

Greater Twin Cities United Way and the St. Paul Regional Labor Federation’s AFL-CIO Community Services program are co-sponsoring the Labor of Love – Adopt a Family holiday program, collecting donations to support families in need in the East Metro area. Tax-deductible donations will be used to purchase gift cards from union grocers. Gift cards will […]

Project HEAT’S ON assists Minnesota low-income, elderly homeowners

Union pipefitters and members of the Minnesota Mechanical Contractors Association teamed up for the 27th consecutive year to provide free furnace inspection and repair for low-income seniors and disabled homeowners in the Twin Cities, St. Cloud, Mankato and Rochester. HEAT’S ON (Handicapped and Elderly Assistance To Service Our Neighbors) drew 176 union volunteers Sept. 29, […]

Sun Country pilots protest low wages, pace of negotiations

Sun Country pilots recognize the importance of staying on schedule. They want management to bring that same sense of urgency to negotiations on a new contract with their union, the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). Pilots picketed today outside Terminal 2 at Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport, raising awareness about the slow pace of negotiations […]

Statewide labor convention opens with political call to action

Election-year politics dominated Day 1 of the Minnesota AFL-CIO’s 51st Constitutional Convention in Rochester yesterday, as speakers, including U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, urged delegates to take action in support of labor-endorsed candidates up and down the Nov. 6 ballot. Klobuchar, whose campaign for a second term has the state labor federation’s endorsement, said unions will […]

Online course among U of M Labor Education Service’s 2012-13 offerings

The University of Minnesota Labor Education Service will offer six Labor Studies Skills Courses starting this fall, including its first-ever online class. The non-credit Labor Studies Skills Courses provide a foundation in “nuts & bolts” areas important to working people and are open to all. Sessions for in-person classes are held on the West Bank […]

Two labor-endorsed candidates to watch in the Aug. 14 primary election

East Metro unions will be watching two labor-endorsed candidates for Minnesota Legislature who face competitive challenges in the Aug. 14 primary: Robert Humphrey in Senate District 67 and Peter Fischer in House District 43A. [Click here for more information on the Aug. 14 Primary Election, including how to identify your electoral district and find your […]

Outside John Kline’s office, minimum-wage workers rally for a raise

Could John Kline live on $290 per week? That’s the question several constituents from the 2nd Congressional District asked their Republican representative in the weeks leading up to today’s three-year anniversary of the last federal minimum-wage increase. When Kline failed to provide his constituents with an answer, they decided to deliver a letter to his […]

In Minneapolis, a picket line for striking Houston janitors

The union representing more than 400 striking janitors in Houston is fanning out across the country this week, setting up solidarity picket lines outside buildings cleaned by contractors involved in their dispute back home. In Minneapolis yesterday, about 40 union members and supporters picketed outside U.S. Bancorp Center, which secures its cleaning services through ABM, […]

Union leaders applaud Supreme Court decision upholding Affordable Care Act

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act, announced today, keeps the country moving toward a health care system that ensures affordable, high-quality coverage for all Americans, Minnesota’s union leaders said. The court’s narrow, 5-4 decision to keep intact the landmark 2010 law, known as “Obamacare,” drew cheers from workers, retirees, students […]