Home care union, state reach tentative agreement on new contract

After negotiations that took nearly four months to conclude, home care workers are poised to vote on a tentative agreement for a new union contract with the State of Minnesota that would raise their wage floor from $11 to $13. The home care workers’ union, SEIU Healthcare Minnesota, announced the tentative agreement in a press […]

After security contractor reneges, officers at Eagan postal facility strike

  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 […]

New report sheds light on ‘state of the unions’ in Minnesota

  Income inequality is on the rise in Minnesota, and disparities between white workers and workers of color continue to widen. Unions are key to reversing both of those trends, according to a new report unveiled just in time for Labor Day. Co-authored by four researchers, “The State of the Unions 2016” takes a deep […]

Metro Transit workers vote to accept contract proposal

In balloting held Sunday and Monday, Metro Transit workers accepted a proposed two-year contract with annual wage increases of 2.25 percent. The contract, which covers about 2,400 members of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1005, still must be approved by the Met Council before taking effect. The council is expected to consider the contract at its […]

Machinists approve new contract with East Metro dealerships

Union workers at 22 auto dealerships in St. Paul and the East Metro suburbs voted Sunday to ratify a new three-year agreement with their employers that includes annual wage increases of 2 percent. The contract, which took effect today, covers about 600 members of Machinists District 77, including mechanics, parts personnel and service technicians. [Click […]

Nursing home workers see Fight for $15 as vital to quality care

On the same day over 100 Twin Cities fast-food workers went on strike, area nursing home workers took up the “Fight for $15” as well, rallying outside a Roseville care center for a contract that includes fair wages. Employees of Golden Living Center welcomed nursing-home residents, striking fast-food workers and other supporters to an informational […]

In tough talks with Allina, Teamsters win wage increases, avoid strike

Members of Teamsters Local 120 who provide home-delivery of oxygen and medical equipment for Allina Health ratified a new contract Saturday, narrowly avoiding a work stoppage. Frustrated by management’s refusal to consider meaningful wage increases in negotiating sessions last month, the 42 members of Local 120 unanimously authorized their bargaining team to call a strike […]

Workers OK first contract, making Wedge first union co-op in Minnesota

Workers at the Wedge voted Tuesday to ratify their first union contract, making the Minneapolis grocer the state’s first unionized co-op. Wedge Community Co-op workers voted last November to join United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1189, seeking higher wages, an equitable process for dealing with management and a voice in decisions that affect the co-op’s […]

Twin Cities security officers announce tentative agreement with $15 guarantee

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 […]

Holding steady in Minnesota, union density plunges in Right-to-Work Wisconsin

Union members made up 14.2 percent of Minnesota’s wage-earning and salaried workforce last year, a membership rate unchanged from 2014, according to an annual report released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. A similar trend played out nationwide, as the union membership rate held steady at 11.1 percent of the U.S. workforce. But […]