“People will tell you, ‘I’m not into politics,’” Walz told tradespeople. “You tell them too damn bad because politics is into you.”
Walker’s anti-union Act 10 dealing major blow to WI public schools, report finds
November 20, 2017 by
A new analysis of Wisconsin’s public schools reveals several alarming trends since the state adopted legislation stripping teachers and other public service workers of most collective bargaining rights in 2011. “Gov. Scott Walker and Republican elected leaders in Wisconsin said that Act 10 would benefit schools and families alike,” said David Madlan, co-author of the […]
In Minnesota, public-sector workers building power from the inside out
February 19, 2016 by
They may no longer be on the brink of a Supreme Court-imposed Right-to-Work rule, but Minnesota’s public-sector union members aren’t celebrating. They’re organizing. “What we got was a reprieve, not clemency – and surely not a pardon,” Education Minnesota attorney Meg Luger-Nikolai warned a standing-room-only audience of activists last night at the East Side Freedom […]
Holding steady in Minnesota, union density plunges in Right-to-Work Wisconsin
January 28, 2016 by
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 […]
Nurses approve contracts with five Twin Cities hospital systems
January 20, 2016 by
Nurses from five Twin Cities hospital systems voted yesterday to ratify union contracts that will protect their pension and health benefits and provide 2 percent raises in each of the next three years. The new contracts won’t go into effect for more than four months. Negotiations between the Minnesota Nurses Association and the hospitals – […]
With Fast Track vote looming, Minnesotans join ‘last-ditch effort’ to sway Wisconsin rep
June 10, 2015 by
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – In a showing of cross-border solidarity, fair trade activists from Minnesota bolstered the ranks of local activists protesting today outside the offices of U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, a lead proponent of legislation that would “fast track” more bad trade deals that threaten U.S. jobs. Fast Track, or “trade promotion authority,” […]
AFSCME members defend public service during Council 5’s Day on Hill rally
March 25, 2015 by
“Everyone in this room is an expert in public service,” AFSCME Council 5 Executive Director Eliot Seide told nearly 1,000 members of the union during its Day on the Hill rally yesterday. “You’ve forgotten more than (politicians) will ever know.” After the rally, held at a downtown St. Paul hotel, union members bused to […]
Good Luck: WI health care workers form union on same day Walker signs Right to Work
March 10, 2015 by
More bad news for working families came out of Wisconsin yesterday, when Gov. Scott Walker approved so-called “Right to Work” legislation. But there was good news, too. Nursing home workers in the small town of Luck, Wis., about 70 miles northeast of the Twin Cities, voted to form a union in election results certified by […]
A governor who will ‘go all Scott Walker’ on Minnesota? No thanks, unions say
October 31, 2014 by
Jeff Johnson, the Republican nominee for governor, doesn’t have much executive experience, but the former state legislator provided a glimpse of his leadership style May 15, telling a Tea Party group he would “go all Scott Walker on Minnesota” if elected. “I don’t know exactly what that means,” Minnesota AFL-CIO President Shar Knutson responded, “but […]
Author sees reason for hope in Wisconsin recall campaign
May 8, 2012 by
Progressive writer John Nichols energized and entertained during a May 2 lecture at the Carpenters Union Hall in St. Paul, providing a first-hand, insider’s account of union protests that swept across Wisconsin last year, sparking a renewed interest in grassroots democracy and progressive activism nationwide. Nichols, a Wisconsin-based writer for The Nation magazine and author […]
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