As session begins, Minnesota unions see opportunity for investments in infrastructure, frontline workers

It’s a bonding year, but a record budget surplus and unspent federal pandemic relief funds could allow for more broad spending measures, including long-delayed compensation for frontline workers.

Workers’ compensation passed in Minnesota 100 years ago

The Minnesota Legislature adjourned in April 1913 after nearly three months in session, but not before passing several bills benefiting the state’s workers. The Union Advocate provided a list the Legislature’s accomplishments in it April 25 edition – from establishing a new worker’s compensation system to requiring employers to install safety devices where heavy machinery […]

October 2012: Remember when farmers and union members worked together?

With families across the Midwest struggling to keep their farms out of bank foreclosure, union members rallied with farmers Oct. 10, 1987, at the Heartland Jobs with Justice rally on the Iowa State Fairgrounds. About 40 Minnesotans were among the estimated 1,500 to 1,700 union members at the rally, Union Advocate Editor Barb Kucera reported […]