A conversation with Steve Share from the Minneapolis Labor Review.
Community
The 90th Anniversary of the 1934 Truckers’ Strike Honors Minneapolis’ Militant Labor History [VIDEO]
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Descendants Honor 90th Anniversary of Ancestors’ Militant Labor Strike from Unicorn Riot on Vimeo.This video was produced in collaboration with Unicorn Riot and Workday Magazine. On July 27, workers, descendants of the strikers, and the local labor community came together at Wabun Park in Minneapolis to honor the 90th anniversary of the 1934 Truckers’ Strike that brought Minneapolis to a standstill and served as a spark for radical and militant labor struggle across the country.
The strike lasted about three months, as Teamsters Local 574 truckers demanded a fair wage and official recognition of the union. The trucking companies had the support of the Citizens Alliance, an anti-trade union organization that sought to break the strike. The strike’s impact reverberated throughout the city, bringing much of the Minneapolis economy to a halt.
After reaching an agreement, the trucking companies did not honor the terms and workers returned to the streets. On July 20, 1934, the Minneapolis police attacked and opened fire on picketers in the streets of the Warehouse District.
Immigration
Dispatch From a Meat Packing Factory: “If We Unite as Workers, We Have the Power”
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Read a Spanish-language version of this interview here. Dina Velasquez Escalante is a poultry worker in southwest Minnesota. She spends her workdays inspecting the chicken millions of Americans eat every day. She looks for tumors, stray bones and organs, and removes bile. After six years of hard work and cultivating expertise on almost every position on the line, she’s now in the laboratory testing samples of poultry to ensure the highest quality.
As a union steward with the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) Local 663 at Butterfield Foods in Butterfield, Minnesota, Escalante is also tasked with ensuring her fellow workers receive fair treatment and safety on the line.
Immigration
Informe de una planta empacadora de carne: “Si nos unimos como trabajadores, tenemos el poder”
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Este artículo también está disponible en inglés. Traducción de María Uhlmann
Dina Velasquez Escalante trabaja en una planta avícola en el sudoeste de Minnesota. Su día de trabajo consiste en inspeccionar el pollo que millones de estadounidenses consumen a diario. Lo que busca son tumores, huesos y órganos, además de retirar la bilis. Luego de 6 años de trabajo intenso, y de adquirir experiencia en casi todos los puestos de la línea de producción, ahora se encuentra en el laboratorio analizando muestras de pollo para asegurar la mejor calidad.
Climate Change
Driving Transit in Rural Minnesota: A Bus Operator Reflects on Safety and Sustainability
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Public transportation is a lifeline for small town residents in Minnesota. Syd Bauer explains how the bus plays a role in their commitment to climate justice and pandemic safety.
Minnesota
How Academia’s Over Reliance on Contingent Faculty Hurts Workers and Students’ Quality of Education
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Adjunct and contingent faculty make up the majority of instructional staff at colleges and universities today. Faith Ericson explains what that means for these highly qualified and underpaid workers and the role of liberal arts education outside of major city centers.
Minnesota
“Finally Somebody’s Fighting For Us”: Grocery Store Workers are Fed Up
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How grocery store workers in Greater Minnesota fighting for better pay and working conditions are sticking together and transforming their union.
Minnesota
“There Has Never Been a Better Time to Organize”: How PELRA Reform has Opened the Door to New Organizing for Over 23,000 Workers at UMN
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A group of labor advocates, faculty, and other university staff organized to pass a reform to the 1971 law that predefined bargaining units for public employees.
Media
The 4th Annual “Dancing in the Streets” with Minneapolis Sex Workers
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Minneapolis sex workers and allies took to the streets in a joyful celebration to commemorate “International Whores Day” (June 2) in downtown Minneapolis, demanding decriminalization of sex work and increased workers protections.
Minnesota
Minnesota Unions Push for Bill Extending Unemployment Insurance to Striking Workers
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Catina Taylor has worked as a special educational assistant for the past 25 years in Minneapolis Public Schools. She’s a member of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers 59 (MFT 59) and President of the Education Support Professionals (ESPs). In 2022, Minneapolis teachers went on strike for three weeks. Taylor was on the picket line—she remembers not being able to feel her feet in the cold. Although she looks back fondly on the “historic” strike, she adds that it was a financially difficult time for many members.
Going on strike is one of the most powerful tools workers have, but can be a difficult choice for workers to forgo weeks of pay in the hopes of making greater gains for the long term.
Media
Iron Range Childcare Worker on Organizing for Better Care for Children
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How a childcare worker and mom living and working in Minnesota’s Iron Range would like to see the industry better support workers and children alike.