Workday Magazine (https://workdaymagazine.org/category/policy/page/21/)
Members of Minnesota’s Building Trades unions packed committee hearings at the Capitol, registering their opposition to bills moving through both the House and Senate that would weaken the state’s prevailing wage laws.
On average, full-time working women in Minnesota are paid $10,467 less than their male counterparts, and the gap costs Minnesota’s families a total of more than $8 billion annually, according to a new study.
During the past decade, 5.5 million American manufacturing jobs have disappeared, mostly due to bad trade and tax policies that encourage U.S. companies to move jobs overseas. Further fueling job loss has been the global economic crisis and lack of a comprehensive national manufacturing strategy.
We know it. Now yet another study proves it: Unions are essential for building a strong middle class — and rebuilding the middle class is key to restoring the U.S. economy.
International Union of Operating Engineers Local 49 union members had their Capitol Day Tuesday, which included a rally where Governor Mark Dayton and other elected officials spoke.
“We will not let Minnesota become the next Wisconsin,” said state snowplow driver Mike Lindholt, addressing a large and energized rally of public employees at the state Capitol Tuesday.
The Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation is taking part in a new initiative to reach out to unemployed union members, help provide them with support, and engage them in advocacy efforts.
Opponents of working families and their unions have tried to pit public workers against those in the private sector, by fomenting an internal class warfare centered on disparate wages and benefits.
As Minnesota lawmakers focus on anti-labor legislation instead of a job-creation agenda, more and more state residents find themselves jockeying for fewer and fewer full-time jobs.
Hundreds of Minnesota workers jammed the state Capitol Wednesday to demand that lawmakers focus on creating jobs – and stop attacks on public employees and other workers. With video.