Workday Magazine (https://workdaymagazine.org/category/policy/page/60/)
Behind the numbers that dominate Mesaba Airlines’ bankruptcy filing are the people. More than 300 of those people ? airline workers, their spouses and their children ? packed a ballroom at the Mall of America to say “enough is enough” to Mesaba’s plans to make them the lowest-paid workers in the airline industry.
A new twist has emerged in a dispute between UNITE HERE Local 17 and the management of the Ramada Inn Airport ? formerly the Thunderbird Hotel and Convention Center. The company, Sanford Hospitality, LLC, has filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) alleging that UNITE HERE Local 17 “has attempted to enforce an illegal contract.”
Minnesota is losing scores of jobs related to the film and television industry because it no longer offers a tax incentive for movie production, entertainment industry unions say. They support new legislation to attract filmmakers.
The City of Minneapolis should maintain its capacity to perform its own electrical inspections, says International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 292. Last fall, the City Council voted to eliminate the 10-person electrical inspections unit, citing costs. The council instead opted to begin using independent contractors who perform state electrical inspections to take over Minneapolis inspections.
Following the announcement that McClatchy Co. is buying the Knight Ridder newspaper chain, the union representing workers at the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Duluth News-Tribune and others said it will press ahead with a plan to buy the publications.
As state lawmakers ponder bonding legislation to build and repair schools, parks and rail lines, Building Trades union members will be watching closely. Investment in infrastructure is important to everyone, but it directly affects the number of jobs for construction workers.
Scores jammed a hearing room to oppose a Pawlenty administration change in apprenticeship rules that could slash wages for thousands of Minnesota workers.
The Duluth AFL-CIO Central Labor Body has joined many other organizations in supporting the Duluth Entertainment & Convention Center expansion that will be on the ballot in a special election Tuesday, Feb. 28.
Minnesota legislators are drafting bills to make striking mechanics from Northwest Airlines eligible for state unemployment and job retraining benefits.
The Newspaper Guild is trying an unusual strategy to save jobs at the Pioneer Press and eight other Knight Ridder newspapers: It wants to help buy the newspapers, then set them up under employee ownership or as part of a new, “employee friendly” company.