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Unions

One Grocery Worker's Fight to Defend What Matters Most

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Ryan Christensen is a 52-year-old grocery worker for Lunds & Byerlys, where he has been for 38 years. Christensen says that what was once a strong, family-supporting job has deteriorated over time. He was one of 9,000 grocery employees working on an expired contract across the Twin Cities Metro rallying under the demand “One good job should be enough.” 

Last week, workers ratified contracts with four companies—including the one where Christensen works. But grocery workers, represented by United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) Local 663, rejected contracts with three other companies, and strikes could be imminent. Christensen commutes an hour and a half each way by car from his home in Richmond, Minn., to work at the Lunds location in Wayzata, Minn., six days a week.

Immigration

“Protect Our Routes, Get ICE Out”: Postal Workers Rally in Minneapolis

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Twin Cities postal workers with the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) Branch 9 gathered at the post office on Lake Street in South Minneapolis on January 18 to demand U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) discontinue its use of postal property—and leave Minnesota. The crowd of over 200 union members and allies marched down Lake Street to the block where 37-year-old mother and poet Renee Good was shot and killed by ICE agent Jonathan Ross a few weeks before. 

Speakers at the rally showed their support for the upcoming January 23 shutdown planned across Minnesota. Dozens of Minnesota unions and workers centers have joined the call for “no work, no school, no shopping” on Friday. Emmet Bongaarts, a postal worker and NALC Branch 9 member, said postal workers have been first-hand witnesses and responders to ICE’s “reign of terror” across Minnesota in recent weeks. Bongaarts’ route runs through the Central neighborhood in South Minneapolis, close to where Good was killed.

Immigration

Minneapolis Teachers, Parents Denounce Federal Agents’ Assault at Roosevelt High, Demand ICE Leave

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On Friday morning, around 150 parents, students, and educators gathered for a press conference at Lake Hiawatha Park in South Minneapolis to demand ICE leave Minneapolis. The event took place two days after federal agents detained an on-duty school staffer and member of the Minneapolis Federation of Educators (MFE) at Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis. Only a few hours after ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Minneapolis resident and mother Renee Good on January 7, federal immigration enforcement agents descended onto Roosevelt High School property during school dismissal as students were exiting the building. MFE members say that ICE agents tackled and detained a school staff member and union member who was working at the time. The MFE member was since released, according to a union spokesperson.

Minnesota

Food Service Workers at MSP Airport May Go On Strike Before Thanksgiving Holiday

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Food service workers with UNITE HERE Local 17 and union allies gathered in Terminal 1 at Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) Airport on November 17 for a press conference to announce their intent to strike if a deal is not reached between the workers and HMSHost, the company that operates food and beverage outlets across MSP terminals. The potential strike would coincide with the busiest travel days of the year, and could begin as soon as November 24. 

The demands include wage increases and affordable healthcare plans for the 250 food service workers, who have not seen a wage increase since before the pandemic, according to the union. A November 14 press release from UNITE HERE Local 17 says, “HMSHost food prep workers earn as little as $15.98 an hour, among the lowest wages at the airport. Workers say the company took advantage of the pandemic and has yet to make them whole.”

The strike would impact over a dozen restaurants and fast food establishments at MSP: Shake Shack, Chili’s, Starbucks, Auntie Anne’s, Moe’s, Firehouse Subs, Smashburger, Chick-fil-A, Bottle Rocket, The Cocktail Room, and Hissho Sushi Bar in Terminal 1; and The Wild Sports Bar, Starbucks, and The Market Place in Terminal 2. 

Isabela EscalonaVictor Arreola, UNITE HERE Local 17 member at a November 17 press conference at MSP Airport.

Unions

Why 650 Minnesota Doctors May Go on Strike

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On November 5, 650 medical doctors, physicians assistants, and nurse practitioners with the Doctors Council-SEIU may go on a one-day Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) strike. The strike would impact over 60 Allina clinics across Minnesota. The workers are demanding safe staffing levels in order to retain healthcare providers and improve the quality of care for patients. If the workers do strike, the union believes it will mark the largest doctors’ strike in the private healthcare industry in the country. 

The workers formed the union in October 2023, making the unit the largest private-sector doctors’ union in the United States, according to a press release from SEIU. After nearly 20 months and over 50 bargaining sessions, the union states that Allina has not met them in good faith at the bargaining table.

Minnesota

“What is happening at Hennepin county?” Seven Senior Janitors Let Go With No Notice

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Mercedes Ponce is in tears outside the Hennepin County Government where she worked as a subcontractor for 12 years doing janitorial work before getting the news last week that she’d be getting let go with no prior notice. Ponce is one of seven janitors with a combined 180 years of experience who received a letter informing her she doesn’t work there anymore at the end of August. The janitors, all senior employees who have devoted their careers to cleaning the Hennepin County Government Plaza, are alleging age discrimination. The workers are members of SEIU Local 26, which represents 8,000 building management and janitorial workers across the Twin Cities. The morning of September 8, they held a press conference outside the building where they worked, then marched together into the facility, where they delivered a letter to the office of Building Management demanding the workers be reinstated.