The labor movement is split on the question of cops. While union officials have signaled their tempered support for police unions, the push to expel law enforcement from the movement has grown quickly in the rank-and-file.
Unions
They Waged the Largest Private-Sector Nurses’ Strike in U.S. History. They’re Still Waiting for Justice.
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Minnesota nurses made national headlines by going on strike this fall, but as contract negotiations stall, they’re fighting for a voice on the job.
News
Rail Workers Reject Contract Recommendations, Say They’re Ready to Strike
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Railroad unions continue their slow creep along the path to a settlement—or strike—in contract negotiations covering 115,000 workers. On August 16, the Presidential Emergency Board convened by President Biden issued its recommendations for a settlement. Many rail workers say they fall short and are prepared to strike to win more. The PEB recommended 22 percent raises over the course of the five-year contract (dating back to 2020), which would be the highest wage increases rail unions have seen in decades. But they are offset by increases in health care costs—and come in the midst of high inflation.
Community
State Building Trades convention asks Governor Walz to call special session to pass bonding bill, complete unfinished business of 2022 legislature
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The convention saw remarks from Governor Walz, MN Attorney General Keith Ellison, and passed 14 resolutions, including a call for a special session to pass a $1.4 billion bonding bill.
COVID-19
Trader Joe’s Union Campaign Takes Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
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Trader Joe’s workers in Minneapolis won their union in a landslide vote August 12, making theirs the second store to go with the new, independent Trader Joe’s United. The win raises the question of whether the grocer, with its 530 locations and progressive image, could be the next Starbucks. It seems that Trader Joe’s management is considering becoming the next Starbucks in a different sense: closing stores and harassing workers out of union drives. A store in Boulder, Colorado, had a vote lined up for this week, but workers seeking affiliation with Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 7 there withdrew their petition the day after filing charges against the company for coercion and intimidation. The Trader Joe’s drives reflect an emerging theme of recent new organizing: independent versus affiliated unionism.
Organizing
After walking away from workers, Millennium gets heat from convention delegates
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Housekeepers and other hotel employees took the stage on Day 1 of the AFL-CIO’s Pride at Work convention and told delegates that the Millennium Hotel had pulled back tentative agreements with their union two months after booking the convention. Delegates didn’t take the news sitting down. They marched out of the Millennium ballroom and into the lobby, with hotel staff in the lead, and held a lively rally in their defense. When security guards demanded demonstrators move to the sidewalk outside, they refused, holding the lobby for nearly a half hour. The action marked a spirited start to the three-day convention that began Aug.
Climate Change
Heat Waves Are Putting Teamsters in Danger
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UPS workers say the company is not doing enough to protect employees from scorching temperatures.
Hospital nurses in Twin Cities, Duluth vote to authorize strike
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On August 15, facing multiple public health crises, 15,000 nurses voted to authorize a strike in the Twin Cities and Duluth areas.
Elections
Minneapolis Trader Joe’s workers aim to unionize second store in U.S.
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Workers allege the company has deployed unfair labor practices ahead of next week’s union vote.
Commentary
Yes, Abortion Rights Are a Union Issue
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Organized labor has an important role to play in the struggle for reproductive justice.
A First Contract for Mexican GM Plant’s Independent Union
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SINTTIA, the independent union that ousted an employer-friendly union at a GM plant in central Mexico, won its first contract in May.