Unions, churches and other groups will put the focus on worker rights during the AFL-CIO's "Seven Days in June."

This week, several rallies and other events are scheduled in Minnesota:

Wednesday, June 13
4:30 p.m.
Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees Local 17 and supporters will protest outside the Holiday Inn Rivercentre in downtown St. Paul, where management reopened the hotel after a $10 million renovation but refused to rehire workers or recognize their union.

Thursday, June 14
11 a.m. to noon
Bus drivers, custodians, cooks and other school district employees will flood the Minnesota Work Force Center office at 60 E. Marie Ave. in West St. Paul with unemployment claims. Currently, state law does not allow these non-teaching employees to receive summer unemployment pay. The action is sponsored by Service Employees International Union Local 284.

Thursday, June 14
3:30 p.m.
Community leaders and elected officials, Duluth union members and others will participate in a Community Forum on Workers' Rights and Free Speech at the Holiday Inn public lobby in downtown Duluth. Sponsors include the Duluth Central Labor Body, HERE Local 99 and several others.

Friday, June 15
11:30 a.m.
Several unions and churches will hold a news conference and forum on immigration law reform at St. Stephen's Church, 2211 Clinton Ave. S., Minneapolis. Participants will include the Minnesota AFL-CIO, several Catholic dioceses, the Jewish Community Council and ISAIAH. They assert that the rights of workers and immigrants are being overlooked in the rush toward globalization.

Friday, June 15
4 p.m.
United Food & Commercial Workers Local 789 will conduct a "funeral service for workers' rights" to protest the treatment of workers at the Dakota Premium Foods plant in South St. Paul. Although a majority of workers voted for a union last July, the employer has delayed collective bargaining through a series of legal manuevers. Participants will meet at the Local 789 hall, 266 Hardman Ave., South St. Paul, and then will march to the plant.