On the first day of classes at the University of Minnesota, employees and supporters plan a noontime rally to call attention to the issues in contract negotiations.

The action is coordinated by AFSCME Local 3800, which represents clerical workers at the university. It will be held at noon, Tuesday, Sept. 2, on Northrop Mall on the Minneapolis campus. Participants are asked to bring noisemakers.

"As students and faculty come back to school, we need them to understand the issues that University employees are facing in contract negotiations," the union said in announcing the event. "Wage freezes, health care and vacation take-backs and no job security are bad for us, and they're bad for other people here at the U."

Just before the start of the Labor Day weekend, late on the evening of Friday, Aug. 29, negotiators announced a tentative settlement in contract talks between the university and Teamsters Local 320, which represents 1,300 workers. Details of the tentative pact have not been released.