Posts tagged Minnesota
Minnesota Business Owner Warns Against California-Style Attacks on Freelancers
June 15, 2026 // VanDerBill said she knew she had to try to make sure Minnesota’s task force wasn’t completely biased against independent contracting, so she applied to sit on it. To her surprise, she ended up securing a seat. She said she was shocked she was the only voice on the task force representing business owners or independent contractors who opposed increased regulations on their work. VanDerBill said that while she doesn’t want to throw labor unions under the bus, she believes they are partly to blame for the attacks on freelancing. Union membership has been falling over the last few decades, and unions requiring workers to be classified as full-time employees rather than freelancers could be one way to reverse that trend.
Target Field concessions workers set strike date for Twins-Dodgers matchup
June 15, 2026 // Last month, 81% of the 500 union members with Unite Here Local 17 voted to authorize a strike, seeking higher wages and better benefits. On Thursday, the concessions workers, employed by Delaware North Company, announced they plan to strike on June 22 if a deal isn't reached before then. The Twins are scheduled to take on the Dodgers, the defending World Series champions that day. Union members are asking fans to bring their own food to the game and not cross the picket line to buy food and drink.
AFL-CIO president aims to unionize 2 million workers in 5 years
June 9, 2026 // To get there, Shuler said the labor movement would turn out an additional 2 million voters to the polls this November along with 50,000 "trained election protectors." Shuler was addressing a crowd of hundreds of union members on the first day of the labor federation's national convention in downtown Minneapolis. The convention, which happens every four years, brings together representatives from 65 unions covering all sectors of the American economy, from Hollywood actors to Pittsburgh steelworkers.
Maple Grove Hospital nurses authorize strike amid ongoing contract talks
May 13, 2026 // The vote comes as nurses and hospital leadership return to the bargaining table Tuesday for their 30th negotiation session at North Memorial’s Robbinsdale campus. Maple Grove nurses are working to secure their first union contract. The union says nurses are pushing to close gaps in pay, insurance and pension benefits compared to nurses at North Memorial’s Robbinsdale Hospital, who already have a contract in place. The Minnesota Nurses Association is also seeking stronger staffing protections and improved working conditions. Union leaders say the hospital has experienced a 33% turnover rate over the past three years.
Workers at Planned Parenthood’s largest affiliate are unionizing, citing Trump cuts
May 13, 2026 // Sotoa said union representation would secure workers' voices in decisions over staffing and resources under threat by the cuts. Planned Parenthood workers at affiliates in Oregon, Maine, Minnesota, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and other parts of California, have already formed unions in response to the Trump administration and the changes they have prompted in their clinics' staffing, pay and workplace conditions.
Concessions workers at Target Field overwhelmingly authorize strike
May 8, 2026 // Unite Here 17 says it's the first time that workers at Target Field have taken a strike vote. "The Twins Organization needs to hold their concessionaire Delaware North Company accountable and tell them to settle a fair contract or they will face a strike," said Sheigh Freeberg, a secretary treasurer with the union. The union committee can now call a strike at any time, organizers say.
Chisago County union workers go on strike
May 4, 2026 // The strike notice that was submitted at the beginning of April applies to workers in the Health and Human Services Unit and the Government Center Professionals Unit, Local 320 said. The Teamsters Union represents 170 workers. In a press release Thursday, leaders with Chisago County said the Teamsters have rejected all of the county's offers for two-year contracts and that it has prepared detailed contingency plans for the strike. Click here to read the full county statement.
The Looming Legislative And Labor Push Against Artificial Intelligence
April 10, 2026 // Meanwhile, the Minnesota legislature is presently considering legislation that would, if passed, impose new limits on all employer use of AI. Senate File 4689 seeks to regulate the use of what it calls “Automated Decision Systems” (ADS). It would essentially cover all employment-related decisions relating to the implementation of AI. It would require advance notice of, and employee consent to, the use of ADS, would impose significant recordkeeping obligations, and employees would have the right to know when and how ADS influenced “adverse” employment decisions.
Minnesota Small Businesses Challenge Independent Contractor Statute
March 25, 2026 // NFIB joined a coalition of business organizations in filing a lawsuit in Minnesota state court challenging the new independent contractor test that was passed in 2024 as part of the Jumbo Omnibus Bill, H.F. 5247. The statute enacts a rigorous fourteen-factor test for determining the classification of independent contractors and imposes extreme financial and criminal penalties for even well-meaning small businesses should they fail to comply. J&M Consulting
Debate grows as states consider teacher strike bans
March 9, 2026 // Many states are considering new policies affecting teachers’ ability to strike or participate in protests, and education officials and labor advocates continue to debate the legality of teacher strikes. The strikes are banned or heavily restricted in roughly 38 states and Washington, D.C.