Posts tagged Minnesota
NY drops union deal on latest I-81 contract to better chances with Trump
August 19, 2026 // New York state will not require contractors on a $2.1 billion Interstate 81 contract to hire union workers for the first time on the largest ever transportation project in the state. The DOT has dropped the project labor agreement it used for the first half of the I-81 project as a preemptive measure to get approval from President Donald Trump’s administration, state and federal officials said.
Unions Are Coming for Your Uber Driver
August 4, 2026 // The sectoral-bargaining approach made headway in 2022, when California signed the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Act, or FAST, into law. The act was replaced by a compromise agreement before going into full effect. But under the original provisions, it would have established a 10-member Fast Food Council appointed by the governor and state Legislature to set labor rules for the Golden State’s fast-food industry. The FAST Act marked a pivot toward sectoral-bargaining strategies in America, importing the tactic from Europe and Australia. For decades before the FAST Act, the United Auto Workers used tactics like “pattern bargaining” in negotiations with the Big Three automakers.
Opinion: Sneaky new teachers’ union plan to indoctrinate our kids: classroom AI
August 3, 2026 // Their objective is to indoctrinate, not educate. That misguided mission is largely to blame for the past decade of drastic learning loss in K-12 schools: Too much indoctrination, too little emphasis on the basics of math and reading. It’s a bad omen for our country.
Opinion: Sizable sick leave payouts cost Minnesota county $2 million each year
June 29, 2026 // The high payouts are a vestige of past labor agreements with the handful of unions that represent the county's 1,850 employees. "If you're maintaining an antiquated policy that's really kind of a leaky sieve in terms of generosity—and you're paying out some really excessive payouts in this kind of regard—that's by choice," said Leonard Gilroy, vice president of government reform for the Reason Foundation, a national Libertarian policy group.
Target Field concession workers go on strike ahead of Twins/Dodgers series
June 22, 2026 // Target Field concessions workers went on strike Monday, ahead of the Minnesota Twins hosting a three-game series against the L.A. Dodgers. Crowds are expected to be as big as they have been all season, with Shohei Ohtani in town. UNITE Here Local 17 says more than 500 employees will strike at 4 p.m. on June 22 if demands aren’t met for better health insurance, higher wages and more job protections.
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.