Every day is Labor Day
Happy Striketember! We’re back with some labor news updates, including the nurses 10-day strike notice, state fair shenanigans, and more.
Howdy, folks! It’s been a while. Thanks for being patient throughout our little summer break. I moved into a new apartment, went camping, finished the course on ambiguous loss I was talking about in the last newsletter, worked on some stories, read a ton, and helped out with the hiring process for our new editors who we’ll be announcing very soon! STAY TUNED!
🎡 Labor at the State Fair
Last Friday, I visited the fair with my friend who begins her first full year of teaching social studies! We stopped by the Education Minnesota booth and got ourselves a calendar. Wishing everyone a safe and happy back to school!
I liked this stitching, titled “Workers of the World Unite” by Rachel Breen.
And Tom E. Stewarts piece, “Minnesota State Symbols, Why Not Craft Beer?”
If you weren’t able to make it, check out John Croman’s video on the Labor Day parade for KARE11. 🥳
🏥 We may see the largest private sector nurses strike in history
Last Thursday, Minnesota Nurses Association, which represents nurses at 16 facilities across the Twin Cities and Duluth, announced their 10-day notice and are planning a 3-day strike starting September 12.
You can support the nurses here, and be sure to share a patient story with them! I shared a story about the nurse who communicated with my mom while caring for my dad at M Health Fairview Southdale. She made sure my dad didn’t die alone. I always wondered what I could do to thank her or repay her. I can share my story, which in a way is part of her story. We can pressure the public to hold her employer accountable.
🪧 UMN service workers welcome students moving onto campus with some direct action
Teamsters 320, which represents around 1,500 workers at the University of Minnesota who contribute to an improved quality of life for students, picketed at Centennial Hall on move-in day.
According to a survey conducted by Local 320, more than 62% 450 current and former workers reported they didn’t earn money to pay basic expenses every month, and almost 12% reported experiencing homelessness while working at the university.
💰 Frontline worker payments update
Almost 1.2 million applications were received for frontline worker payments! That’s almost twice as many as was originally predicted. Over 200,000 were denied this week for various reasons like failed ID and employment verifications, but you can appeal up until August 31 at 5pm.
🎧Listen: An MPR interview with Matt Riley, an organizer with CTUL, on the challenges of the payments.
Did you apply? How did it go for you? Were you rejected? Are you going to appeal?
Stay tuned for a story on an art gallery showing of essential worker portraits later this month!
🍻 Blood, “Sweat” and tears: The Guthrie’s take on the human cost of the economy
Although they live in the Rust Belt, the characters in the play “Sweat'' evoke Midwestern work ethic and identities. Check out my review and conversation with one of the actors from the play.
☕ #PumpkinSpicedLabor
Max Nesterak from the Minnesota Reformer (@nesterak) has the story on the second(!) strike by the baristas at 47th & Cedar.
Congrats to the Starbucks baristas in Edina who won their election in a 9-0 vote!
In July, the East Side Freedom Library hosted a panel discussion with baristas from St. Paul and Minneapolis.
🗓️ Mark your calendar
The Labor Education Service will be tabling at the Minnesota AFL-CIO convention held on September 18-20. See you there!
The East Side Freedom Library is hosting some wonderful solidarity-themed events this month, including a Labor Day picnic on the 10th, a panel on wage theft, and a reading for the Solidarity Street Gallery, an arts and culture festival celebrating St. Paul communities.
⏰ There’s still time to apply for MULP!
The application deadline for MULP was extended to September 16th. MULP is the Labor Education Service’s Minnesota Union Leadership Program. Check out the 2022-23 Application, and see what's in store for this year's cohort in the brochure here.
Thanks for reading! Stoked to be back in your inbox. We are each other’s harvest.