Archive for December, 2021
Hennepin County Workers Reject County’s Offer and Authorize a Strike
By AFSCME Locals 34 and 2822 photo credit James "Jim" Edin AFSCME Locals 34 and 2822 have rejected Hennepin County’s latest labor contract offer. The County is attempting to stagnate wages, pass business costs on to employees, and is blatantly ignoring COVID risks employees are enduring during the pandemic. AFSCME Local 34 and Local 2822 members include social workers, human services representatives, service center representatives, and library workers. On Monday December 13,workers represented by AFSCME Locals 34 and 2822 voted to reject Hennepin County’s “Last, Best, and Final Offer,” and authorize a strike. The no vote comes one day after members of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 49, representing county snow plow drivers and other workers also rejected the county’s offer. Collectively AFSCME Locals 34 and 2822 represent 3,545 workers at Hennepin County, the two largest bargaining units who work at the county. Throughout the negotiations [...]
Minneapolis Edible Boulevards is Hiring Youth!
By MICHELLE SHAW Ingredients for making walnut meat taco bowls from December's cooking class Photo provided by Minneapolis Edible Boulevards Together with Growing North Minneapolis, Julius Rennie, Kelly Shay, and Caring is Culture, Minneapolis Edible Boulevards is hiring youth from the Phillips and Cedar Riverside neighborhoods to work through March 31, 2022. Applications will be open until the positions are filled. If you're 14-18, enjoy engaging with your community and making a difference, and have a passion for growing food, we'd love to have you apply. You can find an application on our Minneapolis Edible Boulevards Facebook page, or send an email to minneapolisedibleboulevards@gmail.com. In other news: join us on January 22, 2022, for another free cooking class on Zoom! You buy the groceries and cook from your own kitchen; we provide instruction with Kelly Shay of Harmonious World. In December we made Walnut Meat Taco Bowls, which were absolutely delicious, [...]
Transit: Happy New Year, People of Phillips!
By JOHN CHARLES WILSON Well, the year 2021 is drawing to a close and 2022 is just now starting. As a transit enthusiast, I have a lot to be disappointed in and a lot to look forward to, and I hope alley readers feel the same. What was disappointing was primarily that the pandemic has decimated transit usage to the point where many bus and train routes have been curtailed. I had hoped things would be back to normal by now, but I suspect this is the new normal. The rise in attacks on innocent transit users, especially on unsupervised trains, is very disconcerting. There are people who now eschew the light rail for slower buses because they are perceived as safer. The fact that there is a shortage of bus and train drivers doesn’t help any, either. However, there are reasons to be hopeful for a better future: Maybe even if humans don’t beat coronavirus, we may find a way to have an uneasy truce with it. Maybe we will find a happy medium with security/law enforcement where [...]
