‘Cover Stories’ Archives
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 [...]
East Phillips Needs Harm Reduction Solutions for the Drug Problem
By Stephen Gregg Photos courtesy of PHS Community Services Society In the eight years I’ve owned my home near 26th St and Bloomington Ave, I have been stuck by a discarded syringe, seen multiple overdoses, two deaths, and countless ambulances and police vehicles. I have watched in horror as entwined problems increase: the number of people experiencing homelessness, open air drug use, and crime. When approaching neighborhood issues, I try to practice empathy. From the beginning I’ve wanted to be involved in the work to find solutions, attending countless neighborhood meetings of all sorts. The problems here are deep-rooted and complex. I’m not a social worker–actually I’m an agricultural plant scientist. So I also comb research for solutions to problems. And this search has pointed me strongly towards harm reduction practices and services, practices endorsed by the CDC. Harm reduction has the potential to reduce short term harms while creating space for long [...]
Minneapolis Public Housing Authority Is Building New Multifamily Housing. Is this a good thing?
By LINDSEY FENNER When I received the community meeting notice about a new three-story apartment building directly behind my house, my first concern was for my garden, and how much sunlight it might lose. When I realized this was a redevelopment project by the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority, I knew I needed to dig a little deeper. What would happen to my neighbors living in the existing public housing duplex? How is this project funded? In the very back corner of my mind, I remembered something from a few years ago: concerns about the privatization of public housing. Did that have anything to do with this project? The redevelopment on my block is part of a larger, city-wide project by the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority. MPHA is best known for the large apartment towers they run. Less well-known are over 700 MPHA single family homes, duplexes, and fourplexes scattered throughout Minneapolis. MPHA is redeveloping 16 of these “scattered sites,” including the [...]
