‘Labor News’ Archives
5 Worker-Cooperative Owners ANNOUNCE
May Day Cafe OPEN Again!
MAY DAY CAFE Press Release Adapted ABOVE: ‘Now Worker Owned!’ banner proudly displayed. Photo: Laura Hulscher The May Day Cafe Workers Cooperative is Minneapolis’s newest Worker Co-op. The Cafe reopened to the public on Friday, February 7th 2025. FamiliarityThe new owners are excited to welcome you back into this beloved and longstanding neighborhood establishment with a new vision of intentionally deepening the space as a community resource.You will see lots of familiar faces as most of the employees have stayed on and are on their way to becoming worker-owners. While sustaining a commitment to affordability and the bakery staples that regulars have come to know and love, over time you will also see some new menu items and fresh ideas. Founding worker-owners from left: Sonja Felsch, Tyler Diethart, Cassandra Hendricks, Sunny Draves-Kellerman, and Mira Klein. How It Happened“The last 12 months of work to make this cooperative transition has been exhausting, but [...]
Building Dignity and Respect Program Enlists Local Developers
Compiled by HARVEY WINJE Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en la Lucha (CTUL), located at 3715 Chicago Avenue, announced on October 9th that the first developers have committed to join their groundbreaking Building Dignity and Respect (BDR) Program. The developers are Alliance Housing and Hope Community, two mission driven housing developers. BackgroundFor more than two years, workers have raised concerns about the crisis in the Twin Citiesnon-union construction sector, including rampant wage theft and misclassification, dangerousconditions, and a pattern of criminal activity. Workers have been calling on developers to join theBDR program, which utilizes an independent monitoring model to ensure compliance with laborprotections on construction sites. The model, known as Worker-driven Social Responsibility, hasproven effective at eradicating abuse in complex industries like U.S. agriculture and internationalgarment industries. This event marks a historic milestone in workers’ [...]
Minnesota Nurses Strike Settlement Is a Win for Patients
By HARRY LEEDS, RN After intense negotiations, Minnesota nurses at metro and Twin Ports hospitals, including Abbott Northwestern, have reached a settlement that will improve working conditions for nurses and, in turn, benefit the patients they serve. The strike was sparked by nurses' concerns about staffing levels and safety that they said were putting patients at risk. Allina Health, a hospital system at the center of the dispute, initially refused to budge on these issues, leading the nurses to strike for three days in September. They threatened to strike again from December 11th through December 31st. This comes at a time when the “tripledemic” of RSV, influenza, and COVID are filling hospitals to the brim. It seems the threat of losing the skilled, dedicated nurses that staff Minnesota hospitals forced leadership to face the staffing issues that have been harming patients. The agreement includes a commitment from most hospitals to work with nurses to improve [...]
