Minneapolis, MN – Scabby the rat has become a familiar figure on the University of Minnesota Minneapolis campus as the contract fight between Teamsters Local 320 and the administration intensifies. Teamsters voted by a 93% margin to strike if the university does not agree to their demands to end poverty wages. The university brought in a company called “Chefs On the Fly” to scab on the potential strike and has put them to work in dining facilities. They are being housed in a hotel near campus, the Hilton Garden Inn.

On October 17 Teamsters took Scabby the rat to Middlebrook, Comstock, Sanford and the 17th Avenue Residence Halls to draw attention to the university’s anti-labor policies.

Mick Kelly, a Teamster 320 steward and negotiating committee member states, “We are not going to put up with poverty wages. We will do what ever it takes. Students support us and ask how they can help. The administration and their scab operations in the kitchens will never stop us from winning.”

#MinneapolisMN #PeoplesStruggles #Teamsters #Strikes #TeamstersLocal320

Minneapolis, MN – More than 300 University of Minnesota (UMN) service workers represented by Teamsters Local 320, along with members AFSCME, students, faculty, and others, protested on the school’s campus, August 30, to demand an end to poverty wages and abusive employment practices.

Local 320 represents 1500 workers at UMN who clean buildings, service dormitories, maintain grounds, prepare food, maintain HVAC systems, care for research animals, drive trucks, and perform other activities across the university’s five campuses. Many of the workers are Black, including immigrants from Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea.

According to a recent survey of more than 450 current and former UMN service workers, more than 62% reported not earning enough money to pay for basic expenses every month. Almost 12% reported experiencing homelessness at least once while working at the university.

#MinneapolisMN #PeoplesStruggles #Teamsters #TeamstersLocal320

The workers, who are members of Teamsters Local 320, are set to engage in mediation tomorrow, March 18, which is required during the cooling off period. Settlement seems unlikely and workers are well organized for the fight. At issue are pay parity with prosecutors, overwhelming caseloads, and remote work.

Their employer knows that its position is weak given the resolve of the workers, public support and solidarity with other unions. So the employer has entered into a campaign of intimidation and workplace harassment to head off the strike.

Managers have been denying vacation requests, refused to allow workers to take their children to medical appointments and tried to force workers into providing details about strike plans. While disappointed about how they are being treated, workers are becoming hardened in their resolve to get a fair contract that addresses their demands.

As many of the workers are lawyers, there have been discussions about the ethical concerns of going on strike. They have concluded that they can strike since it is specifically permitted under state law and their district chief public defenders are the ones actually appointed to provide representation. The chiefs decide at will which lawyer will represent any particular client.

In a heavy-handed move, the Minnesota Office of Lawyer Professional Responsibility, which is overseen by the Minnesota Supreme Court, issued an advisory early this morning indicating that striking by lawyers is unethical. The OLPR is headed by Susan Humiston, who is currently under scrutiny for workplace bullying. She seems to have thought she could bully public defense workers. That’s not how things worked out, however.

Public defense lawyers quickly went to work scrutinizing the OLPR advisory and realized it was significantly flawed and did not accurately reflect the law. According to Veronica Surges, a public defense lawyer, “we quickly saw the advisory for what it was. It was an attempt to stop us from standing up for ourselves. It was a legally-flawed thinly-veiled effort to dissuade a strike. If anything, the advisory has strengthened our resolve to fight.”

Public defense workers provide representation for approximately 90% of people charged with crimes in Minnesota. A significant number of their clients are oppressed nationalities. Darcy Sherman, also a public defense lawyer, says, “We are fighting for ourselves and our clients. We are convinced we will win this and we won’t back down in the face of intimidation by our employer.”

#Minnesota #strike #TeamstersLocal320 #PublicDefenseLawyers

The workers, who are members of Teamsters Local 320, are set to engage in mediation tomorrow, March 18, which is required during the cooling off period. Settlement seems unlikely and workers are well organized for the fight. At issue are pay parity with prosecutors, overwhelming caseloads, and remote work.

Their employer knows that its position is weak given the resolve of the workers, public support and solidarity with other unions. So the employer has entered into a campaign of intimidation and workplace harassment to head off the strike.

Managers have been denying vacation requests, refused to allow workers to take their children to medical appointments and tried to force workers into providing details about strike plans. While disappointed about how they are being treated, workers are becoming hardened in their resolve to get a fair contract that addresses their demands.

As many of the workers are lawyers, there have been discussions about the ethical concerns of going on strike. They have concluded that they can strike since it is specifically permitted under state law and their district chief public defenders are the ones actually appointed to provide representation. The chiefs decide at will which lawyer will represent any particular client.

In a heavy-handed move, the Minnesota Office of Lawyer Professional Responsibility, which is overseen by the Minnesota Supreme Court, issued an advisory early this morning indicating that striking by lawyers is unethical. The OLPR is headed by Susan Humiston, who is currently under scrutiny for workplace bullying. She seems to have thought she could bully public defense workers. That’s not how things worked out, however.

Public defense lawyers quickly went to work scrutinizing the OLPR advisory and realized it was significantly flawed and did not accurately reflect the law. According to Veronica Surges, a public defense lawyer, “we quickly saw the advisory for what it was. It was an attempt to stop us from standing up for ourselves. It was a legally-flawed thinly-veiled effort to dissuade a strike. If anything, the advisory has strengthened our resolve to fight.”

Public defense workers provide representation for approximately 90% of people charged with crimes in Minnesota. A significant number of their clients are oppressed nationalities. Darcy Sherman, also a public defense lawyer, says, “We are fighting for ourselves and our clients. We are convinced we will win this and we won’t back down in the face of intimidation by our employer.”

#Minnesota #strike #TeamstersLocal320 #PublicDefenseLawyers

Duluth, MN – Members of Teamsters Local 320 are standing strong, January 16 as they enter day two of their strike for a decent contract. The strikers who work in the Saint Louis County Public Works Department clear the roads in Minnesota’s largest county, and more snow is expected

An online petition in support of the snowplow workers has been started.

#DuluthMN #PeoplesStruggles #PublicSectorUnions #Strikes #TeamstersLocal320 #SaintLouisCountyPublicWorksDepartment #SnowPlow

Duluth, MN – Members of Teamsters Local 320, who work for the Saint Louis County Public Works Department, went on strike this morning, January 15, and are fighting to obtain a decent contract. At 533 square miles, Saint Louis County is Minnesota’s largest county. Snow is anticipated over the next several days.

#DuluthMN #PeoplesStruggles #PublicSectorUnions #Strikes #TeamstersLocal320 #SaintLouisCountyPublicWorksDepartment #SnowPlow

Minneapolis, MN – While the University of Minnesota top officials gathered for the opening of newly renovated Pioneer Hall, August 21, about 50 members of Teamsters Local 320 and other campus unions held an informational picket line to demand the year-round, full-time employment for workers in M Dining. The U of M has curtailed summer work opportunities for Teamsters and is trampling on seniority rights.

Mick Kelly, a member of the negotiating committee for U of M Teamsters told the crowd, “The university is plunging us into poverty, and this is something that we will never put up with. It is unacceptable, and the condition of dining service workers must be addressed in the new contract. We deserve better than this.”

Members of other Teamster locals, along with AFSCME 3800, also participated in the picket.

#Minneapolis #Teamsters #unions #AFSCME3800 #PublicSectorUnions #TeamstersLocal320 #picketLine

Minneapolis, MN – About 400 Teamsters and their supporters rallied at the University of Minnesota administration building, Morrill Hall, on the afternoon of Nov. 17, to demand a decent contract. Members of Teamsters Local 320 overwhelmingly passed a strike authorization vote Nov. 2, and today’s protest was billed as a “pre-strike informational picket.”

Mick Kelly, a member of the Teamster 320 negotiating committee led the crowd in chanting, “What do want? Raises and respect. When do we what it? Now.” Kelly also stated, “We need to be prepared to do whatever it takes to get the kind of contract we need.”

After the rally at the administration building, workers marched on the Donhowe Building, which houses the university labor relations officials.

The U of M is proposing Teamsters accept a three-year contract that includes a paltry increase in the first year, and no wage increases for the second and third years.

The rally drew support for a number of other labor organizations, including the campus clerical union AFSCME Local 3800, the United Food and Commercial Workers, and the Minnesota Regional Labor Federation.

Members of Students for a Democratic Society held a large banner reading, “Students and workers united in struggle.”

Local 320 Teamsters held an action the previous day, Nov. 16 on the Crookston, Minnesota campus to press the demand for a fair contract.

#MinneapolisMN #Teamsters #UniversityOfMinnesota #TeamstersLocal320

The University of Minnesota, which has huge financial reserves and cash inflows, has taken a high-handed approach to university workers, and wants to continue to pay poverty wages.

Speaking a press conference after the vote count, Dale Thames, a food service worker at a campus dining hall and a father of two who makes less than $15 per hour, stated ,“Even though I work full time it is difficult for me to provide for my kids. Considering all the amount of money the U has and makes, what they are paying me is not close to a living wage.”

Thames concluded, “I'm tired of poverty wages and I intend to do whatever it takes to get something better.”

#MinneapolisMN #Teamsters #strike #UniversityOfMinnesota #Strikes #TeamstersLocal320

Minneapolis, MN – About 100 members of Teamsters Local 320, AFSCME Local 3800, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and others rallied Sept. 8 on the University of Minnesota campus at the McNamara building to demand decent contracts for the university workers’ unions.

After the rally, workers marched into a press event that included university President Eric Kahler; the chair of the Board of Regents, university mascot Goldy Gopher, and numerous cheerleaders. Mick Kelly, a member of the Teamster Local 320 negotiating team, led workers marching into the university event with the chant, “What do we what? Decent contract! When to do we want it? Now!”

University officials we visibly shaken by the protest.

Speaking at the rally, Cherrene Horazuk, president of AFSCME 3800, stated that university workers would not be driven into poverty.

Mick Kelly of Teamsters Local 320 told the crowd, “We need to be serious. In the weeks, ahead it is not what we say that counts, it is what we do.”

#MinneapolisMN #StudentsForADemocraticSociety #Teamsters #UniversityOfMinnesota #AFSCMELocal3800 #TeamstersLocal320

Minneapolis, MN – More than 350 workers on the Twin Cities and Duluth campuses of the University of Minnesota braved the rain, Nov. 17, to rally and picket for raises and respect for unionized staff at the U of MN. They were joined by university students, faculty and community members in calling for an end to the two university system – one where a few administrators at the top are getting rich, while the majority of frontline workers are falling further and further behind.

Members of U of MN AFSCME and Teamsters Local 320, which collectively represent over 4000 university workers, are currently in contract negotiations with the university. After six months of contract negotiations, the university’s wage proposals stand at between 0.25% and 0.75%.

Cherrene Horazuk, president of AFSCME 3800, the U of MN clerical workers, said, “It’s appalling that the university administration has spent over $2 million on raises, buyouts and settling sexual discrimination lawsuits for 11 people – eight men and three women. It's clear that the university has money to spend on the people at the top. They need to prioritize dignified salary increases and equitable leave benefits for the workers who make up the most diverse segment of the university workforce. 84% of clerical workers are female and 22% of unionized workers are people of color.”

Horazuk continued, “$100,000 could provide $15-an-hour salaries for the clerical workers who make less than that. $175,000 could provide the six-week paid parental leave that is equivalent to what faculty and professional employees are given. $1.5 million could provide 2.5% salary increases to the more than 1600 clerical workers at the U who are living paycheck to paycheck.”

Missy Bernard, clerical worker in the College of Education and Human Development, said, “The university’s offer of 0.375% equates to $0.54 per day for me. An increase of less than 1% does not even cover the cost of the gas it takes me to get to work, much less the cost of school lunches to feed my two children.”

Mick Kelly, member of Teamsters 320 negotiating committee said, “Right now there are 400 Teamsters at the U making less than $15 an hour. We insist on our right to a decent standard of living. We are tired of making due with less. We want and expect raises and respect.”

Nasser Noor, Teamster and Senior Building and Grounds worker, said, “I clean 43 toilets every day in the dorm where I work. Workers like me make this campus a beautiful place for students to study and faculty to work. We deserve to be treated with respect and to be paid a good wage for the work we do.”

The campus unions are also fighting for the same amount of parental leave that management receives. Unionized and civil service workers receive two weeks paid leave after the birth of a child, while management receives six weeks paid leave. Janel Mendoza, clerical worker on the University of Minnesota Morris campus, said, “When my youngest child was born, I had to rely on short-term disability to supplement my income. Faculty and professional employees receive 30 days paid leave. We receive ten. Tell me again, how this is fair? The idea that we do not deserve the same paid time off as them is absolutely shameful and infuriating.”

Mendoza continued, “Instead of relaxing and acclimating ourselves to our newfound parenthood, we are worried about how to make our house payment, or searching for a daycare will take our few weeks old infant.” Mendoza closed by saying, “Our children deserve the same time with us as those of faculty and professional employees. It’s high time the university closes the gap between the haves and have-nots.”

The informational pickets ended with union leaders expressing their commitment to continue the fight for raises and respect. Teamsters return to bargain next week, and AFSCME returns to the negotiating table in early December.

#MinneapolisMN #Teamsters #AFSCMELocal3800 #TeamstersLocal320

Minneapolis, MN – More than 250 university workers, students, faculty and community allies rallied at the steps of Morrill Hall at the University of Minnesota, Sept. 29, to demand raises, respect and a good contract for frontline workers.

The rally was organized by University Unions United – AFSCME Locals 3800, 3801, 3937, 3260 and Teamsters Local 320 – which collectively represent 4000 clerical, technical, health care and building and service workers at the University of Minnesota. The unionized workers are in contract negotiations with the university administration. After nearly four months of negotiations, the administration is proposing raises of less than 1%, which amounts to 7to 15 cents an hour. AFSCME and Teamsters are calling for a $15 minimum wage and raises that will allow workers to get ahead.

Cherrene Horazuk, president of AFSCME 3800 – the clerical workers union – called for an end to the ‘two university system,’ where a few at the top get rich while those at the bottom languish in poverty. 223 administrators at the university, the vast majority of whom are white men, make more than $150,000 per year, while nearly 500 unionized workers, mostly women and people of color, make less than $15 an hour.

Horazuk said, “The Board of Regents are debating a compensation policy which would allow them to give $100,000 incentives to managers, while the raises being offered to frontline workers won’t even cover bus fare, one-way, off-peak.”

Mick Kelly, a member of the negotiating committee for Teamsters 320 told the crowd, “We will only get what we are organized to take. The U will not listen to reason. It’s what we do that counts.”

Solidarity and support for the frontline workers was expressed by prominent trade union leaders, including Brian Aldes, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters 320, and Eliot Seide, Director of AFSCME Council 5, representing 43,000 workers statewide. Seide gave a fiery speech and led the attendees in chanting, “Who does the work? We do!” Pat Guernsey, President of AFSCME Local 552 – Hennepin County Probation Officers – offered the solidarity of Hennepin County workers, who are also in a contract battle, and said, “We know as a union that we are stronger together!”

Banners and t-shirts from many other unions could be seen in the crowd, including St. Paul Federation of Teachers, Education Minnesota, SEIU, Communication Workers of America, ATU 1005, Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation, MN AFL-CIO.

Heartfelt thanks was given to the frontline workers from Charmaine Chua, a graduate student in the Political Science Department, who talked about the day in the life of a grad student, and the many ways clerical workers helped make her research possible. Gratitude and solidarity was also expressed by Manu Berduc, an undergraduate student and member of Students for a Democratic Society, and Michele Lekas, contingent faculty member, who is helping to organize a faculty union at the University with MN Academics United.

Cherrene Horazuk ended the rally by saying, “In its strategic plan, the university is asking its best researchers and brightest minds to solve society’s grand challenges, and hopes to answer the question, ‘How will we ensure just and equitable societies?’ The administration should start by ensuring a just and equitable university.”

Rally participants then marched to a nearby building where clerical contract negotiations were taking place. Horazuk invited people to join the bargaining session, where rank-and-file workers would be giving their personal testimonies to the university negotiating committee. Two dozen people joined the bargaining session. Clerical workers talked about the importance of dignified wages, equitable parental leave, restoration of the regents scholarship and an end to workplace bullying.

Janel Mendoza, member of the bargaining committee and clerical worker on the University of Minnesota Morris campus, spoke about parental leave. Unionized and civil service workers receive two weeks paid leave after the birth of a child, while management receives six weeks paid leave. The unions are fighting for the same leave that management receives. Mendoza said, “When my youngest child was born, I had to rely on short-term disability to supplement my income. Short-term disability only covers 66. 67% of our already low pay – for an Office Support Assistant, we are talking $9.61 an hour. After nine months of satisfactory employment, faculty and professional employees receive 30 days paid leave. We receive ten. Tell me again, how this is fair? The idea that we do not deserve the same paid time off as professionals and faculty is absolutely shameful and infuriating.”

Mendoza continued, “We must plan, prepare, work and save up enough time so that we can have the same time off given to faculty and professionals. We must earn our time to spend with our newborns. Instead of relaxing and acclimating ourselves to our newfound parenthood, we are worried about how to make our house payment, or searching for a daycare will take our few weeks old infant.” Mendoza closed by saying, “Our children deserve the same time with us as those of faculty and professional employees. It’s high time the university closes the gap between the haves and have-nots.”

#MinneapolisMN #Teamsters #UniversityOfMinnesota #AFSCMELocal3800 #PublicSectorUnions #PresidentKaler #TeamstersLocal320

Minneapolis, MN – More than 60 members of AFSCME and Teamster Local 320 marched to the office of University of Minnesota (U of MN) President Kaler, where they delivered thousands of petition signatures from staff, faculty and students calling on the university administration to give U of MN workers raises and respect. The chant, “President Kaler hear our call, your crummy offer is way too small,” echoed through the halls of the administration building.

President Kaler is currently in contract negotiations with unionized worker at the university. After nearly two months of negotiations, the administration is proposing raises of less than 1%, which amounts to 7 to 15 cents an hour. 223 senior administrators earn more than $150,000 a year, while more than 475 unionized workers make less than $15 an hour, or $31,000 a year. AFSCME and Teamsters are calling for a $15 minimum wage, and raises that will allow workers to get ahead.

Teamster negotiating committee member Mick Kelly told the crowd “We have had enough. We are not going to beg our way to a decent contract. What we do, the action we take, will determine the outcome of this fight.”

Cherrene Horazuk, president of AFSCME 3800, said, “President Kaler's wage offer isn't even enough to pay for bus fare. Many of us struggle to earn enough money to repay student loans, buy a modest house, have a child, or to retire. The 0.375% raise being proposed to clerical workers is an insult. It's like giving a one dollar tip for a nice dinner. The money is there – the administration is just not willing to spend it on frontline workers.”

Steff Yorek, an AFSCME 3800 member stated, “With the Kaler administration rocked by scandal after scandal one has to wonder if the administration is trying to hold onto money to pay for lawsuits against disgraced members of President Kaler’s leadership team.”

#MinneapolisMN #Teamsters #UniversityOfMinnesota #AFSCMELocal3800 #PresidentKaler #TeamstersLocal320

Minneapolis, MN – University of Minnesota campus union workers, holding signs demanding “raises and respect“ held a press conference regarding the U of M proposed budget before testifying at the board of regents public budget hearing.

At the budget hearing, members of U of M AFSCME and Teamsters Local 320, which collectively represent over 4000 University workers, challenged the U of M budget proposals.

Cherrene Horazuk, president of AFSCME 3800, said, “President Kaler’s budget continues the fiction that the university has budget problems while it continues to prioritize high paid administrators. With all the unanswered questions surrounding the administration and the board of regents of late, frontline workers are asking tough questions about wage and benefit disparities and we expect answers.”

AFSCME and Teamsters Local 320 have come together to demand adequate raises for frontline staff. Mick Kelly, member of Teamsters 320 negotiating committee said, “Right now there are 400 Teamsters at the U making less than $15 an hour. We are holding the university accountable and insist on our right to a decent standard of living. We are tired of making due with less. We want and expect raises and respect.”

Lorraine Haley, member of AFSCME 3800 stated, “I’ve worked at the university for 28 years, but the only way I’ll be able to afford retirement is if I get a part-time job.”

Claire Thiele, a lab animal attendant and a member of Teamsters 320 told the regents, “The work we do is physically, mentally and emotionally taxing, and essential to the research done at the U, and yet we are among the lowest paid of the frontline staff here.” Thiele makes less than $15 an hour.

Horazuk concluded, “As the sixth largest employer in the state of Minnesota, and as the state's Land Grant University, it's time for the U of M to close the gap between haves and have-nots within its own workforce. This is a public university, not a private business where a few people on the top get CEO salaries while those on the bottom struggle to survive.”

#MinneapolisMN #Teamsters #UniversityOfMinnesota #AFSCMELocal3800 #TeamstersLocal320