FREE SPEECH ZONE | Join The March For Worker’s Rights With CTUL

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Ten years ago, Twin Cities retail cleaning workers made an average of ten to eleven dollars an hour, and most of them had full benefits. Today, most are lucky to make minimum wage, and many make less. And of course in most cases benefits are a thing of the past. CTUL (Centro de Trabjadores Unidos en Lucha), an organization by workers and for workers, has been working on a campaign to improve the lot of the Twin Cities retail cleaning workers, not just individual cases today but for all such workers in the the future. Beginning with letters asking such stores as Lund’s/Byerly’s, Target and Cub Foods to meet with us to discuss these issues (producing no results), escalating to a press conference going public with the campaign, we have continually taken this campaign to new levels. Continue Reading

Appeals court supports whistleblower; state senator asks for fed’s help

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In a huge victory for two former Minnesota OSHA inspectors, the Minnesota Court of Appeals Tuesday overturned a District Court ruling that had dismissed one of the cases. Terry Swanson will now have his day in court. Doug Crosby’s case will be heard by the Appeals Court March 23. Swanson and Crosby filed whistleblower lawsuits that say supervisors changed their signed reports, documents were removed from inspection files, and inspectors were pressured to not find violations against MNSTAR companies. Those companies have been recognized by MNOSHA for having labor/management safety committees that go beyond MNOSHA compliance standards. Continue Reading

OPINION | State’s program to help injured workers is badly in need of reform

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In a time when workers’ compensation claims are going down it is unfathomable that some workers injured on the job are not being treated fairly and not receiving their full benefits. At the same time, employers are being let off the hook for not carrying workers’ compensation insurance and their fines are not being enforced. A report recently released by the Office of the Legislative Auditor found that the state’s workers’ compensation program is inefficient, short-staffed, overly complex and in need of reform. The lack of oversight is harming workers and costing the state money. Workers who are entitled to benefits are stonewalled by a complex system and too many people simply give up. Continue Reading

Proposed changes to workers’ compensation system raise concerns

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Labor and Industry Commissioner Steve Sviggum is recommending some major changes in the state’s workers’ compensation system, including cutting coverage for undocumented immigrants and providing incentives for injured workers to waive their legal rights. But a state advisory council that meets this week may not go along with the more radical aspects of his plan. When a worker is injured on the job, the worker’s compensation system provides for medical treatment, partial payment of wages while a worker recovers and assistance in rehabilitation and retraining. In extreme cases, workers are compensated for serious injuries such as the loss of a limb. Under this “no-fault” process, workers are covered regardless of the circumstances of the injury and employers who purchase worker’s compensation insurance are immune from lawsuits. Continue Reading

Local food’s toughest customers

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On an overcast fall day, I got a tour of the Meat Center of Appleton (population: 2,871) in the heart of western Minnesota’s wild goose and domestic corn country. If an extensive local food system is to take root throughout the Midwest and beyond, its reach can’t be limited to hip urban neighborhoods and earnest college campuses. It also has to catch on in places like Appleton — and it starts with people like Alyce Fust. Fust, who owns and operates the small processing plant with her husband Dave, showed me around as a handful of workers cut up sides of beef and stuffed sausages. Propped against the wall was a sign that showed how an enlightened small town business can help people shop their conscience: “Beef Sale: 1/4 Beef. Continue Reading

“I really like my job…I really want to be union”

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They work 60-70 hours a week. They say they are paid a monthly salary that averages out to about $10 an hour because there is no overtime pay. They receive no benefits. That means no health insurance, and no vacation, and only one paid holiday per year – Thanksgiving. They are the drivers who work for Vincent Trucking, and its alter-ego, Metro Trucking. Continue Reading