Chicago, IL – On June 11, the Caucus of Rank and File Educators (CORE) won – actually swept, with wide margins – an election victory in the Chicago Teachers Union. With President Karen Lewis at the head of the slate, the reformers won every seat: all four officers, nine citywide offices, and 23 vice-presidencies for elementary and high schools. The old-guard leadership, of the United Progressive Caucus, with presidential candidate Marilyn Stewart, went down, with only 8300 votes against CORE’s 12,000.
Saint Paul, MN – “Everywhere we go, people want to know, who we are, so we tell them. We are the union, the mighty mighty union…” Over 50 nurses clad in red sang verse after verse as they marched on the picket line in front of Bethesda Hospital the morning of June 10 in the largest nursing strike in U.S. history. Starting at 7:00 a.m., 12,000 Twin Cities nurses went on strike for patient safety and to retain their pensions. Bethesda Hospital, a small hospital near the State Capitol in Saint Paul, has a nursing staff of about 150 who were taking turns on the picket line during the 24-hour strike.
Minneapolis, MN – 12,000 nurses began a one-day strike here June 10. The main issues are pensions and staffing levels that ensure patient safety. The strike has attracted widespread public backing and large numbers of supporters have joined the picket lines.
St. Paul, MN – A packed house listened to labor leaders, religious leaders, politicians and nurses on the night before the largest nursing strike in U.S. history is set to take place on June 10, when 12,000 Twin Cities nurses in the Minnesota Nursing Association (MNA) are prepared to go out on strike starting at 7:00 a.m.
12,000 prepared to walk out in largest nursing strike in US history
St. Paul, MN – On June 10, nurses from around the Twin Cities are ready to walk off their jobs in a one-day strike after nearly three months of contract negotiations. On May 19, over 90% of 9200 nurses voted overwhelmingly to reject the hospitals’ offer. While the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) continued to try to bargain in good faith, the hospitals refused to respond to even one proposal put forward by the nurses’ union.
Chicago, IL – Larry Davis, the new president of Teamsters Local 743 in Chicago, fired five staff members on May 28. Davis had been installed by International President Jim Hoffa on May 14.
Chicago, IL – Around 200 workers, students, and special guests from the Illinois state legislature came out for an energized protest against the Board of Trustees meeting, May 20, at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Protestors demanded that the incoming University of Illinois president Michael Hogan turn down his $170,000 raise, chanting, “Chop from the Top!” Members of SEIU Local 73 in conjunction with the coalition UIC-ABC (Against Budget Cuts) organized the picket and rally.
Fight Back! reporters interviewed Sal Rosselli on April 21, 2010 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was in Minneapolis to speak at a fundraiser for the National Union of Healthcare Workers.
Minneapolis, MN – The Chop from the Top Coalition at the University of Minnesota, which includes undergraduate & graduate students, staff and faculty, blasted the budget proposal that University President Bob Bruinicks presented at a meeting of the Board of Regents, May 14th
