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U.S. House subcommittee uncovers thousands of pandemic evictions by corporate landlords
A new U.S. House report details how four corporate landlords resorted to aggressive and deceptive practices to force out tenants during the COVID-19 pandemic, violating state and federal rules aimed at keeping people in their homes during the public health emergency. Together, the four corporate entities filed nearly 15,000 evictions against renters across the country […]
Ethics committee upholds complaint against Sen. Omar Fateh, dismisses others
A Minnesota Senate ethics committee on Wednesday upheld part of a complaint against Sen. Omar Fateh, DFL-Minneapolis, for failing to report paying $1,000 to Somali TV for two campaign ads. The committee dismissed the other part of the complaint filed by a group of Republican lawmakers that alleged Fateh inappropriately sought $500,000 in funding for […]
Nurses vote to get rid of union at Mayo Clinic’s Mankato hospital
Nurses at the Mayo Clinic’s Mankato hospital voted 213 to 181 to decertify their union on Monday in a significant blow to Minnesota’s powerful nurses’ union, and a victory for anti-union activists who have focused their efforts on health care workers. The decision to sever ties with the Minnesota Nurses Association, which represents about 22,000 […]
Nurses vote on getting rid of union at Mayo Clinic’s Mankato hospital
MANKATO — Five-hundred nurses at the Mayo Clinic’s Mankato hospital will decide on Monday whether or not to get rid of their union after more than seven decades. If the nurses vote to dissolve the union, they would deliver one of the most significant blows in recent memory to the powerful Minnesota Nurses Association and […]
More than 400 Planned Parenthood workers unionize across five states
Frontline health care workers at Planned Parenthood North Central States voted overwhelmingly to unionize, they announced Thursday, with 90% of ballots cast in favor of a union. “This victory is a huge turning point for us and reproductive health care workers everywhere. Because it’s us who actually makes these clinics run,” said Sage Shemroske, a […]
Allina ordered to pay $400,000 to union, faces many more anti-labor complaints
The union representing Allina’s maintenance and service staff won a major victory this month when an arbitrator ruled the health care system must pay about $400,000 in restitution for halting the collection of union dues after their labor contract expired. SEIU Healthcare Minnesota and Iowa says Allina sought to kneecap the union during a critical […]
Sen. Smith agrees with Warren, Sanders: Biden should take executive action on cannabis
A group of Democratic senators — including Minnesota’s Tina Smith — want President Joe Biden to take executive action to decriminalize marijuana and exonerate Americans imprisoned for non-violent cannabis charges. In a letter to Biden on Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and five other senators urged the president to use his power to […]
American Public Media cancels award-winning ‘In the Dark’ podcast
After six years, American Public Media is canceling its flagship investigative podcast “In the Dark” as part of a larger shake-up at the company. In an email to staff on Wednesday, CEO Jean Taylor said the company was eliminating eight positions, “guided by the understanding that we have finite resources and talent which should be […]
House Dems on edibles: ‘We absolutely did this on purpose’
House Democrats responsible for legalizing low-dose THC products said on Tuesday the under-the-radar approach that seemingly took Republicans by surprise was a necessary gambit to fully legalizing marijuana in the future. “We absolutely did this on purpose. It was an intentional step forward,” said House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler, DFL-Golden Valley, who authored another bill […]
Tenants say landlords are skirting St. Paul rent control with new utility charges
Some St. Paul landlords, facing soaring inflation and energy costs, are trying to get around the city’s new rent control law by charging tenants for utilities that used to be included in the rent. It’s leading to rent increases of more than 10% for some renters in a city where landlords may only increase rent […]
APM Reports staff allege unfair labor practices by Minnesota Public Radio
Employees of the recently dissolved APM Reports unit of Minnesota Public Radio allege the company hasn’t told them whose jobs are at risk or negotiated with them over the layoffs, according to an unfair labor practices complaint filed with the National Labor Relations Board. MPR President Duchesne Drew sent an email to staff on May […]
Gov. Tim Walz does not support abortion up to the moment of birth, contrary to Jensen claim
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision overturning Roe v. Wade, which for 50 years had guaranteed Americans the right to an abortion, has catapulted the issue into the forefront of the Minnesota governor’s race. Likely Republican nominee Scott Jensen, who supports banning abortion, falsely said Gov. Tim Walz holds the view that abortion should be […]