Work & Money
Oklahoma senator challenges Teamsters president to fight at U.S. Senate hearing
WASHINGTON — Sen. Markwayne Mullin, an Oklahoma Republican, challenged the head of the Teamsters union to a physical fight at a U.S. Senate hearing Tuesday intended to showcase how labor unions are making families’ lives better. The tense confrontation at the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing stemmed from acrimonious posts on social […]
Congress nears another government shutdown deadline on Friday at midnight
WASHINGTON — Congress appeared to be on the edge of approving another short-term government funding bill this week, though several hurdles remain if lawmakers want to stave off a partial government shutdown when the current funding law expires at the end of the week. Democratic leaders and President Joe Biden expressed some skepticism about House […]
3M fined $312,000 following worker’s death at Wisconsin plant and other labor news
Take a seat in the Break Room, our weekly round-up of labor news in Minnesota and beyond. Maplewood-based 3M could have prevented a worker’s death at its southwestern Wisconsin manufacturing plant, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The worker, Trisha Jones, died in May after being caught in a machine’s rotating rollers while helping […]
New federal rule seeks to curb ‘deceptive practices’ in poultry production
Federal ag officials are poised to enact new disclosure requirements for the poultry industry to give chicken growers a better understanding of their potential profits. The changes are meant to address some long-standing complaints by farmers who are contracted by large companies to grow chickens for meat, U.S. Department of Agriculture officials said Wednesday. Most […]
Borrowers weigh personal, professional options as student loan payments resume
Justin Brown, a father of a 2-year-old who lives with his wife in the St. Louis, Missouri area, has $20,000 in student loan debt. Before the pause on loan payments at the start of the pandemic in 2020, he paid $300 a month. But now that Brown has a family, his financial responsibilities have grown […]
Non-union workers see pay bump following UAW victory, and other labor news
Take a seat in the Break Room, our weekly round-up of labor news in Minnesota and beyond. Toyota told workers they would be getting raises across its U.S. plants — all non-union — after the United Auto Workers union reached historic tentative agreements with Ford, General Motors and Stellantis. The pay raises, first reported by […]
As hospices privatize, workers want a union
This story is republished with permission from Capital & Main. Read the original here and their series on how workers are fighting back against inequality. This February, just a couple months before he turned 92, Daniel Ellsberg learned he had inoperable terminal pancreatic cancer. Best known in journalism circles for leaking the Pentagon Papers in […]
Minnesota AG Ellison sues Montana company’s officers, alleging predatory lending
Fort Belknap’s short-term lending operations might not be able to do business with anyone in Minnesota for much longer after Attorney General Keith Ellison sued their CEO and board chairman this week, alleging the companies have been violating state and federal law by handing out, and collecting on, loans with exorbitant interest rates. Those companies […]
Problems plaguing small outdoor recreation businesses explored at U.S. Senate hearing
WASHINGTON — Operators and promoters of outdoor recreation companies said at a U.S. Senate hearing that small tourist businesses like theirs are a critical part of the rural U.S. economy facing multiple challenges. Witnesses before the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship on Wednesday listed climate change, inflation, high gas prices and a potential […]
GOP states embrace Uber, Lyft to take low-income patients to medical appointments
This month, Mississippi becomes the latest state to partner with ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft to ferry residents to their medical appointments. It’s a bid to improve overall health in a state where advocates and medical groups have called health care a crisis that’s getting worse. Ryan Kelly, executive director of the Mississippi […]
Nearly two-thirds of Minnesota undergrads take out student loans
Nearly two-thirds of Minnesota students who graduated with bachelor’s degrees last year have student debt, and those who took out loans owe an average of $24,000. Students earning master’s and doctoral degrees take out loans less frequently, but when they do, they borrow more money than undergraduates, according to a Minnesota Department of Higher Education […]
Minnesota paid leave program will require higher taxes than originally thought, actuary says
Minnesota employers and workers will have to pay about 18% more than originally thought for a new state-run paid family and medical leave program slated to start in 2026, according to a state-commissioned actuarial analysis. Given the new analysis, the annual payroll tax on wages — 0.78% split between the employer and the worker in […]