“What Could We Win Together?” Unions, Worker Centers, and Community Groups Converge for March Week of Action
February 28th, 2024Twin Cities workers and activists are preparing for a powerful week of taking action together around shared demands for dignified work, good schools, stable housing, and a livable planet.
This moment has been 10 years in the making. It is the result of “a level of union and community group coordination not seen in the Twin Cities in recent memory,” and several Workers Confluence grantees and labor partners are participating, most prominently SEIU Local 26 and CTUL.
Schedule of Events:
(the most up-to-date information on the week’s events is available here)
Saturday 3/2
Kickoff Rally — 11:00am at Carpenters Hall, 700 Olive Street in St. Paul (use 710 south entrance)
Wildcat Cabaret presents: Union Fever! — 7:00pm at Sabathani Community Center in Minneapolis. An evening of subversive skits and songs of labor solidarity performed by local activists, educators and artists. Tickets here or at the door.
Monday 3/4
Rally for Dignified Work — 12:30pm at Minneapolis City Hall, 350 South 5th Street
Tuesday 3/5
Rally with Striking Nursing Home Workers — 1:30pm outside the State Capitol, 75 Rev. Dr. MLK Blvd, St. Paul
Wednesday 3/6
Rally for Dignified Work — 11:30am at MSP International Airport, 7150 Humphrey Drive, Minneapolis
Take Action for a Green Future — 5:00pm at 2808 Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis. Visit the future site of the Rise Up Center, a new hub for BIPOC clean energy workforce development, to learn about the Block by Block Healthy Homes Initiative. Register here.
Thursday 3/7
March with CTUL Construction Workers — 2:30pm beginning at 724 N. 1st Street. Details here.
Forum for Stable Housing — 5:00pm at MFT Union Hall, 67 8th Ave NE in Minneapolis
Friday 3/8
Rally for Good Schools and Dignified Work — 4:00pm outside the State Capitol, 75 Rev. Dr. MLK Blvd, St. Paul
By synchronizing their contracts to expire around the same time, the participating unions created this opportunity for coordinated action. By developing relationships with community groups and working together to identify the connections between their issues, these unions set the stage for this powerful moment. This practice of unions and community groups partnering around a long-term vision for the structural changes they want to see in their communities is called Bargaining for the Common Good, and has also been called Community Unionism or Social Movement Unionism.
Resources to learn more:
Minnesota is Headed for a Workers vs Bosses Showdown That’s 10 Years in the Making (Workday Magazine)
Aligning for Power: A Case Study of Bargaining for the Common Good in Minnesota
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