Blog

April 29 Women of Steel Conference

The USW District 11 Women of Steel will be having a day long conference on April 29 in Shakopee, Minnesota from 9:30am to 3pm.  At our monthly membership meeting we voted to send anyone from our local's Women of Steel committee who would like to attend, plus up to 3 folks who aren't on the committee but are interested in checking it out.  Contact the office at [email protected] if you interested and we will send in a time off request to your employer for you.  The plan is to head down to Shakopee on the evening of April 28 after work and come back the

2025 Local 9460 College Scholarship Applications

The application for our local union's 2025 college scholarships is out.  If you have a child or dependent who will be attending technical school, community college, undergrad university or grad school this coming year, feel free to apply.  Here is a PDF of the application, along with the rules: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HAFeZDVyDYLtbgXo8wdLz72yV2fPcuP3/view?usp=sharing

Contract Ratified at Ecumen Lakeshore

Thank you to everyone who fill out and mailed in their negotiations survey.  Our Negotiating Committee used them for when contract negotiations took place on February 11th.  We have reached a tentative agreement with the employer, and by the time you get this newsletter the vote will have taken.  The TA contains a 13% raise spread out over 3 years.  And also new language giving workers the option of refusing up to 3 mandates, which will put us on a par with the RNs.

Upcoming Steward Training

Our local union is looking to hold a day long steward training on April 2. If you've ever been interested in checking out what it means to be a union steward, here is your chance! If you're interested send us an email at [email protected]. We will put off a time off request with your employer and cover your lost wages. The training takes place at the Duluth Labor Temple. If you go through the training, and decide this is for you, you get to be added to the official list of Local 9460 stewards!

Tentative Agreement Reached at Ecumen

ECUMEN: Local 9460 and Ecumen Lakeshore have reached a tentative agreement in our contract negotiations. The TA is for a 3 year contract containing a 13% raise (6% for year one, 4% for year two and 3% for year three). There is also an increase in preceptor pay from 50 cents an hour to $1/hr, and new language allowing workers to decline up to 3 mandates a year. We will be holding a vote on the Tentative Agreement on Thursday, Feb. 20. We'll be in the Gales room (which is next to the Chapel) from 6am to 3pm.

Mock Lobby Day training

The Rapid Response project of the United Steelworkers is holding a Mock Lobby Day class. This is a training for how to lobby elected officials on behalf of the union. The class will be on March 26 down in St. Paul, MN. At our last membership meeting we voted to send up to nine members to this class.

Deer River Workers Win Strike Against Essentia!

After a 49 day strike, the Essentia Health Deer River workers represented by the Service Employees International Union have won their strike.  We offer our congratulations to our union siblings for their well deserved and hard fought victory.  We were proud to stand in solidarity with them.

Duluth rally in support of Essentia Deer River strike

This coming Wednesday there is going to be a solidarity rally in Duluth in support of the striking workers at Essentia Health Deer River. The Deer River workers, who are part of the SEIU union, have been on strike for over a month.  These courageous workers have been out there on the picket line every day - no matter how cold - even on Christmas and New Years. They are fighting to get their wages brought up to the same level as Essentia workers at other facilities, and they're refusing Essentia's proposals to be able to move workers between any facility.