Blog

Next Gen Conference in March '24

The United Steelworkers is going to be holding an international Next Gen conference coming up in March of 2024 in Pittsburg. The USW is strongly encouraging locals to send members who are 35 or younger or new to the union with a lot to learn. However, whether you’re a new member, a young member or a union veteran, everyone is welcome to participate. Local 9460 has voted to send members of our local Next Gen committee to the conference.

Advanced Practice Providers @ Essentia Are Unionizing

On November 28 the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) held a press conference announcing that they have filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to hold an election for the advanced practice providers at Essentia Health to join the union. Advanced practice providers is a category of workers that includes nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurse midwives and clinical nurse specialists. This organizing drives covers all of Essentia Health’s “east market” – which covers Brainerd, International Falls and Duluth MN, as well as Ashland, Hayward and Superior WI.

Nov. 21 Red Book Update

RED BOOK UPDATE: The Labor Temple didn't have enough chairs for all of the Red Book members who showed up for last night's negotiations update meeting. We had a very intense and emotional discussion. Thank you to everyone who turned out and shared their thoughts. The universal sentiment that was communicated loudly and clearly was that the company's proposals regarding pay and benefits were WAY too low, given the sacrifices we have all been making. We'll be rolling out announcements for additional actions in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!

Nov. 16 Red Book Update

RED BOOK: Our negotiating committee just concluded three days of bargaining with the company this week. The plan is to lay out a thorough update at our in-person Red Book meeting this coming Monday. The meeting will be held in the basement (Hall A) of the Duluth Labor Temple from 5:30-7:30pm. If you're unable to attend, we recommend reaching out to a WIN (Workers Information Network) team member on Tuesday.

Nov. 20 Red Book Negotiations Update Meeting

Our union is still locked in tough negotiations with Essentia Health over our Red Book - the contract that covers the technical workers at Essentia's Twin Ports facilities.  If you're a member of the Red Book unit, there will be an update meeting at the Labor Temple in Hall A on Monday November 20th from 5:30-7:30PM. Bring your questions and bring your coworkers!

Essentia Health: Your Workers Deserve Better!

Congratulations to everyone who was able to make it out to last night's rally at the UMD-North Dakota hockey game. We had an amazing turnout, and the response from motorists and pedestrians was fantastic! Essentia Health: Your Workers Deserve Better!

Community Rally Tonight!

Today is the day! We will be holding a sign holding rally in front of the DECC parking ramp on Railroad Street from 5-7pm. Tonight is the UMD-North Dakota hockey game, of which Essentia Health is one of the sponsors. So we're using that event to make the community aware of our ongoing contract fight with Essentia for the Red Book tech workers. We'll have extra signs on hand. If you make your own, try to make it as easy to read as possible since it'll be dark out and we'll be relying on street lights for illumination. A lot of folks are also asking about parking.

Executive Boad Vacancy: Inner Guard

Executive Board Vacancy: With the election of Jared Jank to the office of the Vice President of our local union, the former position that they had occupied on our Executive Board - the Inner Guard - is now vacant. The Executive Board will be appointing someone to that role at its November meeting. Whoever is appointed to that role will fill out the remainder of the term from now until this coming April, when all local union offices will be up for election.