Strike date set for thousands of Twin Cities essential workers
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The union representing thousands of Twin Cities essential workers has settled on a strike date after months of unsuccessful bargaining.
Leaders with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 26 announced Monday morning a strike is scheduled to start the morning of March 4 unless an agreement is made with the other side.
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SEIU's janitorial sector bargaining unit voted earlier this month to approve an unfair labor practices strike on behalf of its 8,000 members, who the union says are mostly people of color and immigrants who work as "commercial janitors, retail janitors, security officers and more" across the metro.
The union says most city council members from Minneapolis and St. Paul, several of whom were on hand for Monday's press conference, signed a letter of support for the workers. Other unions have also authorized strike sanctions in solidarity.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, there were 33 major labor strikes last year involving 450,000-plus workers, the most in more than two decades.
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