Minneapolis City Council passes resolution in favor of striking park workers
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The Minneapolis City Council supported a resolution Tuesday in support of striking park workers, further amplifying a labor dispute that has proven itself unusual in more ways than one.
Hours later, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board publicized their latest final offer to the union — leaving the bargaining table and asking union leaders to bring the contract to members for a vote by Friday.
The union’s business manager AJ Lange said “the strike is in full force” and he is “open” to bringing the proposal to members for a vote but added: “the board doesn’t dictate the internal procedures of the union and how we conduct our votes.”
The final offer follows 18 hours of renewed negotiations Monday and Tuesday, which both sides cast in widely oppositional lights. It includes a 10.25 percent wage raise over three years, including an increased $1.75 market adjustment for 13 positions in the last two years.
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Lange said the union accepts that part of the proposal, but continues to reject concessions that removes “basic fairness” from the workplace, accusing the contract of including anti-union language.
The MPRB statement says leadership “refused” to agree to language proposals that would make park operations “more efficient and productive.”
Council passes resolution in solidarity with workers
The Minneapolis City Council resolution “strongly” urges the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board and union to “continue bargaining in good faith” and reach a fair contract agreement to end the strike that began on the Fourth of July.
The resolution passed the council’s Committee of the Whole on an 11-1 vote, while negotiations between union leaders and park board staff were still underway and the latest offer was not out. It’s slated for a final vote at Thursday’s City Council meeting.
Council member Aurin Chowdhury, who represents Ward 12, was among those who voted yes. She spoke at a press conference ahead of the meeting, calling the strike a “historic” moment that deserves heightened attention. This is the first time park workers have been on strike in the board’s 141-year history.
“We are lauding the best parks in the nation without treating our workers the best we can possibly do,” she said. “That is our clear message. That is what we want to see changed here.”
Chowdhury pushed for workers to “be paid what they’re owed” and for the board to drop “takeaways” the union has called regressive — including new contract language that limits the number of union stewards per work area and makes previously automatic step increases discretionary.
The latest offer no longer defines the number of stewards per shift, but limits the number of stewards who can take paid time off to present grievances and attend meetings in which employees are formally questioned. It allows up to 5 percent of the bargaining unit to be stewards, at the union's suggestion.
The board has said some proposed language is similar to other collective bargaining agreements and is necessary for increasing accountability when paired with proposed wage raises, including new workers starting at a higher wage.
Chowdhury also raised concerns she’s heard from residents regarding storm cleanup, as the majority of the forestry division is on strike. The park’s arborists are largely responsible for removing downed trees from public streets and sidewalks. A spokesperson for the board said the strike has slowed cleanup but with the help of public works, the job will get done.
On Monday, superintendent Al Bangoura sent council members a letter regarding the upcoming resolution, asserting the board has “always maintained fair and competitive wages for our employees.”
Bangoura wrote that the latest counter proposal from union leaders increased the gap between the board’s “last, best and final” offer and the union’s previous offer — bumping the cost from $6.7 million to $7.5 million. Earlier this week, the union’s business manager A.J. Lange disputed that claim, saying they asked for less than before.
Bangoura also said the union’s ask would raise property taxes and require staffing cuts.
Bangoura’s communication seemed to have little sway on the resolution moving forward, with most council members voting yes — although the resolution made no explicit push for raising property taxes to accommodate for higher wages.
Council member Linea Palmisano, who represents Ward 13, said she is pro-labor, but voted no, saying she had hoped the city council would find other ways to support the park board and union. She said the resolution was different than previous expressions of support and viewed it as a “risky” action.
“They are a separate entity and meddling in their affairs would be stepping on the toes of our park commissioners,” Palmisano said. “My role in this is to be in conversation with Local 363, conversation with our park commissioners, in conversation with our park superintendent, as I have been.”
Palmisano asked to remove the resolution, but her motion was not seconded.
While Council President Elliot Payne did not speak on the resolution at the meeting, he explained his plan to vote yes ahead of it.
“It can all get very confusing, but we don’t need to make this harder than it needs to be. This is actually very simple,” he said. “This is a union town and we stand by our workers. So we are asking the park board to stay at the table, negotiate in good faith, and end this strike today.”
In a press conference Tuesday night that followed the end of negotiations, Lange, the union’s business manager, called on Mayor Jacob Frey to intervene.
A spokesperson for the mayor’s office said the mayor is “working with both sides to reach an agreement.”