Minneapolis park board divided on path forward after three weeks of workers strike
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Wednesday marked three weeks since unionized Minneapolis park workers went on strike, in a historic and increasingly tense labor dispute that has grabbed the attention of city and state leaders.
One possible path forward emerged at a Wednesday night board meeting, but it was voted down by a divided board — spurring about two and a half hours of protests that prevented the meeting from continuing.
“This is no longer a time to remain silent,” said commissioner Becky Alper, seeking to add a resolution to the agenda that would quickly settle the dispute.
Usually, commissioners are not involved in contract negotiations until a tentative agreement has been reached, but Alper argued the unprecedented situation — the first strike in the board’s 141-year history – warranted urgent action. An MPRB spokesperson said as of July 23, about 60 percent of the union’s more than 300 park workers are working.
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The resolution would push MPRB negotiators to drop proposed contract language that union members call anti-worker, returning to the “status quo” of the expired contract.
Union leaders say they are willing to accept the board’s wage proposal but cannot accept new language, including concessions that make automatic step increases discretionary and limit the number of stewards who can be paid to do union work.
Statements from MPRB argue that the proposed language is necessary for accountability and efficient park operations, when paired with wage raises, and is similar to other contracts. Statements also say the board has an established performance review process, although the process is not outlined in the latest, public contract proposal.
“This resolution isn’t pro-union or pro-MPRB management. If it had to choose a side, I would say it’s with the people. And the people have spoken loud and clear, it’s high time for the strike to end,” Alper said, adding that the alternative was a “perilous path forward” with “no end in sight.”
Alper’s ask would have brought that resolution to the meeting for a discussion and vote, but only she, co-author Commissioner Tom Olsen and Commissioner Billy Menz voted for it to be added to the agenda.
It failed 5-3, sparking the packed room to erupt in chants of “Shame!” directed at the board, including Superintendent Al Bangoura who sat quietly and did not engage.
Union leaders and workers cycled through various chants — “no contract no peace,” “this is what democracy looks like,” — in the hours that followed.
Commissioner Becka Thompson attempted to explain her “no” vote — saying she didn’t want to lead people on knowing it was unlikely to pass and that she didn’t know the contract well enough to make a statement. She stopped talking when shouted down, but later added she didn’t understand the complete implications of what the resolution would do to MPRB.
Menz, who voted yes, said he was concerned about the proposed contract language. Although he noted one implication of the resolution could be losing people on the management side who have been at negotiations for over seven months.
Among those who attended the meeting, trust with the board seemed to further fracture.
Kevin Pranis, Local 363’s marketing manager, warned of a “toxic situation” if the current path continues — and a bruised relationship between the board, workers, public and city council, which passed a resolution in support of 363.
“This is Minneapolis right,” Pranis said. “This isn’t, like, Oklahoma. So that’s not a big win to have going forward.”
About two hours in, commissioner Billy Menz attempted to introduce a motion to discuss getting the superintendent and negotiating team back at the table. That request to suspend the rules was, again, voted down by all members present — save for Alper, Olsen and Menz.
The meeting ultimately ended, as commissioners who largely spent the duration of the meeting silently listening packed up their bags and left.
“Tonight’s meeting revealed the true feelings of our colleagues toward our workforce,” said Alper, as she walked toward her bike, frustrated. “They said how they feel and I can go to sleep tonight knowing I did the right thing.”
She accused the current path of being one of “waiting it out until people continue to trickle back to work because they can’t afford to lose health insurance,” and said the board and union should work with the old contract language for now and iron it out in the next three years.
“This is not the way you treat your workforce. To be an employer of choice, that’s not what you do,” she said. “Right now that trust, as evidenced, is completely broken. And we need to start making amends.”
Union leaders said both sides returned to the bargaining table Thursday afternoon.
On July 19, union leaders brought the most recent, public proposal from the MPRB to a one hour in-person vote at Minnehaha Regional Park, which was attended by less than half of the union’s 200 full-time, dues-paying members, according to the Star Tribune. The union reported 91 percent of those ballots cast rejected the proposal.
Earlier this month, Mayor Jacob Frey offered to act as a convener and help move negotiations forward, but the offer was turned down by board president Meg Forney who said it was not his role.
“While it is their prerogative, I am disappointed,” said Frey in a statement. “My ask is simple: Both parties need to stay at the bargaining table and get this done for the sake of our entire community. I stand ready and willing to help.”