At 4am, on the morning of September 9, custodial, maintenance and food service workers went out on strike at the University of MN-Duluth. These workers are members of Teamsters Local 320 . They have been locked in a better contract fight with the University for some time, and this strike comes on the heels of the workers recently rejecting the "last, best and final offer" by the Administration. The main issues of the strike are the workers demand for a living wage, and opposition to the University's proposal to change the time when contracts expire from the summer, to December (a time when it's much more difficult to negotiate, let alone go on strike).
This Labor Day is happening during a time of enormous attacks on the population, especially on working people of all backgrounds. The Trump administration is waging a class war for the billionaires against the rest of us. Trump’s reckless tariffs have already started to hit workers’ wallets and jobs. Price increases are returning, especially for everyday items like groceries, electricity, clothing, and other basic goods. And now the administration has removed regulations to open up workers’ retirements to Wall Street speculators to gamble on risky investments like cryptocurrencies. And as workers’ purchasing power decreases, these price increases are hitting small businesses hard, with many filing for bankruptcy so far this year.