Northwoods Socialist Collective

 On July 30, approximately 250 workers and community members picketed in front of Essentia Health's St. Mary Hospital in Duluth from 1 to 6pm.  The informational picket was organized by United Steelworkers Local 9460, and was held as part of their contract fight over Essentia on behalf of 850+ tech workers.  Below is a statement by the union's negotiating committee that summarizes where negotiations are at.  The union and company are slated to go back to the table in early August, with the assistance of a federal mediator. Union statement: Some of you will ask: if mediation is coming, why picket first? Here's the answer. A mediator has no authority to impose terms on anyone. What moves negotiations is both sides arriving ready to settle — and Essentia understanding that our members are united behind our proposals. We picket before mediation so that message arrives ahead of us. Where wages stand. We opened at 7% per year. We are now at 4.5% per year, with full ...

A group of awesome activists called Our Park, Our Vote has been working hard to save the public land that used to house the Lester Park Golf Course from private development.  They collected enough signatures to bring the issue before the voters, but are now facing a clumsy attempt by the City to block it.  We're posting below a great summary of the issue that was written by Hardian DeMaioribus:  Wow, the Lester Golf Course debacle drags on. This has been an atrocious political effort by the City: - After Right to Repair passes by ballot initiative, Mayor Reinert writes to City Council recommending the City Charter be amended to remove ballot initiatives. - Going against years of comprehensive planning, the City pushes a fast sale of Lester Golf Course. - City rushes vote after election but before new councilors are seated. - Mayor Reinert + aligned councilors tell councilors they will cut bus service, library staff, and go nuclear on all other priorities unless the...

Major weather agencies have already confirmed the onset of a super El Niño in 2026, and scientists worldwide are warning of devastating consequences. Many fear that the phenomenon could change the course of the Earth’s climate system.  I have a lot to say about the 2026 super El Niño and the impacts it may cause. But in this article, I’m going to discuss the consequences of another super El Niño—the one from 1877—which many point to as the best historical parallel for what may be coming. That weather event triggered one of the greatest human catastrophes in history. It is estimated that more than 30 million people died as a result of the severe famines that struck Asia, Africa, and parts of Latin America. However, there is one fundamental detail: it was not El Niño that killed those people. What turned a drought into a tragedy of colossal proportions was the emergence and expansion of colonial imperialism, which destroyed peasant economies, subordinated entire peoples to the ...

This is a new feature we are hoping to start doing here at the Northwoods Socialist Collective website ~ do a roundup of labor actions and news for northern Wisconsin and Minnesota. On the plus side of things we want to mention two successful union organizing drives that happened this past month.  One is that the workers at Emblem Advantage & Screen Printing in Duluth have unionized with Local 106 of the Painters Union.  And the second is that the casual RNs at the Chisholm Health Center have unionized with United Steelworkers Local 9460.  Emblem Advantage had previously been an entirely non-union worksite, while the majority of full time workers at Chisholm Health Center had previously been unionized. While we can't put it in the 100% win category yet, the Respiratory Techs at Aspirus/St. Luke's in Duluth have all signed cards to unionize with United Steelworkers Local 9460, however that union election hasn't been held yet.  Aspirus is engaging in some stall t...

 This article was written by Amie Stager, and is re-posted from Workday Minnesota .  If you aren't in the habit already, start checking out that awesome publication on the regular! Ahead of the first hearing for the 15 activists and community defenders charged with conspiracy by the federal government, a crowd full of supporters gathered and demonstrated in solidarity. Tony LaRose, a member of IBEW Local 110, has been deeply disturbed ever since two of his coworkers and union brothers were arrested and had their houses raided by federal law enforcement on June 16. “This has been an attack on one of us, which makes it an attack on all of us,” LaRose said to a crowd of demonstrators rallying in downtown Minneapolis on Wednesday at noon. The crowd of around 300 was full of people wearing shifts with their union logos and colors, and some held signs that said, “Community, not conspiracy!” They gathered in front of the Diana E. Murphy federal courthouse to call on the governm...

The battle against the Line 5 pipeline is heating up.   A determined group of local activists has been monitoring and protesting the construction of the pipeline since day one.   Most recently, activists have called out the city of Ashland for allowing Enbridge to use city water for construction.   This despite the fact that the Bad River nation has been actively fighting this pipeline for years. We also want to make readers aware of a number of alarming situations in the last couple of weeks where anti-Line 5 protesters have been stalked and harassed by Enbridge employees.   Enbridge has trespassed on protesters land, and an Enbridge security vehicle even struck an activists vehicle on purpose in mid-June.   This aggressive and outrageous behavior is further evidence of Enbridge’s fear that if they don’t push through at break neck speed with this construction project, it may yet be stopped. We urge our readers to continue their opposition to the Line 5 pipeli...