Photo Credit: Claire Van den Berghe
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Workday Minnesota is celebrating the best of what we have offered in 2019.
2018 saw unions take a significant hit as the US Supreme Court ruled against Public Sector unions Janus v. AFSCME a long-held dream to dismantle the power of public sector workers. 2019 has taught us that despite a hostile legal landscape, everyday workers won’t be denied.
Amazon workers mobilizing for their rights was our top Twitter story of the year
In August, we took a significant step forward by introducing a redesigned website. The new site is a more responsive platform to house the rigor and depth of the journalism we have been producing.
Workday launched the new website by featuring extensive reporting documenting a significant victory for Minneapolis’s erotic dancers. This series included insight on the ordinance process and commentary from erotic dancers themselves.
https://www.workdayminnesota.org/category/sex-work/
These articles reflected Workday’s devotion to the overlooked and stigmatized workers in our society.
Workday continues to use video to capture the vibrancy of workers speaking their truth. The challenges of Homecare workers drew particular attention.
Has the Trump administration continues to demonize immigrant communities and institute hostile policies like family separation union members have had stood for the rights of immigrants in the United States. Our most-watched video of the year featured a United Steel Workers rally calling for immigration detention camps to close.
In 2018 as Seward workers became unionized and struggled against the heavy-handed tactics of management, Workday was there to give voice to workers. We learned a lot about the challenges workers to face in Consumer Co-ops. One of our most popular articles of 2019 was about the Mississippi market Co-op and the millions made by their general manager Gail Graham as a result of being on the United Natural Foods Inc
In 2020 Workday will produce more investigative work on Consumer Co-ops.
It was meaningful to document everyday people making their voices heard against what they felt was censorship by the powerful. During a September Minnesota United match, fans were removed as they defended their use of the anti-fascist symbol, the Iron Front. Their activism, along with others across the country, led to a change in policy.
Additionally, wage theft has always been a focus for Workday. Still, insight into how labor brokers manipulate immigrant workers while being enabled by major developers has emerged over the past year and promises to expand.
You can look forward to Workday continuing to examine the intersection between immigration, labor trafficking, wage theft, and the expanding deportation regime.