Downtown Minneapolis looking spiffy, thanks to new union members

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.workdayminnesota.org/index.php?news_6_4603

By Steve Share
30 August 2010

MINNEAPOLIS - Clad in neon green shirts, the newest union members in Minneapolis may be the most visible workers downtown. They pick up litter, direct visitors, and make downtown safer by their presence.

They’re employed by Block by Block, a national company contracted by the almost two-year-old Downtown Improvement District.


Sam Mukherjee, Brooklyn Center, is one of the Downtown Ambassadors who are new members of SEIU Local 26.

Labor Review photo


“Our mission is to make downtown a safer, cleaner environment for everybody,” said Michael Jacques, St. Louis Park, one of the “Safety Ambassadors” who began patrolling a 120-block area of downtown last summer.

The approximately 60 workers in the program became members of Service Employees International Union Local 26 when a majority signed union authorization cards. Their employer agreed to be neutral during the organizing campaign in accord with a “labor peace” provision in the employer’s contract with the Downtown Improvement District.

FULL story at link.