MAPE members will join striking Minneapolis park workers in March for Justice today

MAPE member leaders will join LiUNA Local 363 striking workers this afternoon for a March for Justice. The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board workers are on strike for better wages, health care and working conditions.  

Members of MAPE’s Coalition Building Workgroup have been supportive of the striking park employees and urge other MAPE locals to get involved in the fight for better wages and working conditions:  

Last weekend MAPE members joined striking workers in Minneapolis. MAPE Region 1 Director Claudia Hochstein, Pollution Control Agency Meet and Confer Chair Kaity Taylor and Local 101 Leader Alexis Lohse say it is important to stand with fellow workers because an injury to one is an injury to all. “We may not have the same contract but we have the same fight,” Hochstein said.  

The strike began on July 4 and 91 percent of its members voted against the most recent contract offer last week.  

Hochstein, a member of the 2021 negotiations team that bargained MAPE’s historic 2021-2023 contract last year, said she sees many common themes and tactics used by Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) and Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, “Unions are the only way that we as workers can create power to have a voice in a capitalist society that sees all labor as disposable. Solidarity means standing together, amplifying our voice and fighting for what’s right.” 

She added, “MAPE members can learn from the strikers of LiUNA 363 what it takes to coalesce around something that’s deeply and widely felt and make a hard decision to stand together and strike. We can learn about how they decided on their message, involved the community and other unions, and organized mutual aid to get through the strike.” 

MAPE Locals 1002 and 101 have donated to the LiUNA strike fund. If you are interested in donating, here is a link to the strike fund.

Check Facebook and Twitter for the strike schedule and udpates

All members can join the picket lines at any time, here is a guide on how to get ready.