December 30, 2003 - Metro area bus drivers have moved a step closer to a strike. The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1005 last night Monday overwhelmingly rejected what the Metropolitan Council labeled its final contract offer. Union officials say their members can't afford the healthcare cost increases in the proposed contract. Minnesota Public Radio's Marisa Helms reports.
December 12, 2003 - MPR’s Marisa Helms reports on thousands of Mexican Americans in Minnesota celebrating a Mexican national holiday, the Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe.
November 24, 2003 - Democratic presidential hopeful Wesley Clark was in the Twin Cities this weekend to raise money for his campaign.<Saturday, 11-22>.Clark is one of nine candidates seeking the Democratic nomination. Observers say coming to Minnesota when most candidates are stumping for the nation's first primary in New Hampshire, sends a signal Clark is in the campaign for the long haul. Minnesota Public Radio's Marisa <Muh-REE-suh> Helms reports. ANNOUNCER TAG: To hear an exclusive interview with General Wesley Clark, go to the Campaign 2004 section of our Web site at minnesotapublicradio.org.
October 29, 2003 - A University of Minnesota official suggested today (Weds) it may be time to head back to the table with striking clerical workers to discuss contract issues other than the key sticking points of wages and benefits. The union's top union official reacted warily, but didn't reject the idea. On the ninth day of the work stoppage it was a rare sign of movement. Minnesota Public Radio's Marisa Helms reports.
October 27, 2003 - No contract talks were scheduled today (Mon) to break the impasse between the University of Minnesota and its clerical workers union. Nearly 800 members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal workers have been on strike since Tuesday on the university's four campuses. The clerical workers rejected what university officials have characterized as their last, best offer. It includes a wage freeze in the first year and a two-and-a-half percent increase in the second year. Employee health care costs would also rise under the proposal. A week into the walkout, strikers appear to be having mixed success in disrupting university business. Minnesota Public Radio's Marisa Helms reports.
October 23, 2003 - The third day of the strike by University of Minnesota clerical workers passed with no sign of movement from either side to break the impasse. No talks have been scheduled since the negotiations broke off Monday evening. Since the strike began the two sides have disagreed about how many workers have taken to the picket lines. The university says nearly sixty percent of the 19-hundred workers covered by the clerical contract have shown up for work. Union leaders say the number is half that. Minnesota Public Radio's Marisa reports.
October 22, 2003 - Members of the University of Minnesota's clerical union are off the job and on the picket lines again this morning. Marisa Helms reports.
October 21, 2003 - The University of Minnesota's clerical union is on strike today. Marisa Helms has followed the negotiations. She has spent much of the day at the Twin Cities campus of the U of M, where news conferences by the union and university administrators have just wrapped up. She joins us now.
October 21, 2003 - Nearly two-thousand University of Minnesota clerical workers are walking the picket lines at this hour. Marisa Helms reports.
October 15, 2003 - Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich brought his presidential campaign kick-off tour to Minneapolis last night. About two-thousand supporters gathered at Roosevelt High School, one of 12 stops Kucinich scheduled over three days. Kucinich supporters say their candidate is the only presidential contender who truly represents a change from George W. Bush. Minnesota Public Radio's Marisa Helms reports.