Labor

More than 350 educators and community members assembled along Oak Street to call attention to the unsettled union contracts ahead of the May 11, 2026, School Board meeting.

The bill’s proposed portal, accessible via the Internet, would provide contractors and subcontractors a place to submit payroll reports, which would be stored in a database for public or state use.

The county had worked out a unique agreement with the state Department of Transportation after the government delayed approving the county's use of project labor agreements.

Minnesota Twist Drill in Chisholm and Triumph Twist Drill in Hibbing manufacture tools including drill bits and cutting tools for industrial, commercial and home use.

Labor experts monitoring artificial intelligence say the nation's workers are increasingly worried about being displaced, and key industries in Minnesota are vulnerable.

The federal government is behind schedule in approving the county's requirement of project labor agreements. County staff are asking for a temporary waiver to ensure they don't lose funds.

The approvals mark the resolution of months of back-and-forth that nearly resulted in a strike. The union's focus was on time off and wording changes, rather than wage increases.

The district will provide an agreement to union leadership by March 23, 2026, and the School Board will vote to ratify the contract at its meeting March 30.

The strike will begin March 24, 2026, unless the School Board votes on a tentative agreement on March 23, as the union says the two sides agreed.

A measure in the Minnesota Legislature would give recently laid-off miners on the Iron Range the same extra 26 weeks of benefits that miners laid off last year received.