MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis park maintenance workers officially went on strike Thursday after the union rejected the park board's final offer earlier this week.
LIUNA Local 363, which represents more than 300 maintenance and seasonal workers, is seeking more competitive wages, more safety tools and equitable health care.
“Today marks the beginning of our strike action, a historic step we take with excitement and apprehension,” Business Manager of LIUNA Local 363 A.J. Lang said in a statement Thursday. “The Minneapolis Park Board's actions have left us no choice but to strike. They've issued memos threatening to lock out striking workers until a contract is ratified — a clear unfair labor practice and selective discriminatory lockout. Our cause is just: we're fighting for basic fairness and respect for workers.
We want to emphasize that our goal is not to see our parks deteriorate. We've limited our strike to a week to minimize impact, but if the Park Board doesn't return to negotiations, the effects could become more severe. Despite claims of fairness, their current offer contains provisions that would irreparably harm workers. We remain open to good-faith negotiations to resolve this dispute quickly and fairly."
According to a LIUNA study, the current top pay for parkkeepers is $30.99, compared to the suburban average of $38.02 for the same positions.
"What we do is make sure we do a playground inspection every day, to make sure the bolts and nuts are in the right areas, the right spots, to make sure your slide doesn't fall off when your child is having a good time," Lanel Lane, a parkkeeper, told the media earlier this week. "We're not just living paycheck to paycheck. We're one paycheck behind."
A spokesperson for the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board said 60% of the workers scheduled to work on Thursday showed up, but added that many of the Local 363 workers had the day off for the holiday weekend. The strike is expected to last about a week, but the MPRB says workers who choose not to report to work, won't be allowed to return until the strike has ended.
On Tuesday, the MPRB stood by its final offer, calling it "competitive, fair and equitable." The offer included a 10.25% wage increase over three years for multiple positions. Prior to that proposal, current average salaries and total compensation, including healthcare, pensions and other benefits for Local 363 positions include:
- Parkkeeper $61,000 ($92,362 total compensation including benefits)
- Arborist $65,000 ($97,008 total compensation)
- Horticulturist $67,000 ($99,331 total compensation)
- Crew Leader $81,000 ($115,592 total compensation)
- Foreman $92,000 ($128,368 total compensation)
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