Members of the Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en la Lucha (Center of Workers United in Struggle, CTUL) rally to support retail cleaning workers and their legal fight to collect unpaid wages from big-box employers like Target and K-Mart, 2014. Used with the permission of CTUL; photographer unknown.

Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en la Lucha

Members of the Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en la Lucha (Center of Workers United in Struggle, CTUL) rally to support retail cleaning workers and their legal fight to collect unpaid wages from big-box employers like Target and K-Mart, 2014. Used with the permission of CTUL; photographer unknown.

Labor Day Parade, Nicollet Avenue, Minneapolis, 1909

1909 Labor Day Parade

Labor Day Parade, Nicollet Avenue, Minneapolis, 1909.

: Demonstration, led by 15 Now Minnesota, for higher pay and better working conditions at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, December 2014. Used with the permission of 15 Now Minnesota; photographer unknown. Photograph by Ginger Jentzen; used with the permission of Ginger Jentzen.

Demonstration led by 15 Now Minnesota

Demonstration, led by 15 Now Minnesota, for higher pay and better working conditions at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, December 2014. Photograph by Ginger Jentzen; used with the permission of Ginger Jentzen.

Men swinging bats and sticks during clash between striking truckers and a citizens’ army, Minneapolis, May 21, 1934. Pictured in the foreground are Basil Hurt, Merle Kerr, and Frank Vocks.

Violence during 1934 truckers’ strike

Men swinging bats and sticks during clash between striking truckers and a citizens’ army, Minneapolis, May 21, 1934. Pictured in the foreground are Basil Hurt, Merle Kerr, and Frank Vocks.

Workers striking at Hormel Packing Plant, Austin, 1933.

1933 Hormel Packing Plant strike

Workers striking at Hormel Packing Plant, Austin, 1933.

Strike at Hormel Packing Plant, Austin. Photograph by the St. Paul Daily News, 1933.

1933 Hormel Packing Plant strike

Strike at Hormel Packing Plant, Austin. Photograph by the St. Paul Daily News, 1933.

A Farmer-Labor political poster atop an automobile, ca. 1925.

Farmer-Labor poster

A Farmer-Labor political poster atop an automobile, ca. 1925.

Labor Day Parade, Nicollet Avenue, Minneapolis, 1909.

1909 Labor Day Parade

Labor Day Parade, Nicollet Avenue, Minneapolis, 1909.

United Garment Workers Union members in a horse drawn carriage on Labor Day, St. Paul, 1905.

United Garment Workers Union members

United Garment Workers Union members in a horse drawn carriage on Labor Day, St. Paul, 1905.

How labor and labor organizing have shaped the state

Labor and Labor Organizing in Minnesota

Since statehood, Minnesota workers have joined together to improve and protect their livelihoods, rights, and voices in the workplace. Labor organizations, especially unions, have stood up for members’ interests with employers. They have participated in politics to influence society for the benefit of all working people. Minnesota labor has experienced successes and setbacks, times of positive relations with businesses and government, and times of hostility. Minnesotans have been national innovators in labor strategies and organizational forms.

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