Over the next few weeks, many Minnesotans will travel to big holiday light shows such as the Bentleyville attraction in Duluth and It is not just private vendors setting things up. Unions help, too, reflecting their desire to be community centric.

The nonprofit Bentleyville Tour of Lights along the shore of Lake Superior has become a popular draw in recent years.

Keith Musolf, a St. Louis County Commissioner and business representative for Iron Workers Local 512, said the towering tree, the centerpiece of the show, is a product of union workers who volunteer their time each year to make sure it is standing upright.

"That dates back 15 years now, the first year building the tree, then now putting it together in the three big sections every fall," Musolf explained. "Once the display is over in early January, we'll go back down there and take it down."

This time of year, he pointed out union contributions show up in other ways, such as floats for holiday parades and outdoor skating rinks fitted with concession stands. Musolf acknowledged labor organizations still face stigma issues with the broader public. But he feels volunteering this way shows members want community vitality and are not just solely focused on the status of their latest contract.

Coming out of the pandemic, policy experts noted a buzz in the labor movement with a flurry of organizing, especially among staff at places such as coffee shops. It has not translated to bigger numbers of union membership compared with past decades. Musolf noted it is not stopping groups like his from trying to bolster the local workforce.

"We do a bunch of different stuff right here in Hermantown where the Iron Workers' training center is located," Musolf pointed out. "And that's some of our motto, (which) is 'Building with integrity and pride for our communities.'"

The training center features an apprenticeship program. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, union members accounted for 13.3% of wage and salary workers in Minnesota last year, down one percentage point from the previous year.


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As President Donald Trump abandons a promise the U.S. made in Paris nearly a decade ago, organized workers across Colorado are joining forces to address a climate emergency which, according to global scientific consensus, threatens the very biosphere needed to sustain life as we know it.

Nate Bernstein, executive director of Climate Jobs Colorado, said today's economy is not working for all Coloradans. He believes ramping up clean energy production can help reduce income and racial inequality.

"As of 2018, we had the highest gap in equality and wealth in over 100 years," Bernstein pointed out. "One way that we can help bridge that gap is by creating good solid union jobs across the state of Colorado."

Trump has issued executive orders to achieve energy dominance by increasing production of oil, gas and coal. When burned, the fossil fuels release greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. More than two centuries of industrial pollution has led to rising global temperatures and an increase in catastrophic events including massive wildfires, flooding, prolonged drought and polar vortexes.

Bernstein noted a worker-centered roadmap created in partnership with Cornell University would expand opportunities for high-paying careers to all Coloradans, including workers in rural parts of the state where coal-fired power plants are set to retire as cheaper energy sources come online.

"We know that workers that work in those facilities have the skill set and/or can be trained to operate stable energy like geothermal and other sources," Bernstein explained.

The coalition includes the Amalgamated Transit Union, Colorado AFL-CIO, Colorado Building and Construction Trades Council and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Bernstein added they are working on a bill to end a 1943 law requiring a second, supermajority election to form a union.

"We're continuing to build the coalition to make sure that the laws enacted at the Capitol continue to be favorable for working people as well as the environment," Bernstein emphasized. "All while assuring that we close the gap on racial and economic inequity within our state."


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The Service Employees International Union is joining the AFL-CIO, a move both groups said will make it easier for more workers to unionize.

SEIU is the nation's largest union of health care workers, janitors and security officers, among others. Combined with the AFL-CIO, a federation of more than 60 national and international labor unions, the group now has 15 million members.

Alan Dubinsky, communications director for SEIU Local 49, representing Oregon and Southwest Washington, said the two unions have a history of working together and they share many of the same values.

"We want to unite people across class lines no matter where they live, no matter the color of their skin, who they love, so we can stand up to billionaire interest and corporate greed," Dubinsky explained.

Research shows although only one in 10 workers is currently part of a union, more than 60 million people said they would join a union if they could. In a statement, the AFL-CIO said it will fight for new rules to strengthen the rights of workers to organize and collectively bargain.

Recent polls showed unions have near record-high favorability, with 67% of Americans approving of them. Last year had some major wins for labor, including The United Auto Workers, unions representing airline workers, and several Hollywood entertainment unions. Dubinsky noted rights for workers cannot be won alone.

"As working people, we all want the same things," Dubinsky contended. "We want jobs that are going to pay us enough to live. We want accessible, affordable, quality health care for ourselves, for our loved ones. "

When workers organize, research shows wages increase and working conditions improve. In 2024, petitions to form or join a union more than doubled from the previous year.

After five days of Oregon's largest health-care strike, including the state's first doctors' work stoppage, Providence Health announced it is ready to return to the bargaining table. The Oregon Nurses Association is calling for competitive wages and resolution of what it calls systemic, unsafe staffing issues.

Kathy Keane, a nurse at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center who has been on the picket line, said Providence needs to focus on recruiting and retaining skilled staff.

"I want to work with the best of the best. And when we are the lowest-paid caregivers in the Portland metro area, it's hard to argue why people should come here and stay here long-term," she explained.

Providence said it is ready to return to the bargaining table, thanks in part to what it calls an "unprecedented number" of union nurses who have chosen not to strike. Earlier this week, Providence filed an unfair-labor-practice complaint, saying the nurses' association unlawfully delayed bargaining by refusing to meet and not responding to proposals in a timely manner.

A recent poll conducted by the Oregon Nurses Association found more than 90% of patients reported a negative experience with Providence, and support the strike.

Laura Wadlin, a Providence patient since she was a kid, said has had many discouraging experiences with rushed providers.

"Every time I go back, my fears are only confirmed, so that really reinforces the inclination not to even try," she said.

Keane and other union members are also concerned about acuity, or the level of care that a patient needs based on how sick they are. Keane said she wants nursing assignments tailored more towards patient need, rather than focusing on a staff-to-patient ratio, and said this issue is not unique to St. Vincent.

"This is something that system-wide we've seen issues with, so we know that systemic issues need systemic change, and that's really what we're working towards," she continued.

Providence said it is committed to following Oregon's staffing law, and is taking acuity into account. The nurses' association says 305 unsafe staffing complaints were filed against Providence in 2024.