Park workers in Minneapolis announce strike starting this week

MINNEAPOLIS — Park workers in Minneapolis announced Tuesday that they would begin a week-long strike on Independence Day, July 4.

Hundreds of Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board employees, represented by LIUNA Local 363, will go on strike Thursday, the union said.

On 19 June voted for a strikeThe union said it was fighting for fair and competitive wages, worker protection, cheaper health insurance and simplified grievance procedures, among other things.

The city of Minneapolis has not yet responded to the strike, but when the permit vote was announced, the parks board said it had been “negotiating in good faith with Local 363 representatives since December 3, 2023, for a multi-year contract for park employees that is competitive, fair and equitable” and that it is “hopeful that MPRB and Local 363 leadership can reach an agreement.”

Union leaders and workers plan to discuss the strike and the current status of negotiations at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon.

The same week that park workers voted to strike, nine sewage treatment plants in the Twin Cities did the same. These workers have not yet announced a formal work stoppage.