Park workers in Minneapolis announce week-long strike starting July 4

The union representing more than 300 park workers in Minneapolis announced Tuesday a week-long strike beginning on the July 4 holiday after seven months of negotiations with the city failed to produce a new labor contract.

But hours after the announcement, the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Department said it would refuse to allow any striking employee to return to work until a new contract was ratified.

At a news conference Tuesday, AJ Lang, executive director of Laborers’ International Union of North America Local 363, said the union is limiting the strike to one week for now to minimize disruption to residents, but acknowledged that the Fourth of July holiday is the “busiest” time of year in the city’s parks.

“We love our parks,” said Lang. “We want to minimize the impact on residents by hopefully not letting them walk at all. That’s the idea behind the restriction.”

If the collective bargaining negotiations before or after the holidays do not produce any results, “we reserve the right to announce another strike,” said Lang.

A few hours later, a statement from board spokesman Robin Smothers said that no striking employee would be allowed to return to work until the union agreed to a new contract.

Union members did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter on Tuesday.

Unless the weather is bad, many residents are expected to visit the city’s parks on July 4. After five years of no fireworks for Independence Day, the committee is hosting the return of its “Red, White & Boom” show on Thursday.

The board has developed a plan to adjust maintenance services to minimize the impact of the strike on park visitors, Smothers said.

Lang said the extent of the impact is still unclear, but he suspects it could cause disruptions to garbage collection, closures of swimming pools and delays in clearing up debris and damage from rainstorms.

“It is up to the board to fix this,” he said.

For years, Minneapolis park workers have been demanding better wages, health insurance and safety measures. The union represents more than 200 permanent employees and over 100 seasonal workers.

A worker strike was averted in late 2022 when both sides agreed to a two-year contract that included a nearly 5% wage increase, expanded benefits and additional paid vacation.

Union members said Tuesday their wages remain below inflation and below those of park workers in other nearby cities. They said there is also a lack of safety protections for arborists who work near live ladders and other employees who work near homeless encampments.

“We deserve much better,” said Lanel Lane, who has worked at the park for 10 years.

The two sides negotiated for up to 16 hours on Monday. Smothers said the board’s final offer included a 10.25 percent pay increase over three years. It also included a market adjustment of one dollar.

Lang called the offer “inadequate” and said workers expected a market adjustment of $5.

“Park attendants” in Minneapolis earn an average of $30.99 per hour. By comparison, “park attendants” in 20 suburbs earn $35.55 to $44.98 per hour, according to the Minnesota Association of Cities’ 2023 Local Government Salary Survey.

In April, Smothers said the board’s budget was “tighter than ever” while property tax revenues were declining. The property tax makes up 80 percent of the board’s general fund.

But workers accused the board on Tuesday of having devalued its employees for decades.

“This has been brewing for a long time,” said Lang. “This is a decades-long erosion of social benefits and a devaluation of the value of this position. In the past, people would line up when they got to the door. These were coveted jobs.”

Star Tribune reporters Susan Du, John Nguyen and Zoë Jackson contributed to this report.