Because strike affects events, Minneapolis Parks Authority holds special meeting

MINNEAPOLIS — Monday is the fifth day of the Park workers strike in Minneapolisand union leaders are raising the stakes as negotiations remain at an impasse.

LIUNA Local 363 has filed a new unfair labor practice complaint against the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board and Superintendent Al Bangoura for engaging in illegal and anti-worker conduct, including jeopardizing their job security.

“They threatened them with job loss, threatened them with possible demotions, threatened to strip them of their seniority and told them they would not be allowed to return to work until the strike was over and a contract was ratified,” said AJ Lange, executive director of LIUNA Local 363.

The park administration then changed course and declared that striking employees were welcome back.

The union represents just over a third of the city’s full-time and seasonal staff.

At a special meeting of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board on Monday, a commissioner asked Superintendent of Parks Al Bangoura what comes next.

“We need to get back to the bargaining table and we are ready to do that,” Bangoura said. “I will continue to work not only with our team but with the union to get back to the bargaining table and that is what we want to do.”

And this despite the fact that a deputy superintendent had declared just a few minutes earlier that returning to the negotiating table would mean “negotiating against ourselves.”

The park administration said it had submitted its last, best and final offer, which includes a 10.25 percent wage increase over three years and two market adjustments for 13 positions.

Union leaders say they deserve more, adding that workers’ wages have fallen by 10 percent over the past three years due to inflation.

“We are the best park system in the country year after year,” said AJ Lange, executive director of LiUNA Local 363. “We owe it to these people. We owe it to these workers who are out there every day.”

Just over a third of park staff are on strike after negotiations stalled for months.

The Minnesota Orchestra has canceled its concert in Lake Harriet on Monday night because of the strike. Minneapolis POPS concerts scheduled for Saturday and Sunday have also been canceled.

The Board of Directors is confident that it will be able to continue providing core services.

But union leadership now says the strike could last longer than the week originally planned, meaning workers may not return by Thursday.

“If it’s necessary, and if it takes longer because they haven’t woken up yet and haven’t heard our message, we will continue the strike,” Lange said. “We won’t stop until we get the respect we deserve.”

And while the restrooms in the parks may be open, that doesn’t mean there will be soap or toilet paper. Union members also posted pictures on social media of flooded trails that were not closed because of the strike.

The strikers also include employees responsible for checking water safety in the parks’ swimming pools.

“I don’t want to glorify the job, you know. It’s dirty, it’s hard, it’s gross sometimes,” said worker Mitchell Clendenen. “But seeing the smiles of park visitors really makes up for it. Unfortunately, I can’t get paid in smiles.”

Board leaders said last week they had developed a plan to adjust priorities and staff locations to minimize impacts on the public.

They declined WCCO’s request for an interview, but a board spokesperson sent WCCO a statement saying, in part, that all employees, including those on strike, were welcome back to work.