Park workers in Minneapolis extend strike and accuse park administration of refusing to negotiate

Minneapolis park workers will remain on strike for the foreseeable future, a union leader announced at a rally Wednesday.

Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board employees represented by LIUNA Local 363 were scheduled to return to work Thursday, but the strike will now extend beyond its original seven-day duration.

“We had hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but it was in the hands of (MPRB Superintendent Al Bangoura) and the board, and now here we are,” said AJ Lange, the union’s executive director.

According to Lange, negotiations with the park administration have been going on for seven months and have not made any progress in the past week.

“Just yesterday I received a written response from Al saying, ‘No, I will not return to the negotiating table,'” Lange said.

In a statement to park commissioners Wednesday, Bangoura said he wants union members to vote on the park board’s final offer — and either accept or reject it — before the board returns to the bargaining table. He argues the current offer would pay Minneapolis workers as well or better than comparable positions in the metropolis.

“A very fair offer was made and the leadership of 363 refuses to put it to a vote among its members,” Bangoura said. “Why don’t they put it to a vote instead of unilaterally forcing its members to strike?”

Union members began their strike on July 4, one of the busiest days in Minneapolis parks, and the Minnesota Orchestra canceled a concert at the Lake Harriet Bandshell on Monday in solidarity with the workers.

Earlier this week, LIUNA Local 363 filed an unfair labor practice lawsuit against the MPRB, alleging that board members interfered with employees’ right to strike.

Park workers who maintain Minneapolis’ parks, recreation centers and golf courses are demanding a $5-an-hour pay increase to more closely match market wages, as well as more benefits and better working conditions.

The MPRB presented its last, best and final offer to union members on July 1, which included a 10.25% wage increase over three years and additional market adjustments for 13 positions, affecting 178 workers.

A parks spokesman said the proposed market adjustment would represent a wage increase of nearly 15 percent for some jobs over three years, equivalent to a wage increase of more than $5 an hour.

According to figures provided by park officials, the union’s proposal would cost about $2 million more over the next three years than the MPRB’s offer.