Minneapolis park workers extend strike as board puts current offer to vote

MINNEAPOLIS — Hundreds of park workers in Minneapolis will have to stay home from work longer than originally planned.

Her one-week strike was supposed to end Thursday, but LiUNA Local 363 says there is no end in sight because the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board will not return to the bargaining table.

The park administration said it would not return to the bargaining table until the union allows its members to vote on its latest offer.

“A very fair offer was made, and the leadership of 363 refuses to put it to a vote by their members,” said Al Bangoura, Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board member and superintendent. “Why don’t they put it to a vote instead of unilaterally forcing their members to strike?”

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

On Monday, the Board held a Special meeting where a commissioner asked Bangoura what was 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 workers are responsible for maintaining the city’s parks, which are consistently ranked among the best in the country. The union represents just over a third of the city’s full-time and seasonal workers.

Earlier this week, the union filed an unfair labor practice complaint against Bangoura, alleging illegal and anti-worker behavior, including jeopardizing their job security.

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