Minneapolis park workers extend strike “indefinitely” and demand negotiations

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – The strike by parks and recreation workers in Minneapolis was originally scheduled to end after a week, but the union announced it would continue the fight and extend its strike indefinitely.

When union members walked off the job on Independence Day, July 4, they hoped to prove their worth and win a fair collective bargaining agreement. But the seven-day strike, which was supposed to end on Wednesday, is continuing.

The LIUNA Local 363 union, which represents more than 300 park maintenance workers, says workers have been working without a contract since the beginning of the year.

Union leaders say the Parks and Recreation Department is refusing to return to the bargaining table, but the Parks Department’s head wants workers to vote on the department’s “best and final offer” before negotiations resume.

The offer includes salary increases of more than ten percent over a period of three years. But park employees say that is still not enough.

“This is more important than your rules. Your order. Your time clock. Our livelihood is at stake,” says Aj Lang, the executive director of Local 363. “Your contract doesn’t work for us.”

After a week-long strike, the union announced Wednesday night that the walkout would continue. Employees who maintain 180 parks across the city are demanding better wages, benefits and working conditions. The parks department says a new contract could raise property taxes in Minneapolis.

Maintenance workers will picket at Lyndale Farmstead Park on Thursday morning. Additionally, pickets are planned at a different city park each day this week.