Mpls Downtown Improvement District

MINNEAPOLIS - Clad in neon green shirts, the newest union members in Minneapolis may be the most visible workers downtown. They pick up litter, direct visitors, and make downtown safer by their presence.

They’re employed by Block by Block, a national company contracted by the almost two-year-old Downtown Improvement District.
 

“Our mission is to make downtown a safer, cleaner environment for everybody,” said Michael Jacques, St. Louis Park, one of the “Safety Ambassadors” who began patrolling a 120-block area of downtown last summer.

The approximately 60 workers in the program became members of Service Employees International Union Local 26 when a majority signed union authorization cards. Their employer agreed to be neutral during the organizing campaign in accord with a “labor peace” provision in the employer’s contract with the Downtown Improvement District.

The DID is a non-profit created by a Minneapolis City Council ordinance. Notably, “the ordinance included a responsible contractor policy,” said SEIU Local 26 President Javier Morillo-Alicea, which ultimately meant that DID contractors like Block by Block would need to remain neutral during a union organizing campaign and enter into a collective bargaining agreement with a union.

“We organized the unit through majority sign-up,” Morillo-Alicea said.

The workers’ new contract became effective July 1. Morillo-Alicea reported that the contract “equaled or improved the standard of both our security contract and our cleaning contract.” Workers with one year of service saw their pay increase from $11.50 per hour to $13.22 per hour. “Workers who got significant raises were quite happy,” Morillo-Alicea noted.

“Now we’ve got to learn to work together as a union and company,” said Michael Jacques, who helped negotiate the contract and now serves as a union steward.

Jacques clearly relishes his work as he patrols the streets of downtown Minneapolis: “You’re making a positive influence in people’s lives.”

Steve Share edits The Labor Review, the official publication of the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation. Learn more at www.minneapolisunions.org

http://www.workdayminnesota.org/index.php?news_6_4603

Labor Review photo