About two dozen condo workers put on their heavy coats, braved the early snowflakes, and walked the picket line Friday morning in downtown Minneapolis.
It's the start of a two-day Unfair Labor Practices strike against their employer, FirstService.
"We're very committed," said Josh Musicano, who works at River Towers Condominium on First Street. "We're out in the snow, ,would we be doing this if we weren't committed?"
FirstService has reported a 35 percent jump in revenue since 2020, but the employees say none of it has been filtered down to them.
The workers want to unionize, and say FirstService is blocking their efforts.
This walkout involves workers from seven condo buildings, and is scheduled to last for two days.
"We're still going to continue this fight," said Musicano about any further action by the workers. "When people see how powerful we were, we're going to get even more. This is just seven buildings, but next time we're going to have even more."
The buildings where picket lines went up Friday morning include 1200 on the Mall, Centre Village, Grand Park Condos, Riverview, Gallery Tower, The River Towers, and Bridgewater.
Officials with FirstService offered this statement to WCCO Radio: "SEIU Local 26 has no legal standing to represent the employees of FirstService Residential Minnesota under the law. Back in May, SEIU Local 26 contacted us to make a proposal to waive our employees’ rights to vote on union representation through procedures established by the National Labor Relations Board, which we will not agree to. Since then, SEIU Local 26 has resorted to pressure tactics, including inaccurate media statements and today’s protests, of which only a small number of employees participated. Our company will continue to comply with the law and encourage employees to ask questions and obtain the information necessary from sources they trust to make employment decisions that are right for them and their families."
