Teamsters Win University of Minnesota Strike, With Help from Farm Aid

Some 1,400 Teamster service workers at the University of Minnesota won a resounding victory in a five-day walkout that showcased their militancy and underscored the power of solidarity.

“This is what happens when people stick together,” said Steve Tesfagiorgis, a shop steward and strike captain for Teamsters Local 320 and a senior custodian on the Minneapolis campus. “Our members are from different places and speak many different languages, and we all worked together and won.”

The union includes more than 400 East African workers. At rallies, on flyers, and during Zoom meetings, members communicated in five languages.

The five-day strike, September 8 to 12, by custodial, food service, maintenance, and sanitation workers, featured around-the-clock picketing and a massive rally and march at the Minneapolis campus by 1,000 workers and supporters. They got broad support from professors, students, and other unions.

Every campus in the university system was struck, including Crookston, Morris, Duluth, Rochester, and the Twin Cities, creating havoc for campus services as the fall semester got underway. The university enrolls over 70,000 students.

The strike was called after the university spent months pressing for concessions. It had proposed a smaller wage increase for Teamsters than the graduate student union had received, believing it had the upper hand.

On September 5, members voted down a so-called “last, best and final offer,” which besides lower wages would have moved the contract expiration to a time when most students were not on campus, taking away future strike leverage. They voted no by a resounding 82 percent, with record turnout for a local at the university.

STAGEHANDS REFUSED TO CROSS PICKET LINE

A key to the strike victory was Farm Aid's refusal to cross Teamster picket lines. Its 40th anniversary concert was scheduled to be held at the University of Minnesota’s Huntington Bank Stadium, where the Gopher football team plays.

The star-studded concert, featuring Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews, Margo Price, Kenny Chesney, Wynonna Judd, and Steve Earle, is to be broadcast live for six hours on CNN.

Concert organizers said they would cancel the show or attempt to move it to another venue rather than cross the lines, creating a major embarrassment for the university. The university denied it would suffer a big financial loss, but union activists were skeptical.

“Members won this strike,” said Grady Johnson, a shop steward, strike captain, and gardener on the Twin Cities campus. “But we would not have been able to do it without community and labor support from Farm Aid, and from Willie Nelson, Teamster truckers honoring our lines, and all the other unions and community groups who provided support.”

University officials discovered that Farm Aid and the union workers involved in the concert meant business when members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees showed up at the stadium to assemble the stage for the Farm Aid concert. “They refused to cross and joined our picket line,” said Johnson.

As the strike moved into its fourth day, Farm Aid issued a public statement:

“Our artists, production team and partners have made clear that they will not cross a picket line. These decisions reflect our own values: The farm and labor movements are inseparable, and we believe strongly that the University must return to the bargaining table in good faith.”

Drivers from Teamsters Locals 120 and 638 also refused to cross.

WILLIE NELSON CALLED THE GOVERNOR

At the solidarity rally hours before the settlement, there were strong statements of support from the Minnesota chapter of the American Association of University Professors. “The Teamsters are the beating heart of this university,” said Heather Holcombe, a senior lecturer in English and vice president of the local AAUP chapter.

Also backing the strikers at the rally were AFSCME Local 3800, which represents university clerical workers; the Graduate Labor Union, UE Local 1105; two university regents, Mary Turner and Robyn Gulley; and State Sen. Doron Clark and State Rep. Kaela Berg, representing the Minnesota Senate and House of Representative caucuses of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.

Willie Nelson contacted Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, informing him that there would be no concert at the university unless there was a settlement. “I spoke with Governor Walz and I’m grateful that he understands what’s at stake for farmers and Farm Aid,” Nelson said in a statement issued as the strike entered its fifth day. “We both know that ultimately, it’s up to the university to do the right thing, and soon, so that Farm Aid 40 can go forward.”
Negotiations resumed.

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“The governor spoke to Willie Nelson and leadership from all sides, including the U of M, the Teamsters, and Farm Aid, and pushed for an agreement,” a spokesperson for Walz told Labor Notes. “When negotiations had broken down, he pushed all sides to get back to the table and they did.”

2028 STRIKE THREAT PRESERVED

There were several key issues in the strike—and the university largely caved on all of them.

The Teamsters were demanding a raise of at least 3.5 percent, comparable to what the graduate student union negotiated in 2024, but the university would only offer 3 percent. In the tentative agreement, the workers will get 3.5 percent in years one and two, and 3 percent in year three. A ratification vote is expected next week.

During the strike, Teamster activists, many of whom must work two jobs to support their families, compared their own wages to the income of University of Minnesota President Rebecca Cunningham, who is being paid $975,000 annually and got a 4 percent raise this year.

Another central issue was the university’s demand to change the contract expiration date. Under the university proposal, should the two sides reach an impasse, the Teamsters would need to go on strike during winter break, when wind chills plunge well below zero and there are few students on campus, seriously reducing the union’s leverage.

In the tentative agreement, the university backed down, agreeing to a 2028 expiration date of June 30, the same as the current one—making it possible after required mediation for Teamster to stage a walkout, if necessary, at about the same time as this year.

SOMALI FOOD AND COUNTRY MUSIC

Another important gain: workers will be able to take a 10-week leave of absence without facing reassignment to another job on campus. Currently, workers on leave can be reassigned after six weeks. The extended leave provision was especially important for East African workers so they can visit parents and other relatives. “We don’t go for just a week [to visit family] and come back,” said Tsegaye Feredegn, a steward and custodian at the university’s St. Paul campus.

“We stood up for ourselves and won respect,” said Kayli Staubus, a cook and shop steward on the Duluth campus. “The university doubted us and tried to bully us every step of the way,” said Staubus, who was on the negotiating committee. “They thought they could bully us into accepting their insulting proposal last week, but we voted it down by 82 percent. They thought they could scare us out of going on strike, but we struck and won.”

“I’m so proud of all of us,” said Christy O’Connor, a shop steward and negotiating committee member and a senior custodian on the Minneapolis campus. Speaking at a gathering of strikers and their supporters at the East Side Freedom Library in St. Paul on Saturday to celebrate the victory, O’Connor told the crowd, “It was one of the best weeks in my life. I feel like I’ve added 1,400 people to my family.”

The strikers then sat down at tables on the library’s lawn to share a lunch of pizza and Somali food. Willie Nelson songs played over the loudspeaker.

Randy Furst was an active member of the NewsGuild and a reporter at the Minnesota Star Tribune from 1973 to 2025. He retired this year.