Photo courtesy St. Paul Fire Department.
Take a seat in the Break Room, our weekly round-up of labor news in Minnesota and beyond. This week: poor morale in the St. Paul Fire Department; trucking company fined $621,600 following worker death; Minnesota minimum wage to rise to $11.13 per hour; Americans’ support for unions near all-time high; and Australia legalizes ignoring your boss after hours.
Just 31% of St. Paul firefighters say they’re satisfied with their jobs
Firefighters are the least satisfied of all St. Paul city employees and the most likely to quit, according to a 2023 citywide employee satisfaction survey obtained by the Reformer through a public records request.
Fewer than 1 in 3 firefighters who responded to the survey said they were overall satisfied with their job, while 71% were deemed to be a turnover risk. Citywide, 56% of workers reported being satisfied with their jobs and 57% were deemed turnover risks. The highest worker satisfaction was in the mayor’s office, where 93% of workers who responded to the survey reported being satisfied.
The low level of firefighter satisfaction is striking in an occupation that tends to rank high in worker happiness. A 2019 survey by Bloomberg ranked firefighters No. 1 in job satisfaction, ahead of pediatricians and guidance counselors (the least satisfied workers were telemarketers and insurance claims clerks). Other surveys have found similar high levels of job satisfaction, although a national survey of firefighters found discontent with department leadership was common.
Despite their low overall satisfaction, St. Paul firefighters did largely report having high levels of trust in their co-workers (73%) and believing their work positively impacts others (84%).
St. Paul Fire Chief Butch Inks said in an interview he wasn’t surprised by the findings.
“I can tell you where this department was when I took over in 2018 and I can tell you where it’s at today, and it’s 100% a better department with less toxicity and less disgruntled employees,” Inks said.
The survey was the first of its kind conducted by the city so it’s unclear how workers’ feelings have changed over time. Inks said he knows the department morale has improved based on the feedback he gets from his leadership team and the numerous opportunities they created.
“I grew up in this fire department. I have seen tremendous change in a culture that historically fights change,” Inks said.
Inks also pointed out that not every worker responded to the survey. The city received responses from 154 employees, or roughly 30% of the department.
Trucking company fined $621k after worker death
The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry announced on Wednesday it issued 12 serious citations and a $621,600 penalty to Rosemount-based Wayne Transports, one of the country’s largest trucking companies, in connection with a worker dying earlier this year.
The penalty, which the company is contesting, is the largest ever safety fine issued by MN OSHA since at least 1994, which is as far back as the agency’s computer records go.
The citations stem from the death of 39-year-old Justin Erickson, whose body was found inside the tank of a tanker truck in March in Virginia. A coroner determined he likely died from asphyxia and chemical asphyxia while cleaning the inside of the tank.
MN OSHA officials determined through an investigation that Wayne Transports did not adequately protect employees from confined-space hazards by implementing safety procedures, training employees in confined-space safety and having a second employee present when Erickson entered the tanker, among other violations.
“Work processes must be designed with the goal of eliminating workplace injuries and illnesses, and workers must be properly trained about how to perform their work safely,” DLI Commissioner Nicole Blissenbach said in a statement.
Attorney Aaron Dean, who is representing Wayne Transports, said the company is contesting the citations because MN OSHA issued “duplicate citations” with “inaccurate and overstated fine amounts.”
Dean acknowledged Erickson was working alone because his co-worker called in sick and said Erickson had a respirator that he didn’t use.
“We don’t lose sight of the fact that there was a tragedy and someone lost their life. By contesting these citations we’re not trying to minimize that at all,” Dean said.
Dean noted that this is the first time Wayne Transports has been cited by MN OSHA in its 74 years in business.
Minnesota minimum wage will rise to $11.13 in 2025
Minnesota’s minimum wage will rise to $11.13 on Jan. 1 for all employees, the state Department of Labor and Industry announced this week.
It’s the largest increase in years, the result of two significant changes Democrats made to the state’s minimum wage law this year.
First, lawmakers eliminated the state’s two wage tiers. Currently, workers at large businesses are entitled to at least $10.85 per hour while workers at small businesses, workers under 18 years old and workers on J-1 visas are guaranteed a minimum wage of $8.85 per hour. Starting in 2025, all workers will be entitled to the same minimum wage which means workers currently making the lesser minimum wage will get a 26% raise.
Second, lawmakers raised the cap on annual inflation adjustments from 2.5% to 5% so the minimum wage will rise more in periods of high inflation.
As before, tips cannot be counted toward the minimum wage.
The higher minimum wage floor will affect a relatively small number of jobs: an estimated 90,000 jobs in the state pay the minimum wage or less, amounting to 2.7% of the state ’s salaried and hourly jobs.
Americans’ support for unions near 70-year high
About 70% of Americans say they support labor unions, close to the highest level recorded since the 1950s, according to Gallup’s 2024 annual survey . Public approval of unions reached its highest point in 1953 with 75%, and held relatively steady around 60% until the 2000s. Approval hit a low point of 48% in 2009.
A plurality of Americans — 43% — also said they would like to see labor unions have more influence in the United States.
Americans’ renewed enthusiasm for organized labor in recent years is reflected in a surge of petitions for union elections that has overwhelmed the National Labor Relations Board, which oversees private sector unions. Last month, the agency reported union election petitions were up 30% from the same point last year. The agency has responded to this uptick with new regulations aimed at speeding up the election process and nudging employers to remain neutral .
Union density hasn’t increased with public approval , however. An estimated 1 in 3 workers were union members when public approval hit its peak in 1953, while just 1 in 10 workers are union members today.
Labor advocates say the process for unionizing is still too burdensome for workers, while employers face little to no consequences for unfairly interfering with union drives by firing union supporters, threatening benefit cuts or refusing to negotiate once a union is certified.
Democrats have proposed a bill called the Protecting the Right to Organize “PRO” Act that would make it easier to unionize while giving the NLRB the ability to fine employers for unfair labor practices.
Australian employers can be fined for calling employees after hours
Australia joined roughly two dozen countries this week in enacting a “right to disconnect” law, which empowers workers to ignore non-urgent work calls and emails after hours, Reuters reported .
Under the new rule, employees cannot be disciplined for refusing to respond to work emails outside of work hours, although they may still be expected to be available for emergencies. A state agency will be in charge of determining if a worker’s refusal was reasonable, and could issue cease-and-desist orders to employers and even levy fines up to $63,000.
“Just as people don’t get paid 24 hours a day, they don’t have to work for 24 hours a day,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told ABC Radio Sydney . “For many Australians, I think they’re getting frustrated that they’re expected to be on their phones, their emails, all of that, for 24 hours a day. It’s a mental health issue, frankly.”
France was the first country to implement a right to log off after work in 2017 , which inspired other countries including Italy, Belgium, Mexico and others to follow suit.
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