As talks continue, Hennepin County workers prepare for strike

[billyoc]

MINNEAPOLIS - "STRIKE!" The word echoed through the building, shouted by several hundred sign-waving AFSCME members.

The setting was not the University of Minnesota, however, where four AFSCME locals representing 3,500 workers are in the third week of a strike. The setting now was Hennepin County Government Center, where six AFSCME locals representing 5,000 workers are in negotiations for a new contract.

"Let them hear you up on the 24th floor," urged Cliff Poehler, treasurer of AFSCME Council 5 and an attorney in the Hennepin County Public Defender's Office. The crowd's "STRIKE!" roar grew louder.

"It's take-backs, take-backs and more take-backs," Poehler said, updating the noon-hour rally on contract negotiations.

http://www.workdayminnesota.org/index.php?news_6_3291