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• Bus strike negotiations resume
  The two sides involved in the Twin Cities bus strike are back at the bargaining table for the first time since the strike started more than two weeks ago. Union representatives and Metro Transit officials are meeting for a mediation session requested by the Bureau of Mediation Services. Minnesota Public Radio's Art Hughes is covering the story.March 22, 2004
• Who gets the nuggets?
  An Indiana steel company is ready to invest in the first full size iron nugget plant. Iron nugget technology has been tested in a small pilot plant in Northern Minnesota. Minnesota helped pay for the plant. But its first succesor might be built in Indiana, rather than Minnesota.March 19, 2004
• Cleaning up the White Earth Reservation
  The White Earth Indian Reservation in northwest Minnesota has struggled for years with poverty. Unemployment hovers at around 25 percent, well above the national average. The tribe employs some 1,500 people at its casino and in tribal government jobs. But White Earth leaders have had little success in attracting jobs in the private sector. Now, the tribe is getting some help. A Detroit Lakes-based non-profit group is working with White Earth to make the reservation more attractive to new businesses.March 17, 2004
• Met Council to use strike savings to help riders
  The Metropolitan Council has created an emergency fund to help transport people hardest hit by the Metro Transit bus strike. The money will come from savings the Council gets from not paying salaries and other operational costs during the strike. Some social service providers say the assistance will be a big help to people most dependent on public transportation. However, officials representing the strikers say the program is an attempt to break the union.March 12, 2004
• Bus strike is more than inconvenience for some
  For some bus riders the metro transit bus strike is more than an inconvenience, it threatens their ability to earn a living.March 11, 2004
• Commuters find alternatives to buses on fifth day of strike
  Workers continue to walk picket lines and no talks are in sight as the Twin Cities Metro Transit bus strike enters its first full work week. Many commuters are settling into alternate travel routines with no promise buses will return to their routes any time soon. While many commuters simply drive their own cars to work, others take the high road.March 8, 2004
• Riders feel impact of bus strike
  The strike by Metro Transit bus drivers is now in day two. On day one, the work stoppage didn't produce the major traffic headaches that had been anticipated, but there was a big impact for some bus riders.March 5, 2004
• Day 1 of bus strike: Union defiant, traffic runs smoothly
  Thursday morning was the first test of how the Metro Transit bus drivers' strike would affect metro area commuters. Fears that the strike would lead to gridlock on streets and highways didn't materialize, even as some 75,000 bus riders were forced to find alternatives. Hundreds of Twin Cities bus drivers and supporters rallied at Metro Transit headquarters in Minneapolis Thursday. There is no resolution in sight to bring the 2,200 union members off the picket line.March 4, 2004
• Pawlenty urges bus drivers and Met Council to keep talking
  Gov. Tim Pawlenty says he will work with the Metropolitan Council and the Twin Cities bus drivers' union to try to avoid a bus strike scheduled to begin early Thursday morning.March 2, 2004
• Bus riders ready alternatives on the eve of a potential strike
  Workers and others who rely on buses to get around are lining up options in case bus drivers walk off the job.March 1, 2004
• Bus drivers rejected contract that trimmed rich benefits
  Negotiators for Twin Cities bus drivers and the Metropolitan Council are expected to return to the negotiating table before a March 2 strike deadline. The Amalgamated Transit Union's nearly 2,200 drivers overwhelmingly rejected an offer last week. Benefits are a key issue in the dispute.February 23, 2004
• Bus drivers authorize strike
  Union leaders for Metro Transit bus drivers have been given the authority to call a strike, after union members voted overwhelmingly to reject the latest contract offer from the Met Council. The main sticking points are wages, and health insurance costs for current and retired workers. The bus system provides about 220,000 rides a day. Riders would get some warning before a strike would begin. The union must file an intent-to-strike notice and wait at least 10 days before hitting the picket lines. The Met Council says they have put their best offer on the table. Morning Edition host Cathy Wurzer spoke with president of the bus driver's union Local 1005 Ron Lloyd, and Met Council chairman Peter Bell.February 17, 2004
• Are American jobs heading overseas?
  What are the issues involved in "outsourcing" jobs overseas? Planned job cuts in January were 26 percent higher than in December due to increases in offshore outsourcing and to mergers and acquisitions that have made some positions redundant, global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc., reported on Tuesday.February 3, 2004
• Labor unions in the 21st century
  Unions in the U.S. are working hard to make up ground they lost in the changing realities of the modern work world. At one time, half of American workers were in a union. Now the number is just one in eight. Rachel Reabe hosts a Mainstreet program, live from Austin, Minn.January 29, 2004
• The state of the unions
  A special State of the Unions edition of Mainstreet. It's a look at union organizing in the 21st century, from high tech workers to iron range miners. A live broadcast from Austin, the scene of one of Minnesota's longest and most difficult strikes.January 29, 2004

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