Fik Yeah: Fika Cafe Workers Vote to Unionize

Welcome back to The Flyover, your daily digest of important, overlooked, and/or interesting Minnesota news stories.

ASI's Fika is Now a Union Shop

It’s official: The folks at Fika Cafe, the American Swedish Institute’s Nordic-forward Minneapolis restaurant, along with its catering leg, Slate and Stone Catering, have voted to join hospitality union Unite Here Local 17.

“Workers came to us when there was a major change that happened at their workplace that they got no say in,” UH Secretary Treasurer Sheigh Freeberg tells Racket. “They wanted a way to push back, and realized a union was the only way they'd have the power to win what they needed.”

A union drive started early this past spring, and by mid-August Freeberg says “well over 75%” of workers had signed union cards, a move their employers, Culinaire, agreed to recognize. Approximately 40 workers are now part of the brand-new bargaining committee that'll soon work toward a first-ever contract. They went public with the news Thursday:

"We look forward to working on improving the working conditions at Fika and Slate and Stone Catering, so we can focus on what we are best at: taking care of our guests," Fika worker Neil Fox tells Racket.

In other labor news: A federal appeals court tossed a challenge to the state of Minnesota's captive audience ban, which prohibits employers from forcing employees to attend anti-union meetings. The Minnesota Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors and the National Federation of Independent Business argued that the law was an infringement on First Amendment rights. As Max Nesterak points out a Minnesota Reformer, the ban mainly makes it easier for workers to sue their employers for violating the rule, noting that case defendants Gov. Tim Walz and Department of Labor and Industry Commissioner Nicole Blissenbach have no power to enforce the law while Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison says he doesn’t intend to. 

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly cited ASI as employers of Fika and Slate and Stone Catering workers; workers at both businesses are employed by Culinaire. Racket regrets the error.

Blaine: Cover Thy Dirty Pillows, Foul Creatures!

Remember “free the nipple,” the 2010’s movement fighting for women’s right to go topless in public? Last May, the Minnesota Supreme Court actually set the nipple free, ruling that the top end of a torso—be it of a cis woman, a trans dude, a mastectomy survivor, or, in this particular case, a rowdy stripper—isn’t inherently lewd, and that open-air boobs aren’t enough to warrant a public indecency charge. 

But not so fast! This ruling has rattled some folks in Blaine, as the city council is worried about what could happen now that we can all walk around topless. “I, in general, view this topic as a slippery slope,” Council Member Leslie Larson said at a recent meeting, suggesting that soon enough men will be flashing their junk at everyone. She’s pushing for an ordinance that would ban topless women from public parks and beaches.

But not so fast! During Wednesday’s workshop meeting, Blaine Police Chief Brian Podany noted that the council was going to have to define “female breasts.” He also suggested that he would prefer giving warnings before issuing citations, and that butts shouldn’t count as nudity, as swimwear doesn’t always fully cover that area. “I’m just telling you what the reality is right now,” he said, possibly exhausted.  

Shakeups at KARE 11

Meteorologist Wren Clair and Sports Director Reggie Wilson are both no longer at KARE 11, according to social media posts compiled by Ross Raihala at the Pioneer Press. Clair, who's been with Kare 11 less than four months, recently filed a sexual harassment/retaliatory lawsuit against KSTP-TV, her former employer. “I look forward to focusing more on my personal life and pursuing scientific careers outside of television,” she wrote in an Instagram post this afternoon.

Wilson says his job was eliminated entirely. “It's not easy navigating layoffs, especially considering my wife and I are both enduring job loss at KARE in the same year,” he writes via LinkedIn. “Now with a newborn at home, the stakes are raised. So I’m open for work.”

Fateh in The Nation

Since winning, and then later losing, the DFL endorsement for Minneapolis mayor, state Sen. Omar Fateh has gotten a lot of national media attention—much of it ill-informed, alarmist, or even straight-up racist. Over at The Nation, journalist Peter Lucas chatted with the candidate in a straightforward Q&A. A couple highlights …

On the convention endorsement clusterfuck...

“People have shown that they are tired of backroom decisions that undermine the voice of the everyday working people. Decisions like these fracture the party and reduce the faith in the systems we use.”

On accusations that he’s too radical...

“What they’re really saying is that our campaign is too friendly toward renters and workers, too close with immigrants and people that are just trying to make ends meet. Things like tuition-free college for working class families is not radical. Worker protections and increased wages for our ride share drivers are not radical.”

And speaking of Fateh in the news, stay tuned for... whatever this is: