Native American organizer fired from MN350. Organization accused of union busting

MN350 is a liberal energy group in Minnesota best known for opposing the replacement of the aging Line 3 pipeline with a newer, safer pipeline and lobbying for more wind and solar mandates.

The organization recently caused a stir on social media after firing Nancy Beaulieu, a longtime member of the group, and formally reprimanding Senior Pipeline Resistance Organizer Andy Pearson. These actions were allegedly retaliatory steps against Beaulieu and Pearson for their work on the union’s organizing committee, according to the Sahan Journal.

The Journal writes:

Ten staff members announced the union on June 12 by reading a letter aloud in a staff meeting.

“Tee’s [McClenty’s] immediate reaction was to say, ‘Congratulations, you’ve got a union,’” said MN350 staff organizer Ulla Nilsen. 

But days later, MN350 leadership sent a formal letter to staff that asked them to waive key labor rights: the right to strike, picket, distribute informational leaflets, or petition the National Labor Relations Board. The letter, obtained by Sahan Journal, asked MN350 Workers United to sign on to the agreement to receive formal voluntary recognition, which they declined to do. 

Unlike American Experiment, which announced its staff was unionizing on April 1 of this year, many so-called progressive organizations claim to care about empowering workers while they simultaneously undermine their attempts to organize, seriously undermining their claims that they care about a “just transition,” whatever that means.

Hopefully, MN350 workers will be allowed to unionize, making the organization more bloated and less effective at implementing terrible energy policies in Minnesota.