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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2017
EARLY WEEK
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MNDAILY.COM
CAMPUS
UMN workers vote for possible strike after rulings There are still several steps in the process before a strike would happen, officials said. BY ALLISON CRAMER acramer1@mndaily.com
Hundreds of University of Minnesota workers represented by the union Teamsters Local 320 voted Thursday to approve a possible strike over working conditions. The union represents workers in building and grounds maintenance, food service and custodial jobs, among others, who are asking for better wages and the ability to take longer
vacations without the possibility of losing their jobs. The vote follows a September ruling by a Minnesota appellate court not to let University faculty, teaching specialists and lecturers form one bargaining unit in their push for unionization. Teamsters at the University voted by 85 percent in favor to authorize the strike if no consensus is reached on a new collective bargaining agreement, said Brian Aldes, secretary treasurer and principal officer for Local 320, at a Thursday press conference. “I also want to stress to the public and to the University that this did not have to happen this way, and we are hopeful that we can reach an agreement with the assistance
of a state-appointed mediator,” Aldes said Thursday. Workers represented by Local 320 have worked without a contract since their most recent one expired in June. Aldes said the University’s offer to raise salaries wasn’t enough. Nasser Nur, a building and grounds worker at the Mayo Clinic, said at the press conference the University is a good place to work compared to many, but employees aren’t treated in an acceptable manner. Nur said one of the problems is that employees who take more than two weeks of approved vacation sometimes come back to find their jobs changed. He said East African
FOOTBALL
Gophers lose big in Michigan
employees experience this more frequently. “We need dignity and respect from the University,” Nur said Thursday. The University will remain open if a strike were to happen, said University Director of Employee Relations Patti Dion in a statement. “The University continues to negotiate with the Teamsters with the intent to come to an agreement. There are still several process steps that would need to be taken before a strike would occur,” Dion said. The University and Local 320 plan to meet with a state mediator on Nov. 27. Last year, the University used over $500,000 in taxpayer and tuition dollars to fight faculty unionization efforts in court.
POLICY
Campus troops could see easier citizenship path A court ruled against the Dept. of Defense for its treatment of noncitizen soldiers in October. BY KAYLA SONG ksong@mndaily.com
ELLEN SCHMIDT, DAILY
Quarterback Demry Croft looks for a teammate to pass to on Saturday, Nov. 4, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The Gophers lost to the Wolverines 33-10.
The Wolverines rushed for 371 4-2 Big Ten) at Michigan Stadium in front a crowd of 111,090 people on Saturday yards and four touchdowns of night, keeping the Little Brown Jug trophy against Minnesota Saturday. in Ann Arbor. BY JACK WARRICK jwarrick@mndaily.com
Never has a Gophers game gotten out of hand this season. Each Minnesota loss has been within one or two possessions, and the worst loss of the year was 31-17 at Purdue. This was not like those losses. The Gophers (4-5, 1-5 Big Ten) were dominated in a 33-10 loss to Michigan (7-2,
“I don’t think we got beat the way we did because of nerves, or they weren’t ready for the crowd, or anything like that,” said head coach P.J. Fleck. “We just got whooped.” After an hour-long weather delay, the Michigan running offense took the field and throttled Minnesota’s defense. The rainy weather caused both teams to run the ball much more, but the Wolverines were much more effective. They ran for 371 total yards and four rushing touchdowns
HOCKEY
on the night. The Gophers defense couldn’t contain the two explosive running backs the Wolverines had at their disposal. Michigan’s leading rusher, Karan Higdon, ran for 200 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries, while the other running back, Chris Evans, ran for 191 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries. “They were really good and they broke a lot of tackles,” said Gophers linebacker Blake Cashman. “I think that’s what ultimately hurt us was we couldn’t execute u See FOOTBALL Page 4
Thousands of men and women in a special military program, including some University of Minnesota international students and alumni, are now closer to getting their U.S. citizenship through service. Following a recent suit against the Department of Defense, legal nonimmigrants enlisted in the Military Accessions Vital to National Interest program were notified Oct. 25 that the department would, once again, be compelled to file and acknowledge soldiers’ drill attendance — a requirement on participants’ paths to citizenship. MAVNI is a part of the military that lets skilled legal non-immigrants obtain U.S. citizenship after serving four to six years, said Linda Aaker, an attorney with the University Student Legal Services. In June 2016, the DOD tried to change existing naturalization requirements for enlistees. “Prior to the MAVNI fiasco, those in the select ready reserves only had to do one day of service to get certification,” Aaker said. “That was the law. The DOD tried to say they needed to do basic training plus a year of service.” Brad Lim, MAVNI enlistee and a University computer science graduate, is one of the 2,000 recruits affected by this decision. Lim said the department wasn’t going to take any more citizenship documents from soldiers who filed them after Oct. 13, but MAVNI reserve soldiers who haven’t yet registered their documents can now do so. The DOD’s refusal would have rendered soldiers unable to file an N-426, one of the two documents needed to apply for naturalization. This would make soldiers unable to get the U.S. citizenship they were promised, according to court documents. Kirwa v. U.S. Department of Defense, one u See SOLDIERS Page 3
NEIGHBORHOODS
Gophers overpower Michigan State in sweep The series at 3M Arena at Mariucci this weekend led to just one goal by Michigan State. BY OWEN MAGEAU omageau@mndaily.com
The No. 5 Gophers (7-3-0, 3-1-0 Big Ten) defeated the Spartans (4-4-0, 0-2-0 Big Ten) 3-1 on Friday and 4-0 on Saturday at 3M Arena at Mariucci. The Gophers are currently on a season-high four-game winning streak. “It’s huge,” said goalie Eric Schierhorn after Saturday’s game. “We haven’t played the best in these four games, but if you’re winning, nothing else matters. It’s good to know we can win and not play our best, so it’s huge for our confidence.” The Gophers gave up just one goal all weekend. Schierhorn stopped 46 of the 47 shots he faced. He picked up a shutout on Saturday night. “It feels good,” said Schierhorn after Saturday’s game. “A couple late third period goals in previous games, but to get a whole 60 [minutes without letting in a goal] feels good.” Last weekend, the Gophers relied upon many garbage goals; that wasn’t the case this weekend. The Gophers’ speed and skill shined as they scored numerous goals off the rush. One of these goals was the first and eventual game-winner on Saturday night.
JACK RODGERS, DAILY
Joseph Scholl and Kelley Bunge throw bags of trash collected in Dinkytown into a pick-up truck on Sunday, Nov. 5.
Student effort cleans up Dinkytown JACK RODGERS, DAILY
Goalie Eric Schierhorn observes the game at 3M Arena at Mariucci on Friday, Oct. 3. In the first minute of the game, junior forward Tommy Novak flew down the leftwing boards and sent a pass through the slot to a driving Tyler Sheehy. The Gophers’ captain one-timed-it in for his first of the
u See HOCKEY Page 4
The Sunday afternoon plan to clean litter was supported by area businesses and students. BY KELLY BUSCHE kbusche@mndaily.com
Armed with plastic bags and rubber gloves, University of Minnesota students took to the streets Sunday to combat litter in Dinkytown. The student-organized “Dinkytown Clean
Up Day” was held in collaboration with local businesses. The event incentivized students to collect litter in exchange for coupons at local restaurants. “I know there are a lot of parties… and a lot of trash gets thrown around,” said Ardes Johnson, a former 23-year Dinkytown resident. “But that doesn’t mean it has to be a trashy neighborhood just because it’s a student neighborhood.” Tim Hortons, Espresso Royale, Frank u See TRASH Page 3
VOLUME 118 ISSUE 19