ST. PAUL - St. Paul teachers are brainstorming and ldquo;creative budget solutions and rdquo; to help the school district manage an expected budget shortfall of $25 million for the next school year, according to the president of their union.

ST. PAUL - Minnesota and rsquo;s first Holiday Lights in the Park display, sponsored by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and King of Kings Church in Woodbury, raised $50,000 for four charities.

Minneapolis - Women active in their unions and ndash; and those interested in getting active in labor organizations and ndash; will learn new skills at the Minnesota Union Women's Leadership Retreat April 22-24, 2009.

ST. PAUL - Recently, 200 members from local unions of the Service Employees International Union came to the state Capitol to speak with legislators about the slowing economy and what that means for working Minnesotans.

ST. PAUL - Saint Paul and rsquo;s labor community is mourning the loss of Lucille (Lucy) Robinson, retired member of AFSCME Local 22. Her death, on Feb. 2, saddened the hearts of all who knew her as one of the kindest hearts of all.

ST. PAUL - What can we do to resolve Minnesota's impending budget crisis? In the next couple weeks, legislators will hold a series of public meetings across the state to hear from you.

Minneapolis - The Minnesota Fair Trade Coalition is one of five state-based, fair-trade-advocacy organizations participating in the first phase of the Trade Stories Project nationwide. The goal of the project is to increase public participation and accountability in trade policymaking by collecting and documenting stories of real people whose lives have been negatively affected by the current free-trade system.

ST. PAUL - Last year Greater Twin Cities United Way and rsquo;s annual and ldquo;Claim It! and rdquo; tax-prep program helped working people and their families collect, on average, $2,200 in tax credits. The program is back in 2009, and you may be eligible for free tax preparation if your individual income is at or below $30,000, or if your household income is at or below $43,000.

WASHINGTON - The AFL-CIO favors a mixed public-private universal health care system, with government, business and individuals all sharing in its costs and with strong cost controls, including a government-run insurance alternative to keep the private insurance industry honest, federation President John Sweeney said.