“The choice is yours, Al Bangoura, do the right thing,” AJ Lange with LIUNA Local 363, the union which represents park workers, said on Tuesday afternoon.

Minneapolis Park & Rec Board workers picketed outside the superintendent's house in a seemingly final pitch to the board to negotiate a fair union contract with the workers or face over 300 workers going on strike during one the busiest weekends for Minneapolis parks.

One of the sticking points between the union and the board is what the workers are paid. According to LUINA 363, which represents over 300 Park & Recreation Board workers, similar jobs in suburban areas make $7 more an hour. The Park & Rec Board said it seeks to provide a 10.25% increase in pay over the next three years.

“We’re first responders in the parks,” Lanel Lane, a parkkeeper said at the Tuesday picket. Lane described the work he does–checks the splash pads and sand for foreign objects, picks up trash, mows the lawn, and lays down lines on the baseball fields. Lane said he does a thorough inspection “looking for glass, needles and other sharp objects, so your kids can be in a safe environment.”

The workers have been negotiating with the Park & Rec Board for seven months. The union workers and Park & Rec Board management are in negotiations again on July 1. The workers authorized a strike last week.

"We have heard the areas of concerns of Local 363 and have been working in a deliberate, transparent, and respectful way to find common ground to address those issues," the Park & Rec Board said in a message to employees on Tuesday.