Lawmakers split over state employees’ contracts, set to take effect next month

October 30, 2015 by

Project1_Layout 1Contracts covering about 27,500 state employees, including members of AFSCME Council 5 and the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees, will go into effect next month after a legislative subcommittee failed to reject or approve the agreements.

Members of the Subcommittee on Employee Relations split along party lines in a 5-5 vote yesterday. Under state law, the tie results in contracts taking effect 30 days after the vote.

The full Legislature must give the contracts final approval during the 2016 session, scheduled to begin March 8; otherwise state employees revert back to the terms of their 2013-15 contracts and resume negotiations with the state.

DFLers on the subcommittee, which included senators and members of the House, voted to approve the contracts; Republicans voted to reject them.

“It’s unfortunate that Republicans don’t recognize the value of hardworking state employees and the value of collective bargaining as an extension of democracy into the workplace,” AFSCME Council 5 Director Eliot Seide said. “Minnesota’s state workforce is one of the leanest and most productive in the nation. Our contracts were negotiated in good faith with the administration. It’s a good deal for state employees and taxpayers.”

The agreements call for annual raises of 2.5 percent, but will require workers to cover a larger portion of their health care costs – an increase more than offset by the wage and step increases, according to the unions.

By overwhelming margins, AFSCME and MAPE members voted to ratify the two-year contracts in August.

Filed Under: Organizing, Politics Tagged With: , , , , ,

‘Vote Yes’ campaigns in school districts across East Metro win labor support

October 29, 2015 by

12036412_489470271235376_258311348679741501_nVoters in the Forest Lake Area School District last year rejected a $176 million levy request, leaving the district’s facilities in critical need of updates and repair.

Now, the district is back with another request on the Nov. 3 ballot, seeking $161 million over two unique referendums. Supporters of the local “Vote Yes” campaign, including parents, students and local unions, acknowledge facing an uphill climb.

But Forest Lake Education Association President Allison Whittlef said she’s holding out hope “due to the grassroots movement of community champions who are actively seeking support and communicating with residents in a variety of ways.

“With the passage of this bond an already robust education setting will be made stronger by providing quality facilities and improved opportunities for all learners. But help is needed from the local level to make a good system great.”

The Forest Lake district isn’t alone in seeking support from local taxpayers. A recent survey of the state’s school districts, conducted by the Minnesota School Boards Association, showed a record 68 districts seeking building bond or capital project levies this year, in addition to 53 districts seeking operating levies.

Education Minnesota President Denise Specht said it’s difficult to generalize the many reasons districts put levies on the ballot. Enrollment increases and aging schools are contributing factors, she said, as are rising costs of transportation, health care, security and information technology.

School districts have seen the state’s per-pupil funding formula increase each year that Mark Dayton has served as governor. But Specht said those increases haven’t made up for a decade of disinvestment prior to the Dayton administration, when state funding failed to keep pace with inflation.

“Getting back to even could take a few more years,” she said. State funding increases, Specht added, often go toward operating costs, leaving little left over to pay for capital improvements – like repairing a leaky roof in Forest Lake, or updating the technology available to students in the Lakeville Area Public Schools.

“Our per-pupil funding from the state is currently at 2004 levels when adjusted for inflation,” said Don Sinner, president of the Lakeville teachers’ union. “After several years of cuts, we need to finally provide the children of our communities, every single one of them, with the high-quality learning environment and opportunities they deserve – and the economy of the future needs.”

Levies enjoy broad labor support, both in the East Metro and statewide – and not just because school districts employ a lot of union members. Strong schools help build strong communities, Whittlef said.

“With the passage of the bond, our community will prosper by attracting families and businesses to our area,” Whittlef said. “That in turn will create expanded job and career opportunities for our fellow brothers and sisters.”

Other labor-endorsed “Vote Yes” campaigns in the East Metro include referendums in the Farmington, North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale, Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan and South Washington County school districts. Click here to view a full list of labor endorsed school referendums and candidates on the Nov. 3 ballot across the East Metro.

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Union members look to make difference on White Bear Lake school board

October 27, 2015 by
Marge Newmaster (L) and Ellen Fahey

Marge Newmaster (L) and Ellen Fahey

Ellen Fahey and Marge Newmaster, two of three labor-endorsed candidates for White Bear Lake school board, understand the challenges working families face, value public education and appreciate the collective bargaining process.

It’s no coincidence Fahey and Newmaster also are union members.

Minnesota unions have put a focus in recent years on training and equipping members, retirees and community allies with the skills they need to run successfully for public office, believing the best advocates for labor’s priorities – like strong schools, good jobs, fair taxes and collective bargaining – are union members themselves.

Fahey and Newmaster are proving that theory true on the campaign trail this fall.

“My commitment has always been to kids, to education, but also to a union,” said Fahey, who retired in June after 39 years of teaching, including the last 22 in the White Bear Lake Area Schools.

Newmaster, a media specialist who’s worked in the district since 1971, said she “would hate to see happen here what happened in Wisconsin,” referring to Gov. Scott Walker’s move to strip teachers and most other public employees of most collective bargaining rights.

The third labor-endorsed candidate in White Bear Lake, Scott Nelson, also is a member of Education Minnesota.

Kris Fredson, political director for the Minnesota AFL-CIO, said it’s always encouraging to see union members step into the political arena.

“Working families are under attack more, and it’s great to see union members choosing to do something about,” Fredson said. “More and more union members are volunteering, and more and more union members are running for office, whether it’s school board or city council or the state Legislature. And that’s how we’re going to move a working families agenda forward.”

Saint Paul Union AdvocateWhat makes union members good advocates for working families?

• Unique perspectives. In White Bear Lake, the experience of working inside a classroom gives all three labor-endorsed candidates a deep appreciation for the need to keep class sizes small. Fahey taught a middle school science class several years ago with 37 students.

“You can still do your job, but it’s crowded, and there’s no room to give anyone any space,” she said. “We need to work with the Legislature to address school funding so all schools are funded on an equal level.”

Newmaster, meanwhile, pointed to her experience working as a media specialist, helping students access the information they need to plan their life after graduation.

“We really need to provide our kids with a wide variety of experiences so that they’re ready to go on to postsecondary education or begin new jobs,” she said. “We need to make sure we’re connecting with employers, colleges, other training centers to see what their expectations are.”

• Collaborative approach. Newmaster pledged to make the district’s decision-making process more inclusive and to take seriously the input of all stakeholders – students, parents, staff and community members.

“We haven’t had a lot of that lately,” Newmaster said. “We also need to respect everybody’s culture. We can’t just talk about closing the (achievement) gap without talking about cultural competence, where we try to understand everybody’s viewpoints and respect them.”

• Respect for collective bargaining. Both Fahey and Newmaster were active union members, and both value the power and voice their union provided them. When Newmaster started her career in the White Bear Lake schools, she was ineligible for family health insurance coverage because she wasn’t considered a head of her household.

“Our union supported us when it looked like we were going to take it to court, and we won family coverage,” she said.

Fahey has a track record of leadership in the White Bear Lake Teachers’ Association, serving on negotiations teams and volunteering as a members-rights representative for 11 years. She’s pushed back against administrators who accused her union of trying to “bulldoze” policies or initiatives during negotiations.

“Who is this union?” she told management. “Look at all these people in your classrooms. A union is a group of people working for a common purpose.”

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Labor endorsed in Ward 2, Tobolt ready to stand up for working families ‘on day one’

October 22, 2015 by
Volunteers with the Minnesota Nurses Association door knock for Darren Tobolt (R) in St. Paul’s Ward 2

Volunteers with the Minnesota Nurses Association door knock for Darren Tobolt (R) in St. Paul’s Ward 2

When a non-union electrical contractor was undermining area wages and benefits on a project funded by Ramsey County several years back, IBEW Local 110’s Brian Winkelaar didn’t think twice about what to do.

He called Darren Tobolt, County Commissioner Victoria Reinhardt’s longtime assistant.

“I called him up and said, ‘Darren, how come they’re on this project?’” Winkelaar remembered. “He called me back five minutes later, and they were off the site.”

Now, Local 110 is supporting Tobolt in his campaign for St. Paul City Council, and the Electrical Workers are not alone. Nurses, Firefighters, Steelworkers, the St. Paul Regional Labor Federation and others have endorsed Tobolt, making him the only labor candidate in a tight race to succeed Dave Thune in Ward 2.

“He asked for our endorsement, and I didn’t waver for one minute,” Winkelaar said. “He truly believes in our movement, in our cause and in what we do – Project Labor Agreements, prevailing wages, family-supporting careers. He gets it. I don’t need to educate him on our issues.”

Tobolt said his vision for the city is to “keep building on what we’ve been accomplishing, but making sure that we’re bringing everyone along.” That means making sure all workers have access to earned sick and safe time, fighting wage theft and raising wages, he said.

“My experience working with everyone across St. Paul for such a long time means I’m ready to do the job on day one,” Tobolt said. “I’ve spent 20 years engaging and making sure people have a voice in politics. People understand that and remember that.”

Union roots

Tobolt grew up in a middle-class, union family. His father worked began his career as a telephone man with Northwest Bell and retired from Qwest, a member of the Communications Workers of America throughout his career. His mother sold Tupperware, and watching her work gave Darren a healthy appreciation for organizing and networking.

Those are skills he’s put to use in several roles since graduating from the University of Minnesota – as a community organizer for ACORN, working on Paul Wellstone’s first Senate campaign, running get-out-the-vote efforts statewide for John Kerry’s presidential campaign, as chair of the St. Paul DFL and, for the last 17 years, as the top aide to Commissioner Victoria Reinhardt.

A longtime ally of organized labor, Reinhardt describes Tobolt as “a caring, compassionate, listening, dedicated person with a keen eye toward what is fair, what is right.”

Community connections

Tobolt and his wife, Wendy Underwood, live in the West 7th neighborhood, where they’ve established deep roots. She serves on the St. Paul Planning Commission, and he has served on his district council, the Fort Road Federation, as well the board of Transit for Livable Communities, a transportation-based nonprofit.

As proof of his readiness to deliver results for Ward 2, Tobolt points to his service on the City of St. Paul’s task force on public facilities. Tobolt served as chair of the task for last year, when it secured funding for needed improvements to Ward 2’s Palace Rec Center.

Tobolt also has been an advocate for his neighborhood in planning sessions for potential enhancement of the West 7th Street corridor, connecting downtown St. Paul with Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

“Whenever we’re doing work on our streets, I want to make sure we’re making them complete streets, building safe crossings and making them safe for all users,” he said. “If there’s a train, we need to make sure it isn’t a train that goes through our neighborhood, but that it actually serves our neighborhood.”

Labor endorsed

When he walked into screenings with St. Paul unions and labor federations early in the Ward 2 campaign, Tobolt’s was a familiar face to union activists and labor leaders like Linda Hamilton, president of the Minnesota Nurses Association.

“Darren has been a leader in his community, organizing around the issues that matter to working families,” Hamilton said. “He has dedicated his life to public service and has worked hard bringing people together to get things done for this community.

“Nurses support Darren Tolbot because we share the value that ‘we all do better, when we all do better.’”

As her assistant, Reinhardt said, Tobolt developed “a strong background in labor issues, working with union folks on prevailing wage, ordinances regarding contracting and PLA’s.”

Tobolt worked on Ramsey County’s push for a stronger prevailing wage ordinance, which prevent contractors on publicly funded projects from bringing in low-paid workers and undercutting the area standard of living. As a result, the Ramsey County Attorney’s office created a position dedicated entirely to prevailing-wage enforcement.

It’s something Tobolt hopes to replicate in St. Paul.

“We need to work across boundaries,” he said. “If you’re an irresponsible bidder for Ramsey County, you’re going to be an irresponsible bidder for St. Paul, for school boards and other, smaller municipalities. It works better if we all work together.

“The money the city spends is the public’s money, so it should reflect our public values. And our values include making sure workers are adequately compensated and fairly treated.”

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Photos: Workers keep up fight to #StopTPP

October 2, 2015 by

Workers haven’t given up the fight to stop the latest – and largest – free-trade deal, the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

As diplomats from 12 Pacific Rim countries gathered in Atlanta yesterday for negotiations on the sprawling, NAFTA-style trade pact, fair-trade advocates across the country took to the streets, warning the public about what’s at stake in the secretive talks.

Locally, members of the Communications Workers of America and the Minnesota Fair Trade Coalition raised awareness with a banner strung across the I-94 Hamline Avenue bridge during rush hour, and they distributed fliers to commuters focusing on the threat TPP poses to food safety and labeling laws.

Doug Paul of CWA Local 7250 holds the sign, while Doug Williams of the same local passes out fliers.
IUE-CWA Local 1140 members Dale Foster and Howard Terry hoist a banner over I-94 urging commuters to take note of risks posed by the TPP.
Activists hand out hundreds of fliers on the Hamline Avenue bridge.
Cars zip past CWA Local 7250 members Charli Haataja (L) and Chad Perkins on Hamline Avenue.
Zach Tussler, a member of IUE-CWA Local 1140, offers informational fliers to commuters warning about food safety risks posed by the TPP.

“The TPP would require us to allow food imports if the exporting country’s safety regime is deemed ‘equivalent’ to our own, even if it violates our food safety laws,” the flier says. “These rules would effectively outsource domestic food inspection to other countries.

“Under the TPP, any U.S. food safety rule on pesticides, labeling or additives that is higher than international standards would be subject to challenge as ‘illegal trade barriers.’ The U.S. could be required to eliminate these rules and allow in the unsafe food under threat of trade sanctions.”

For more information on the TPP: facebook.com/fairtradenow.

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Victory in New York strengthens workers’ resolve for $15 in Minneapolis

September 11, 2015 by
The Minneapolis Works Coalition rallies outside McDonald's in Dinkytown.

The Minneapolis Works Coalition rallies outside McDonald’s in Dinkytown.

 

Fast-food workers in New York state won their fight for $15 yesterday. Workers in Minneapolis intend to be next.

“If New York can do it, then Minneapolis and Minnesota can do it,” Guillermo Lindsay, a McDonald’s worker and CTUL organizer, barked into a megaphone at a rally outside the Dinkytown McDonald’s yesterday.

Fast-food workers, Working America members and other stakeholders in the Minneapolis Works Coalition organized the rally to celebrate New York’s victory – and keep pressure on Mayor Betsy Hodges and city council members to pass a slate of policies that would lift low-wage workers out of poverty.

“We deserve justice,” McDonald’s worker Lizbeth Garcia said through an interpreter. “We need $15 an hour. We need paid sick days. We need fair scheduling. We need an end to wage theft.”

The Minneapolis City Council today announced it would consider ordinances guaranteeing workers access to earned sick time and fair schedules, an “important step in the right direction and great news for Minneapolis workers, public health and work productivity,” Minneapolis Works said in a press statement.

Shenda Kazee joins a rally outside her workplace, the McDonald's in Dinkytown.

Shenda Kazee joins a rally outside her workplace, the McDonald’s in Dinkytown.

Shenda Kazee, who works nights at the Dinkytown McDonald’s, said her productivity and work-life balance suffer as a result of inconsistent scheduling. Because she earns just $9 an hour at McDonald’s, Kazee picks up hours at a second job to make ends meet.

“It’s been three days, and I have not had any sleep,” Kazee said before the rally yesterday. “I’m going off espresso right now.”

Employers, she said, should provide workers with notice of their schedules “at least a week or two in advance.” They should also pay higher wages.

“McDonald’s is a billion-dollar company,” Kazee said. “They can afford it, and I think we deserve it.”

The victory in New York comes three years after workers at McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s walked off their jobs in New York City, sparking a nationwide movement for a $15 minimum wage and union rights.

The new policy, finalized by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo yesterday, will gradually raise the minimum wage for fast-food workers to $15 over the next three years in New York City and over the next six years statewide. An estimated 200,000 workers will see higher wages as a result.

“Now it’s our turn,” Kazee said. “I’m looking forward to it.”

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Dems get an earful from seniors, workers during Minneapolis meetings

September 2, 2015 by
15Now Minnesota supporters rally outside the Hilton in Minneapolis during the DNC's meetings.

15Now Minnesota supporters rally outside the Hilton in Minneapolis during DNC meetings.

 

As Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and other presidential hopefuls wooed party leaders in Minneapolis during the Democratic National Committee meetings last weekend, local worker and retiree groups mobilized inside and outside the event, looking to push their concerns to the forefront of the 2016 campaign.

On Friday, activists with 15Now Minnesota rallied for a $15 minimum wage outside the downtown Hilton, where contenders for the Democratic presidential were offering much-publicized speeches.

And on Saturday, union retirees and other Minnesota seniors elbowed their way onto the agenda of the DNC Seniors Coordinating Council’s meeting. They urged the party to put forth a bold vision for strengthening Social Security and Medicare, and ensuring economic security for all seniors.

Led by the Minnesota State Retiree Council, AFL-CIO, seniors staged a program that featured testimonials, a sing-along with the Twin Cities Labor Chorus and an actor – Barry ZeVan – portraying former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, ZeVan’s childhood hero.

FDR signed the Social Security Act 80 years ago, in part, to combat high rates of poverty among the nation’s seniors. Martha Johnson, a retired member of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, urged party leaders to “be in the FDR tradition and take strong positions on senior issues.”

Retired AFSCME member Martha Johnson addresses the DNC's Senior Coordinating Committee.

Retired AFSCME member Martha Johnson addresses the DNC’s Senior Coordinating Committee.

‘Scrap the cap’

Johnson, a former president of the retiree council, drew a standing ovation when she called on lawmakers to “scrap” the payroll-tax cap that shields income earned above a designated amount – currently $118,500 – from Social Security deductions.

“That would fund full benefits to the middle of the century,” Johnson said, and would represent a “step toward long-term stability” for Social Security.

Other speakers warned against efforts to privatize Social Security or reduce benefits, including President Obama’s failed attempt to link annual inflationary increases to the so-called “chained CPI.” It’s estimated a third of U.S. seniors rely on Social Security as their only source of income, and weakening the program would threaten the economic security of millions of other retirees.

“People face very unattractive choices,” Johnson said. “They keep working into old age, or they retire into poverty.”

After the retirees’ program concluded, U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison took the podium and pledged to keep fighting for Social Security, Medicare and income security for seniors. The Minneapolis DFLer urged retirees, in turn, to tune into debates surrounding proposed service cuts at the U.S. Postal Service and the sprawling Trans-Pacific Partnership.

The NAFTA-style trade agreement has the potential to impact prescription drug prices, Ellison warned, as pharmaceutical companies look to extend patents on pharmaceuticals and grow their profits.

“I’m just appalled – a life saving drug that you need to survive, and somebody wants to ratchet up the price on it?” Ellison said. “It’s not fair and it’s gouging people.”

Najma Ahmed speaks in favor of a $15 federal minimum wage.

Najma Ahmed speaks in favor of a $15 federal minimum wage.

Raise the wage

About 20 people joined the rally for a $15 federal minimum wage a day earlier. 15Now organizer Ty Moore said DNC officials reached out in advance of the demonstration, a sign that party leaders “understand that this issue, even with just this small crowd today, has a huge resonance in the wider community.”

15Now campaigns – alive in Minneapolis, St. Paul and at MSP International Airport – have won minimum-wage hikes in Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco and other cities. And two Democratic presidential candidates, Sanders and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, already support $15 nationwide.

“We welcome that, but we want to push on,” campaign organizer Ginger Jentzen said. “We want every presidential candidate to speak to the issue of $15 an hour.”

Minnesota’s minimum wage recently increased from $8 to $9 per hour. But Najma Ahmed, who works two minimum-wage jobs and attends Minneapolis Community and Technical College, said she and her family of five “scrounge just to live.”

If given the opportunity, what would she tell the presidential candidates gathered inside the Hilton?

“I would tell them that it’s really hard as it is making $9 per hour,” Ahmed said. “I would tell them to support free education and to increase the minimum wage. We have a right to live and be paid decently.”

Filed Under: Politics Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Ellison joins home care worker on the job, reaffirms support of Fight for $15

August 31, 2015 by
U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison (L) chats with Clara Nakumbe and her sons Siran and Shmel Bogan (R).

U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison (L) chats with Clara Nakumbe and her sons Siran and Shmel Bogan (R).

Clara Nakumbe is fighting for $15 an hour, but the Minneapolis resident doesn’t work in a fast-food restaurant or behind the scenes at the airport. She works in her own home, providing round-the-clock care for her son Siran, who lives with a severe form of multiple sclerosis.

It’s work that earns Nakumbe $11 per hour, thanks to a new contract between the State of Minnesota and home care workers, members of SEIU Healthcare Minnesota, that went into effect this summer.

Nakumbe was an early supporter of the union drive that led to that historic first contract. Now, she’s among a growing number of home care workers nationwide raising their voices as part of the “Fight for $15.”

“Just because we’re doing this doesn’t mean we don’t have bills,” Nakumbe told U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison during a visit at her kitchen table today. “People need decent wages because they still have responsibilities.”

Ellison, a DFLer from Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, visited Nakumbe’s north Minneapolis home as part of an event organized by SEIU to expose lawmakers to the challenges home care workers face on a daily basis.

He asked several questions of Clara, Siran’s brother Shmel Bogan and Siran himself, who could offer only “yes” or “no” as answers. The conversation ranged from Siran’s life before his diagnosis to the family’s daily routine.

“What do you think about the home care workers getting $15 an hour?” Ellison asked Siran.

“He said yes!” Clara laughed.

web.homecare-ellison32Although Social Security benefits help, Nakumbe said her income remains far below what she was earning at the job she left in order to keep Siran out of a nursing home – a decision that not only keeps Siran close to family, but saves the state money as well. She said she supports the Fight for $15 movement for the same reasons she supported the union drive four years ago.

“We fought for the union in order to have a voice,” she said. “If more of us come together collectively, we can do more than we can individually.”

Ellison said seeing home care work firsthand reinforced his belief that both home care workers and clients deserve better than wages that keep workers at or below the poverty line.

“If we pay this work fairly, it means we value all members of our community,” Ellison said. “We’re all one injury or one illness away from needing the care you all provide for Siran.

“If his home care worker is paid the right way, then he’ll be taken care of properly. But if you’re paying (home care workers) not even enough to stay out of poverty, how can you expect them to continue to do the work?”

Filed Under: Politics, Union Events Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Union members join protest outside Walker’s St. Paul campaign stop

August 19, 2015 by
Operating Engineers Local 49 member Vahne Angelino (L) and her wife Melissa confront one of Scott Walker's supporters outside a campaign stop in St. Paul.

Vahne Angelino (L), a member of Operating Engineers Local 49 from Maplewood, gets an earful from one of Scott Walker’s supporters outside a campaign fundraiser in St. Paul.

 

Scott Walker’s knack for bringing people together was on full display in St. Paul last night.

As the Wisconsin governor wooed local Republican lawmakers and raised funds for his presidential campaign inside O’Gara’s Bar & Grill, about 20 Building Trades union members and other protesters marched outside in a steady rain.

Tempers flared briefly after a Walker supporter – a self-described former union member – stepped outside to heckle the protesters. The shouting match that ensued offered a glimpse of how Walker’s divide-and-conquer approach has played out for Minnesotans’ neighbors to the east.

Nate O’Reilly, a member of Iron Workers Local 512 from southern Minnesota, remembered watching on TV as thousands of union members streamed into Madison soon after Walker took office in 2011, protesting legislation that stripped teachers and most other public employees of their collective bargaining rights.

Act 10 weakened public employees’ unions, making it easier, O’Reilly said, for Walker to attack the rest of the labor movement – signing right-to-work legislation and, most recently, gutting Wisconsin’s prevailing wage law.

Kimberly Brinkman carriers Sprinklerfitters Local 417's banner outside a Scott Walker appearance in St. Paul.

Kimberly Brinkman carriers Sprinklerfitters Local 417’s banner outside a Scott Walker appearance in St. Paul.

“Those things take money out of the pockets of working families,” O’Reilly said.

Walker pitched his attacks on collective bargaining as reforms necessary to balance the state’s budget and jump-start its economy after the Great Recession (as opposed to kickbacks for his corporate donors).

But the same recession hit Minnesota, where DFL Gov. Mark Dayton took a much different approach than Walker. Dayton expanded collective bargaining rights, raised taxes on the rich and invested in the state’s public schools and infrastructure.

The results? Dayton’s approach turned a $5 billion budget deficit into a $1 billion surplus in just one term, while Wisconsin still faces a $2 billion budget deficit. And Minnesota’s economy has thrived, with wage and job growth consistently outperforming Wisconsin’s.

It begs the question – why would Walker risk the comparison with Minnesota for a lousy campaign stop?

“I’m stunned he would show his face here,” Sprinklerfitters Local 417 member Kimberly Brinkman said. “We’re so union strong, and he has done nothing for working families in Wisconsin.

“It just blows me away that anyone would support him.”

Filed Under: Politics

Minnesota seniors to demand Democrats’ attention

August 19, 2015 by

B56536_BETHSINGER_FLAGUnion retirees and other seniors plan to show up in force at an Aug. 29 meeting of the Democratic National Committee in Minneapolis and demand that party leaders do more to address older adults’ concerns.

The Minnesota State Retiree Council, AFL-CIO, is urging seniors from across the region to attend the DNC Seniors Coordinating Council meeting and share their concerns about the need to strengthen Social Security, improve Medicare and assure a dignified retirement for all, including coming generations.

“Let’s show up Aug. 29 and make our voices heard,” Retiree Council President Bill Moore said. “This isn’t just a union thing. Ten thousand Baby Boomers a day are reaching age 65! Strengthening Social Security and Medicare is important to us all, and to our kids who’ll be helping us as we age and who themselves will grow old some day.”

The meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. to noon at the Hilton Hotel, 1001 Marquette Ave. S., Minneapolis. Reduced rate parking will be available for seniors participating in the event, and car-pooling is encouraged.

“Politicians know that older adults vote, and they tend to take our support for granted. They need to understand that our issues matter,” Minnesota AFL-CIO President Shar Knutson said.

UPDATE 08/28 – The seniors are bringing along Franklin Delano Roosevelt … or at least an actor who will portray the president who signed Social Security into law 80 years ago. From a Minnesota AFL-CIO press release issued today:

An actor portraying former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, will join union retirees and other seniors at a National Democratic Party meeting Saturday morning meeting in Minneapolis to urge party leaders to act on older adults’ concerns, especially strengthening Social Security and improving Medicare to assure a dignified retirement for all, including coming generations

FDR’s avatar will celebrate the Social Security Act, passed eighty years ago, as the most important social legislation in our country’s history and urge Democratic politicians to improve and safeguard it along with other benefit programs that help citizens, young and old, deal with the challenges of old age, disability and ill health…

Filed Under: Politics
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