Bobby Kasper: Union candidates share our values, amplify our voice

October 24, 2017 by

Bobby Kasper

Every election cycle our unions interview and consider endorsing candidates for public office, from local school boards and city councils to the Legislature and Congress. We want to know which candidates share our values. We want to know who stands with us on issues that matter to working families, like affordable health care, quality schools and a fair economy.

As someone who has been through more of these candidate screenings than I could count, I can say this with absolute certainty: No one understands our issues better – or articulates our priorities with greater clarity – than union members. Too often candidates seek our support without understanding the issues that keep our unions strong, like prevailing wages, collective bargaining rights and labor-peace agreements.

That isn’t the case with these three labor-endorsed candidates for school boards in the East Metro, all of whom deserve our support in the Nov. 7 elections.

• Craig Angrimson. If he’s elected to the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan school board (ISD No. 196), Craig won’t need a crash course in what labor unions are all about. Since exiting the Marine Corps, Angrimson has spent his entire career in the labor movement, working for Northwest Airlines as a Machinist from 1987 to 2006 and, later, as a chief wastewater operator for the Met Council. Within three years of taking that job, Craig was elected president of Operating Engineers Local 35, which recently merged with Local 49. He is a member of the St. Paul Regional Labor Federation Executive Board.

After working union his whole life, Angrimson has little time for those who would build or improve school buildings without a Project Labor Agreement, or seek to privatize any district employee’s job.

He has lived in District 196 for 25 years, and his daughter, Rachel, graduated from high school in 2015. Craig is exactly the kind of elected official we need. Whether we’re parents, taxpayers or employees in the district, he’s walked in our shoes.

• Sean Brown. A longtime member of the Carpenters union, Sean is seeking a two-year term on the South Washington County School Board (ISD No. 833). Like Craig Angrimson, Sean has deep roots in the district, with two stepchildren currently attending Woodbury High School and a daughter who graduated in 2014.

Voters who see Sean’s name on their ballot also will see three levy questions that, if approved by voters, would preserve the district’s fiscal health and invest in upgrades to aging classroom technologies. Sean has been a supporter of these levy requests from the start, and it’s a big reason he earned the endorsement of teachers in his district. Without levy support, the district would face cuts that threaten to increase class sizes, reduce course offerings and eliminate extracurricular activities.

• Don Mullin. A second-generation trade show decorator and member of the Painters and Allied Trades union, Don is seeking re-election to the White Bear Lake Area School Board (ISD No. 624) after winning a seat four years ago.

Don currently serves as Executive Secretary of the St. Paul Building and Construction Trades Council. He understands better than anyone the skills young adults need to enter the workforce – and how our public schools can prepare them for the next step in their career, whether that’s a four-year college, a vocational school or an apprenticeship program.

Most importantly, Don understands, as Sean and Craig do, that the primary job of school board members is to equip teachers and other professionals with the tools they need to do what’s best for our children. As union members, we know that by working together and having each other’s back we can achieve great things. It’s a lesson some in Washington, D.C. would do well to learn.

– Bobby Kasper is president of the St. Paul Regional Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, representing more than 100 affiliate unions with over 50,000 members in Chisago, Dakota, Ramsey and Washington counties. Find a complete list of the federation’s endorsements at www.stpaulunions.org.

 

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Labor federation looks to put union members on ‘Path to Power’

January 28, 2015 by
Lynn Barton, a child care provider and AFSCME member from Alexandria, joined in a workshop at the Path to Power training.

Lynn Barton, a child care provider and AFSCME member from Alexandria, joined in a workshop at the Path to Power training.

Lynn Barten stood up in a conference room Sunday morning in St. Paul and gave a stump speech for a campaign she isn’t running – not yet, anyway – before a roomful of people who couldn’t vote for her anyway.

Barten, an AFSCME member from Alexandria, was one of more than 70 people who enrolled in the Minnesota AFL-CIO’s Path to Power training, a two-day boot camp in the most basic skills necessary to run an effective campaign for public office – skills like messaging, fundraising, networking and, yes, writing a stump speech.

“There are all these things like messaging, how you present yourself, how you sell your campaign,” Barten said. “It’s campaign basics, but had I thought of it before? Probably not.

“If it weren’t for an event like this, I’d just be doing everything on Google, searching for how to write a stump speech.”

The best advocates

When union members like Barten win election to public office, they make the best advocates for working families. That’s the idea behind the new Path to Power initiative, introduced by the Minnesota AFL-CIO last year.

[Click here to check out details regarding the next Path to Power training, April 25-26 in Little Canada.]

In many ways, program coordinator Bill Emory said, Path to Power is a response to the proliferation of attacks on the middle class. Corporate-backed lobbying groups like ALEC have turned state capitols into battlegrounds for workers’ rights, and billionaires like Michael Bloomberg are using personal fortunes to push their agendas on an increasingly local level.

“We need more people at all levels of government who actually know what it’s like to balance a checkbook on a middle-class paycheck, know what kind of impact unions have on building a stronger, more fair economy and know how important it is that our public dollars are spent well,” Emory said.

The Minnesota AFL-CIO, the state’s largest labor federation, hopes Path to Power will create a “pipeline” of leaders capable of standing up for the labor movement and its values. The state federation teamed with the national AFL-CIO to develop curriculum for the training.

“We want to make sure that union members have the best preparation possible before they run for office,” Emory said.

Path to Power trainings took union members through the steps of running for public office.

Path to Power trainings took union members through the steps of running for public office.

Everyone welcome

Participation in the training was not restricted to union members. Ira Jourdain, a losing candidate for school board in Minneapolis last year, enrolled in the training to increase his familiarity with unions, how they operate and how their issues relate to campaigns like his.

“It was an eye-opening experience,” he said. “I had so many people, even after the election, who were part of a union tell me to run again. Being here today, I’m learning more about making connections with unions and other groups sooner in the campaign.”

Building confidence

Emory said there appears to be a strong appetite for Path to Power candidate trainings among union members and the progressive community. Registration for the first training more than doubled expectations, and already 15 people have signed up for a second training April 25-26.

“I hope that participants will come away feeling confident that they can build a team of committed volunteers, communicate a strong message that includes a focus on economic justice, raise money, talk to voters and do all those things they’ll need to do to run for office successfully,” Emory said.

Barten, who is eyeing a run for Minnesota House of Representatives, said the training moved her one step closer to taking the plunge.

“I was so excited to be here today,” Barten said. “Putting these tools in my toolbox gives me a little more confidence that I really can do this. Maybe it’s not that tough.”

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Members bring union perspective to local campaigns in East Metro suburbs

October 30, 2013 by
Don Mullin, a member of the Painters and Allied Trades, talks with a volunteer on his campaign for White Bear Lake School Board.

Don Mullin, a member of the Painters and Allied Trades, talks with a volunteer on his campaign for White Bear Lake School Board.

At least three union members are running campaigns for local office in the East Metro this fall, a positive sign in an odd-year election cycle for those who believe union members naturally make the best advocates for working families’ issues.

Don Mullin, a second-generation trade show decorator and member of the Painters and Allied Trades, is running for White Bear Lake Area School Board with the endorsement of organized labor.

Project1_Layout 1Two union members are seeking spots on the New Brighton City Council: Mary Kunesh-Podein, a member of the Robbinsdale Federation of Teachers, and Graeme Allen, a member of Teamsters Local 120.

All three candidates agree that being a union member lends a unique and valuable perspective to their campaign, and all three appreciate the support they’ve received from the labor community as well.

“It’s been amazing. I’ve had support from Education Minnesota and teachers in New Brighton, and teachers from other school districts have reached out to me too,” Kunesh-Podein said.

[Election Day is Nov. 5. For more information on voting, visit the Secretary of State’s website.]

Running for his family

Mullin is the father of three children. One graduated from White Bear Lake in 2009, and two are currently enrolled in the district’s schools. A first-time candidate for office, he says he entered the race out of concern for the future of his children and their classmates.

Mullin wants to see the school district increase its embrace of technology that will drive tomorrow’s economy. “Technology is that critical piece for us to compete in the global economy,” he said.

His background in the Trades provides him with insight into the skills young adults need to be equipped with when they enter the workforce. While he would like to see all students go to college and get four-year degrees, “that’s not a reality for every student,” he said. “We need to offer and promote other opportunities, like vocational schools and apprenticeship programs.”

Mullin supports the district’s levy referendum, although he says the school board must be “held accountable for making sure the funds go into classrooms, music programs and technology.”

The primary job of school board members, Mullin added, is to equip teachers and other professionals in the district with the tools they need to do their jobs. “People should be thanking teachers,” he said. “There is a teacher out there today teaching the next president of the United States, the next congressperson, the next senator. I entered this race because I believe in teachers.”

Mary Kunesh-Podein

Mary Kunesh-Podein

Fresh faces in New Brighton

Both union members seeking spots on the New Brighton City Council say they bring a fresh voice to the job, and both pledge to keep the northern suburb a great place for middle class families to put down roots.

Allen, a community and political organizer for the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation, moved to New Brighton five years ago.

“I was looking for a place to put my roots down and raise a family, and New Brighton was the perfect place for me,” he said. “I’m running to present a new vision and fresh energy to decisions the council is making.”

Kunesh-Podein has seen a need for new leadership on the council while serving on the city’s Parks, Recreation and Environmental Commission for the last two years.

“We’ve got a council that has been there for a while, and we’re seeing some of the same old, same old things,” she said. “Mostly, I think it’s just a fresh face, a fresh idea, fresh approach to some of our decisions that we need most.”

Allen and Kunesh-Podein pointed to recent reductions in city staff as troubling developments for New Brighton’s standard of living. From the Parks, Recreation and Environmental Commission, Kunesh-Podein has seen firsthand the effects of those cuts.

“We lost a forester,” she said, “and I would like to see that position come back. You can kind of tell when somebody is there to protect the trees and parks and green spaces. I’d also like to see us hire back someone to implement kids programming and summer programming in our city buildings.”

Graeme Allen

Graeme Allen

Allen said the city is expected to receive a significant amount of state aid to local governments, funds he’d like to see restore some of the personnel cuts.

“I think we can not only lower property taxes, but also restore some of the programs that have been cut – programs that were serving kids and seniors, programs out of our Parks Department,” he said. “You can’t cut your way to prosperity.”

Union perspectives

All three candidates, meanwhile, point to assets they will bring to public office that stem from their experience as active union members. For Kunesh-Podein, it’s a background in labor-management relations.

“Having been in a union, I’ve gone through those negotiations and that whole process,” she said. “It’s made me a little more aware and experienced.”

Allen points to his track record of political activism and the relationships he’s built over time with elected officials in the region. “Our current city council doesn’t work with state House and Senate members on issues that affect the region and the city,” he said.

For Mullin, it’s a work ethic he learned as a union member.

“I’ve been knocking on doors, talking to people every week,” he said. “If I lose this election, it’s not going to be because somebody outworked me.”

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