Six for St. Paul City Council win Labor endorsement

November 2, 2015 by

The St. Paul Regional Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, with more than 100 affiliate unions representing 50,000 union members in the East Metro, has endorsed six candidates for St. Paul City Council on the Nov. 3 ballot. Read more about Ward 2 candidate Darren Tobolt here, and read profiles of the Labor-endorsed candidates for St. Paul school board here. To view a full list of the RLF’s endorsed candidates in 2015, click here.

Saint Paul Union AdvocateWard 1: Dai Thao

• Union background: Former union member, when he was on staff at MEA, now Education Minnesota.

• Toughest job he’s ever worked: Huckleberry picking in Western Montana and Idaho. “You work before sunrise past sunset,” Thao said. “Each berry has to be hand-picked in rugged terrain. You’re exposed to harsh elements and wild animals – grizzly bears, cougars – and your meal is a fist-sized bag of rice with jerk. I learned to put things into perspective and to work hard.”

• On what it means to be labor endorsed: “Labor endorsement means that I have a partner in creating a more equitable St. Paul. I have people I can rely on to implement progressive policies that benefit working families.”

Ward 2: Darren Tobolt

• Union background: Former member, Local 110 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in St. Paul.

• Toughest job he’s ever worked: Army Basic Training, prior to service in the National Guard. “It was pretty tough, giving up autonomy at 18 years old,” Tobolt said. “The biggest lesson that I learned was that life is like weather – you don’t control it, you can only control how you react to it.”

• On what it means to be labor endorsed: “Growing up in a union household, I have always valued the labor movement. I am honored to have earned the trust of my brothers and sisters in organized labor. As a council member I will make sure that public employees are respected and that all the money the city spends reflects our community values about working conditions and fair wages.”

Ward 3: Chris Tolbert

• Union background: Member of AFSCME Local 2938.

• Toughest job he’s ever worked: Cook at Kentucky Fried Chicken. “I learned that I wanted a different job,” Tolbert said. “It was tough because I was in high school and the working conditions were horrible, but when it’s just you versus a boss, you don’t have much power to stand up for yourself. It would have been nice to have had some union support.”

• On what it means to be labor endorsed: “It was an honor to earn the endorsement of my sisters and brothers in labor when I first ran for office in 2011; it’s humbling to have their endorsement as I run for re-election, because it means I’ve stuck to my values while in office and continue to have their trust and confidence.”

Ward 4: Russ Stark

• Union background: “I haven’t had the pleasure,” Stark said. “My mom is a retired AFSCME member.”

• Toughest job he’s ever worked: “City Council member is both the toughest and best job I’ve ever worked. I’ve learned that every little thing you do in your job and in life counts and will be remembered by someone. I’ve learned that change is hard and balancing the desires of constituents with your own idea of what’s right is very similar to the balancing act we all do in our families and workplaces.”

• On what it means to be labor endorsed: “I’m proud to be supported by the working people of St. Paul who have taught my kids in school, cared for family members in the hospital, fixed my streets and sewers, pick up my recycling, and built some of the great new venues in our great city. It means that they’ve noticed when I have stood up for their best interests and for what’s right for our city. Every policy and budget decision we make in City Hall effects not just the residents and businesses in our community but also the lives and families of the people who do all of the work to make it all possible.”

Ward 6: Dan Bostrom

• Union background: Former member of the St. Paul Police Federation and the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees (MAPE).

• Toughest job he’s ever worked: Police officer in St. Paul. “While I laid brick for a short while as a young man – one of the main reasons I still admire the craft and push for brick buildings today – the toughest job I’ve ever worked was as a St. Paul police officer,” Bostrom said. “In order to be assured of going home at the end of each shift, I had to completely trust and rely on my brothers and sisters in blue. I knew they had my back and I always had theirs.”

• On what it means to be labor endorsed: “I have been honored to have a group of advisors from a variety of unions over the years, and I am proud to call them my personal friends. They have given me advice, insights and perspective that has been invaluable as the Council has made decisions on contracts, projects and more.”

Ward 7: Jane Prince

• Union background: Former member of the Professional Employees Association.

• Toughest job she’s ever worked: Frozen-food factory. “The work was physically demanding, being on my feet all day, working in a cold environment and not being able to take restroom breaks without asking permission and getting replaced on the assembly line,” Prince said. “Despite how uncomfortable and repetitious the job was, my coworkers were friendly, cheerful and proud of their work.

“These workers came to work each day wearing their 10-, 20- and 30-year pins. I learned that respect and recognition by employers pay dividends of worker loyalty and commitment.”

• On what it means to be labor endorsed: “Good union jobs at Whirlpool, 3M and the Hamm’s Brewery were responsible for building a strong middle class on the East Side; losing those employers hit the East Side hard. I will work with organized labor to bring good jobs back. At City Hall I will work with public employees to deliver high-quality city services, hold the line on taxes and make St. Paul a great place to live and work.”

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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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Five running for St. Paul City Council gain labor endorsement

January 20, 2015 by

FederationLogoCOLOR-WEBFive candidates for St. Paul City Council, including one in the contested Ward 2 race, will take labor endorsements from the East Metro’s largest union federation into precinct caucuses Feb. 3.

Delegates to the St. Paul Regional Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, voted Jan. 14 to endorse Darren Tobolt in Ward 2, where Council Member Dave Thune is not seeking another term.

Tobolt lives in the West 7th neighborhood, works as an aide to Ramsey County Commissioner Victoria Reinhardt and is a former chair of the St. Paul DFL.

“I grew up in a union household, and I look forward to being a champion for working families on the council,” Tobolt said. “I will not only respect public workers and the service they provide, but I will make sure that all of my work supports our community’s values of respect for workers and their families.”

The St. Paul RLF also endorsed four incumbents seeking re-election in 2015: Dai Thao in Ward 1, Chris Tolbert in Ward 3, Russ Stark in Ward 4 and Dan Bostrom in Ward 6.

“St. Paul’s union workers are fortunate to be represented by council members who share our values, welcome our feedback and treat us as partners in building a livable, just and prosperous community,” St. Paul RLF President Bobby Kasper said. “These council members have earned labor endorsement, and they can count on our support.”

DFL precinct caucuses are open to anyone 16 or older, although only those who will be 18 or older by the Nov. 3 election can vote or run to be a delegate. Click here to learn how and where to caucus Feb. 3.

Kasper said the RLF’s endorsement process would continue in advance of elections for St. Paul City Council and St. Paul Board of Education this year.

Candidates seeking labor endorsement screen before the St. Paul Labor Assembly, a grassroots organization open to rank-and-file members of unions affiliated with the St. Paul RLF who live or work in Ramsey County. The assembly then makes recommendations for endorsement to the St. Paul RLF.

The St. Paul Labor Assembly will screen St. Paul school board candidates Feb. 2, and the RLF may consider recommendations for endorsement at its February or March delegate meetings. For more information, call 651-222-3787.

More than 100 affiliate unions make up the St. Paul RLF, representing more than 50,000 union members who live or work in Ramsey, Washington, Dakota and Chisago counties.

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