Unions: Dayton’s State of the State provides roadmap to a better Minnesota

February 7, 2013 by

capitolMinnesota Gov. Mark Dayton’s State of the State address last night drew glowing praise from the state’s union leaders, who applauded the DFL governor for his honesty, vision and commitment to middle class families.

“In his address, Gov. Dayton rolled out a strong, reasonable path to a better Minnesota, a brighter future for our state,” said Jim Monroe, executive director of the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees, which represents more than 12,000 state workers. “Minnesotans finally have a governor who is willing to take the bold steps needed to achieve tax fairness, invest in education and strengthen the middle class in this state.”

Addressing a joint session of the House and Senate, Dayton reiterated his support for a balanced budget that mixes spending cuts with strategic investments in education, infrastructure and vital services to bridge a projected $1.1 billion shortfall over the next biennium – and pay back the $1.1 billion borrowed from public school districts to balance the current budget.

Dayton also called on legislators to pass a tax reform bill that restores fairness and balance to the system, while protecting the middle class. He pointed to a recent analysis by the think tank Minnesota 2020 showing “middle-class Minnesotans pay 26 percent more state and local taxes per dollar of income than do the top one percent of our state’s income earners.”

“Making taxes fairer requires asking more of those citizens and corporations who now pay less than their proportionate share,” Dayton said. “Today, more and more hard-working, middle-class Minnesotans believe that the state’s tax structure is unfair to them. And they’re right.”

Shar Knutson, president of the 300,000-member Minnesota AFL-CIO, called Dayton’s honest approach to solving the projected budget shortfall refreshing, particularly after “a decade of billions in cuts to education, health care and vital state services, tax giveaways to big corporations and the rich, and budget gimmicks” at the Capitol.

Eliot Seide, executive director of the 43,000-member AFSCME Council 5, said Dayton is “honest about what he wants to buy with his budget, and he’s courageous about how he wants to pay for it.

“No more kicking the deficit down the road,” Seide added. “No more gimmicks and games that pass the buck to future generations.”

The question now is whether legislators will follow the governor’s lead. The answer likely won’t come until after the state releases its next economic forecast Feb. 28.

“Legislators have important choices to make that will impact all Minnesotans,” Knutson said. “Gov. Dayton has provided them a roadmap that leads to a better Minnesota.”

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

With time running out at the Capitol, unions plan rally for jobs

May 2, 2012 by

Before adjourning the 2012 legislative session, Minnesota lawmakers could act on a pair of bills that, if passed, would create nearly 50,000 family-sustaining jobs. But on Tuesday it appeared Republican majorities in the House and Senate were more preoccupied with saving their own.

By law, the session must adjourn by May 21. That means the clock is ticking on an infrastructure-jobs bill and a $1 billion financing package for construction of a new Vikings stadium. Together, the measures could create more than 40,000 jobs in the sluggish construction industry.

Unions are lobbying hard for both measures. The state’s largest labor federation, the Minnesota AFL-CIO, announced plans to stage a rally on the Capitol steps Thursday at 11 a.m.

“Workers in the construction trades were hit hardest when the great recession began and the sector still has yet to recover,” Minnesota AFL-CIO President Shar Knutson said. “Stadium construction and a large infrastructure bill will put tens of thousands of Minnesota construction workers back on the job in every corner of the state.

“If the Legislature adjourns and leaves nearly 40,000 family sustaining jobs on the table; it will be a great disservice to Minnesotans who want and need to work. Middle class Minnesotans are waiting for real results on job creation from this Legislature.”

Gov. Mark Dayton, waiting for the Legislature to resume its work tomorrow, held a press conference at the Capitol today, responding with visible disappointment to Republican leaders for calling a last-minute stadium audible yesterday. They attempted to alter the existing stadium package after “thousands of hours of negotiations and seven committee hearings,” according to the governor.

The Republican proposal for a “roof-ready” stadium on the current Metrodome site is a non-starter for the Vikings’ local partner, the City of Minneapolis. Dayton said Republicans know their proposal will not pass, but are seeking to give themselves political cover with voters hungry for the jobs a new stadium would create.

Dayton characterized it as “one of the most cynical attempts at political gamesmanship” he has ever seen.

“It’s extremely, extremely disappointing and profoundly disturbing that all these months of working together, working it out together … have come to this kind of disaster,” Dayton added. “I hold the Republican leadership in the House and the Senate responsible for it.”

Unions are encouraging members to tell their legislators that Minnesota needs middle class jobs, not tax cuts for corporations.

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