Eliot Seide was even more fired up than usual when he sat down for a Thursday-morning interview at AFSCME Council 5’s South St. Paul offices last month. News had just broken that the U.S. Supreme Court would hear a case with the potential to weaken public-sector workers’ collective bargaining power, and it had Seide and […]
Eliot Seide: How to survive and thrive in a right-to-work nation
March 6, 2017 by
I believe our unions can survive and thrive in a right-to-work nation. America isn’t powered by quitters and neither is our labor movement. We’re committed to our members, to each other, and to our communities. With President Trump and Justice Gorsuch, we know right-to-work will happen. The only question is how soon. Survival won’t be […]
Eliot Seide: Loud bully or change maker? It’s our choice
August 30, 2016 by
Donald Trump is angling for voters like us – workers fed up by stagnant wages and an economy rigged for the rich. Don’t swallow his bait! Trump calls himself a “blue-collar billionaire.” There is no such thing! He’s really a bad boss who fires people on a game show. America needs a real president, not […]
AFSCME members defend public services during annual lobbying day
April 5, 2016 by
No one knows more about public services in Minnesota than the workers who deliver them, and state lawmakers had access to an abundance of wisdom today during AFSCME Council 5’s annual lobbying blitz. “The experts in public service are coming to the Capitol,” Council 5 Director Eliot Seide said at the close of a […]
Drazkowski threatens to derail state contracts with Right to Work ‘poison pill’
April 1, 2016 by
It’s fair to say state Rep. Steve Drazkowski has a reputation for advancing extreme ideas. He’s supported logging in Minnesota’s state parks and eliminating the Pay Equity Act, even floated the idea of replacing health care workers with baby monitors. The Mazeppa Republican is at it again this session, inserting Wisconsin-style Right to Work […]
Unions praise Dayton’s approach to building a ‘state that works for everyone’
March 10, 2016 by
In his State of the State Address last night, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton called on legislators to join him in addressing the state’s racial and geographic disparities, and in making needed investments in public education, transportation and infrastructure. Afterward, union leaders from across the state praised Dayton’s speech. Education Minnesota President Denise Specht called Dayton […]
Lawmakers split over state employees’ contracts, set to take effect next month
October 30, 2015 by
Contracts 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, […]
U of M workers: ‘Less than 1 percent won’t pay the rent’
September 29, 2015 by
Unions representing about 4,000 workers in contract negotiations with the University of Minnesota took new momentum into a bargaining session today, after workers, students, faculty and other supporters rallied behind their fight for raises and respect. “We’re only going to get what we’re organized to take,” Mick Kelly, a cook at Centennial Hall, said […]
AFSCME members defend public service during Council 5’s Day on Hill rally
March 25, 2015 by
“Everyone in this room is an expert in public service,” AFSCME Council 5 Executive Director Eliot Seide told nearly 1,000 members of the union during its Day on the Hill rally yesterday. “You’ve forgotten more than (politicians) will ever know.” After the rally, held at a downtown St. Paul hotel, union members bused to […]
Unions: Surplus more proof Minnesota is on right track
February 27, 2015 by
Minnesota’s projected $1.9 billion state budget surplus, announced today by Minnesota Management and Budget Commissioner Myron Frans, is proof that progressive policies pushed by DFL lawmakers over the last two years have helped foster economic growth, the state’s unions said. The Minnesota AFL-CIO, the state’s largest labor federation, representing more than 300,000 union members, said […]
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