Ellison joins final push for administrative citations in St. Paul

October 30, 2025 by

Attorney General Keith Ellison today joined St. Paul workers, renters, small business owners and community activists making one last appeal for a “yes” vote on administrative citations.

St. Paul currently lacks authority under the city’s charter to enforce labor standards, property codes, renter protections and other ordinances by issuing civil fines. That makes it an outlier among Minnesota’s largest cities.

When local officials have both civil and criminal enforcement options, Ellison said, they are less likely to tap the Attorney General’s Office for assistance, and their low-income residents are less likely to turn to nonprofits for legal aid.

“We’ve had to sue bad landlords all over the state,” Ellison said during a press conference with the Vote Yes for a Fairer St. Paul campaign outside City Hall. “Every time we do, that means time, money and people, and it means that there’s some other problem that is not being addressed.”

Question 1 on the ballot in the City of St. Paul asks voters whether to amend the charter to allow enforcement of certain ordinances through civil fines, rather than criminal charges.

The proposal emerged from the city’s Charter Commission earlier this year and advanced to the City Council, where it passed unanimously. Mayor Melvin Carter supported the change, but opponents collected enough signatures to put the question before voters Nov. 4.

Labor groups, including the St. Paul Regional Labor Federation, have endorsed the “Vote Yes” campaign, arguing the change will allow more efficient and equitable enforcement of labor standards that unions lobbied hard for, including a higher minimum wage and protections against wage theft.

“These ordinances make our city stand out, but, unfortunately, we also stand out for not having a critical tool to enforce them,” Rick Varco, political director of SEIU Healthcare Minnesota and Iowa, said.

Varco pointed to the city’s first major attempt to enforce its ordinance requiring employers to provide earned sick and safe time. The case, filed in 2020, involved about 100 workers at a home health agency who had to wait over four years to get their legally required benefit.

Forcing enforcement into the criminal courts isn’t just impractical, advocates at the press conference said; it also plays into the hands of employers and property owners, with deeper pockets than workers and renters.

“Without administrative citations, the city is left with only two extremes: send a warning letter or pursue a time-consuming, costly criminal case,” Housing Justice Center attorney Jessica Szuminski said. “Predictably, most violations result in no actions at all.”

With a victory for administrative citations Nov. 4, Szuminski added, “tenant protections in St. Paul will finally have teeth, and renters can be assured that their calls for help to the city will mean something.”

– Michael Moore, Union Advocate editor

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O’Mara receives St. Paul labor federation’s Humanitarian Award

May 30, 2014 by
St. Paul RLF President Bobby Kasper presents Biz O’Mara with the 2013 Humanitarian Award for her career as liaison between labor and United Way.

St. Paul RLF President Bobby Kasper presents Biz O’Mara with the 2013 Humanitarian Award for her career as liaison between labor and United Way.

The St. Paul Regional Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, awarded its 2013 Humanitarian Award to longtime United Way staff member Elizabeth “Biz” O’Mara. President Bobby Kasper presented O’Mara with the award at the RLF’s May delegate meeting.

O’Mara, who retired from Greater Twin Cities United Way over the winter, embodied the connection between area unions and the charitable organization, Kasper said.

“Biz truly understands us and has worked toward educating folks at United Way about us and our partnership both locally and nationally,” Kasper said.

O’Mara has been working to engage union members in United Way’s annual fundraising campaign since 1982, a year after she joined the staff of United Way of the St. Paul Area. She continued as the liaison to labor after the Minneapolis and St. Paul chapters merged, and O’Mara became a fixture in union halls during United Way’s campaign drive and at labor events throughout the year.

“She has always participated in our events – our Labor Day parade in the fall and our Winter Carnival parade in the dead of winter,” Kasper said. “Biz has been a constant help to us, we will miss her and her friendship, and we wish her all the best in retirement.”

The St. Paul RLF has a longstanding partnership with United Way through the AFL-CIO Community Services Program. Community Services liaisons on staff with the RLF’s non-profit arm, the St. Paul Labor Studies and Resource Center, assist union members facing financial crises as a result of strikes, layoffs or other economic factors.

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Bobby Kasper: Super Bowl will showcase union workers

May 29, 2014 by
Bobby Kasper

Bobby Kasper

It doesn’t take most people very long to realize I’m not a native Minnesotan. My New York accent is usually a dead giveaway. But after living here for 20-plus years, Minnesota is the place I’m proud to call home. That’s why I was thrilled to learn the Twin Cities will play host to Super Bowl LII in 2018. The biggest sporting event on U.S. soil is our opportunity to show off to the world the multitude of reasons Minnesota is a great place to live.

The Super Bowl will be a showcase for the work Minnesota’s union members do every day to make Minnesota the “quality-of-life state” it is. Just think of the many ways union workers will be on the front lines of the effort to showcase Minnesota to the rest of the world.

Our hospitality workers will be the first point of contact for the 100,000-plus visitors expected to descend on the region for the Super Bowl, including fans, media members and industry professionals. Members of UNITE HERE, the hospitality workers’ union, can be counted on to provide visitors with professional service in our hotels, bars and restaurants.

Members of Building Trades unions, of course, will have built the stadium in which the Super Bowl will be played, and members of the Service Employees International Union will keep it clean. Stagehands, members of IATSE Local 13, will ensure the circus of events leading up to the big game goes off without a hitch. Bus drivers and train operators, members of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1005, will see that visitors get to all of their destinations safely, conveniently and on time.

Our public employees, members of AFSCME, will help the Twin Cities region roll out the welcome mat, readying our infrastructure, making our parks and public building shine, and plowing the snow and ice from our roads and bridges if necessary.

Speaking of ice, it’s rumored that our brothers and sisters in the Building Trades will once again tackle the tall task of building an eight-story Ice Palace in St. Paul. Nothing has been confirmed yet, but the palace could go up during Winter Carnival and remain for the Super Bowl. Volunteers from the Building Trades constructed the world’s largest ice castle the last time the Super Bowl came to Minnesota, in 1992.

So regardless of whether you’re a football fan or not, as Minnesotans we have plenty of reasons to be excited about Super Bowl LII coming to town. Sure, it will be cold. And yes, it will be crowded. But if we put our best foot forward – and with union members on the job, I’m confident we will – the Super Bowl has the potential to attract more visitors, more conventions and more big events to our region down the road. That’s good for hospitality workers, good for our local economy and good for tax revenues.

– Bobby Kasper is president of the St. Paul Regional Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, with more than 150 affiliate unions representing more than 50,000 union members in the East Metro.

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St. Paul Regional Labor Federation: Election results are cause for celebration

November 29, 2012 by

[Bobby Kasper, president of the 50,000-member St. Paul Regional Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, wrote this Labor Voices column with Kera Peterson and Peter Polga-Hecimovich, political organizers for the Federation.]

The St. Paul Regional Labor Federation has a lot to be proud of from the November elections. With our union brothers and sisters from across the state we helped beat back a destructive Voter ID Amendment, the anti-gay marriage amendment and, most critically, swung control of the Legislature to a pro-labor majority.

In our federation alone we managed to swing an incredible nine legislative seats from anti-union candidates to pro-Labor candidates, including six in Dakota County and two in Washington County. Also victorious was Rick Nolan, our 8th Congressional District candidate. With these victories and others across Minnesota we sent a powerful message to those at the Capitol that unions are a force to be reckoned with and, when awakened, we will use our strength to fight with all of our might for those causes in which we believe.

During the last legislative session the Republicans controlled both houses of the Legislature and we hoped, despite our better instincts, that they would hold true to their promises of a jobs-centered legislative session. Instead of enjoying job creation, however, we found ourselves fighting a possible Right to Work amendment, devastating changes in prevailing wages, and a host of social issues the Republicans put forward.

We knew, given how close we were to seeing that Right to Work Amendment on the ballot this fall, that without a legislative majority it was only a matter of time before it came up again. So the St. Paul RLF got out early, with a series of candidate meet-and-greets in all four of our counties in June, introducing our legislative and congressional candidates to the unions. This crop of candidates, we knew, was a powerful group who would be our allies if elected.

In true form, our affiliate unions came through with volunteers, resources and release staff for the Federation, and we were able to start on the ground early, with calls and door knocks to targeted households happening as early as July. Between our volunteers and release staff, we began a mission that culminated with over 1,000 volunteer shifts.  This involved more than 20,000 individual doors knocked and tens of thousands of calls more to our targeted universe of union members.

Make no mistake about it; those phone calls and door knocks helped push our endorsed candidates over the line. This was the work that you all did.  We pushed hard and because of you we were blessed with a historic victory.

Sisters and Brothers, we should all be proud. For the first time in 22 years we have a legislative majority and governor who, after two years, we can finally bring out of the net to help us go on the offensive. We have this because of the hard work of our volunteers and release staff and the resources that all of our unions threw into this fight.

Now, as we approach this new legislative session, we can finally put a focus on the issues that we all know should reign supreme. It is time to put our friends and families back to work. Our efforts cannot be finished. We must keep pushing to hold all of our elected officials accountable, and we must turn our seasonal campaign into a year-around one.

With the election over, we look hope you join us in the new year as we let our new legislature know that the unions are here, and we are here to stay.

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Operation Christmas Solidarity to support Crystal Sugar workers

November 29, 2012 by

Last year’s Operation Christmas Solidarity raised more than $25,000 in toys and household items for locked-out families.

The St. Paul Regional Labor Federation and American Income Life will sponsor a second Operation Christmas Solidarity this year, with proceeds of the gift, toy and household-goods drive benefiting families of workers who have been locked out of their jobs by American Crystal Sugar.

Over 1,300 members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers union in Minnesota, North Dakota and Iowa have been affected by the lockout, which began more than 16 months ago. As the need in these families has grown, their resources have depleted, but last year’s holiday drive raised more than $25,000 for locked-out families.

Unwrapped items and monetary donations will be accepted through Dec. 17 at the following location, by mail or in person: St. Paul Regional Labor Federation, Attention: Laura Testor, 411 Main Street, Suite 202, St. Paul, MN 55102.

Make checks payable to: St. Paul Labor Studies & Resource Center (LSRC). Please note in memo line: Operation Christmas Solidarity. All donations are tax deductible.

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Union volunteers make United Way Action Day a success

September 24, 2012 by

Volunteers at Ecolab Plaza. Click to view more photos from the Action Day.

Volunteers from the St. Paul Regional Labor Federation’s Labor Studies and Resource Center helped make United Way Action Day a great success, with more than 40 East Metro union members taking action in support of their community during the Aug. 22 events.

More than 30 St. Paul RLF members participated in speed volunteering activities at Ecolab Plaza during their lunch hour on Action Day. Later in the day, 10 RLF members formed two teams for the Team Challenge Volunteer event at the Mall of America. Together, they helped make United Way Action Day a success. Overall results of the volunteer event include:

  • • Doing 14,000 loads of laundry for families who don’t have the option by making 7,000 laundry kits.
  • • Keeping 88 children warm at night by creating blankets.
  • • Giving 4,000 hungry kids a healthy snack pack.
  • • Encouraging good dental hygiene by creating 5,200 dental kits for children and adults.
  • • Supporting 220 seniors’ independence by producing safety kits.
  • • Making a house a home for 100 families in transition by forming kitchen kits.
  • • Supporting 10 local nonprofits doing great work in the community with $7,500 in donations.

Part of the fun for the five-person teams at the Mall of America was the chance to give a local nonprofit a gift in their team’s name and bragging rights as one of United Way’s top volunteer groups. To win a team had to be the first to complete its speed volunteering activity.

One of the RLF’s two teams, East Metro Labor, won first place in two separate competitions. Team members chose to give their $700 prizes to the West 7th Community Center in St. Paul and to the YWCA of Minneapolis.

“The United Way Action Day brought union members and retirees together to help our local United Way agency partners and had a good time too!” said Bobby Kasper, president of the 50,000-member St. Paul Regional Labor Federation.

Find additional pictures of RLF volunteers in this photo album.

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