School employees target Kline in fight to restore special education cuts

August 15, 2013 by
SEIU Local 284 President Keith Niemi talks to management and security staff in the West St. Paul SuperTarget.

SEIU Local 284 President Keith Niemi talks to management and security staff in the West St. Paul SuperTarget.

John Kline has enough influence in Congress to make reversing federal cuts to education a priority. But who has influence enough to get the 2nd District Congressman’s attention?

Target Corporation does, according to members of Service Employees International Union Local 284.

In an unannounced visit to Target’s West St. Paul location yesterday, activists attempted to deliver a letter asking Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel to use his company’s considerable clout with Kline to push for restoration of $9.2 million in education funds Minnesota schools lost as a result of federal sequestration cuts this year.

Kline chairs the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, charged with oversight of federal funding for special education.

“We all know that Target has a very powerful voice and presence in education in Minnesota,” Local 284 President Keith Niemi told store managers at the West St. Paul SuperTarget. “We also know that Target is the biggest contributor to Rep. Kline’s campaign, and that Rep. Kline will listen to Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel.”

Target has given $12,500 to Kline’s campaign and his “Freedom and Security PAC” so far during the 2014 election cycle, according to opensecrets.org. Only New York Life Insurance has donated more.

The funds Minnesota schools lost to sequestration were intended to support education for children with disabilities. The $9.2 million cut means about 110 school employees will lose their jobs, according to a White House estimate.

That doesn’t sit well with Melissa Demers, the mother of a child with special needs enrolled in the West St. Paul-Mendota Heights-Eagan Schools. Demers praised Target for its charitable giving to Minnesota school districts, but she added, “Without people working, the paper and the crayons are not going to do anything for these students.”

Niemi, whose union represents more than 8,000 school employees, added: “Our special education students cannot be expected to succeed with fewer paraprofessionals, fewer teachers and fewer resources that result from cuts in funding for the education of Minnesota’s children.”

Store management and security personnel would not accept the letter to Steinhafel, and union members left the store peaceably.

Outside, Kline’s constituents said they doubted their congressman would get the message.

“With Target being a supporter and advocate of Rep. Kline – and of education – I’m disappointed they would not even deliver a letter for us,” Inver Grove Heights resident Mary deLeon Denton said.

A member of the St. Paul Federation of Teachers, Denton has “seen the impact of budget shortfalls on special-education programming and staff” during her 34-year career as an educator.

So, too, has Valorie Rolstad, a Local 284 member who works as a special-education paraprofessional in the Columbia Heights district. When she first took the job, Rolstad was one of 60-plus paraprofessionals in the district. “Now we are just maintaining at 30,” she said.

Local 284 is asking supporters to contact Kline and tell him to stop education cuts due to sequestration. Call Kline at 952-808-1213, or e-mail him at kline.house.gov.

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Ellison backs DoD’s civilian employees in fight against furloughs

May 1, 2013 by
U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison

U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison

Plans to furlough 800,000 civilian employees in the Department of Defense will put the nation’s economic recovery – and its military readiness – at risk, U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison said yesterday during a fiery speech to more than 100 members of the American Federation of Government Employees.

AFGE’s Defense Conference, which represents more than 270,000 civilian DoD employees, held meetings in Bloomington this week. Talks focused on how to beat back the 14-day furlough, scheduled to begin in June and run through September.

Ellison told workers their best strategy is reaching out to other groups resisting “the growing movement to take the public sector and weaken it.” He singled out letter carriers’ fight to maintain Saturday mail delivery, as well as efforts to prevent the privatization of Social Security.

“I want you to think of the larger frame of what’s going on,” the 5th District DFLer said. “If all you focus on is that furlough, we won’t be able to reach out to the thousands of other people being affected by the same thing.”

“We’ve got allies out there… We’ve got to see the connections.”

The furloughs are part of the Pentagon’s plan to meet spending targets required by sequestration, the automatic federal budget cuts that went into effect after Congress failed to meet deficit-reduction deadlines over the winter.

AFGE President J. David Cox, who also spoke at the conference, called the furloughs “foolish and reckless,” and said they would deal a “major blow to our economy felt by every American citizen. When 800,000 workers nationwide do not get a paycheck for three weeks, it will be felt by 1.85 million merchants.”

The furloughs will save the federal government about $2.5 billion – a small fraction of the Pentagon’s total sequestration targets. A better way to achieve spending reductions, Cox said, would be to review the “massive amount of taxpayer money” paid to private-sector defense contractors.

Ellison agreed: “We’re cutting off bone and muscle on one side, and leaving fat on the other side,” he said. “Why are we cutting the people we need the most?”

AFGE members expressed concerns that furloughs would deal a major blow to employee morale and retention. Civilian employees, who earn $50,000 on average, have seen their wages frozen for the last three years.

“I hear a lot of employees say, ‘What is my future?’” said AFGE Local 1441 President George Braunreiter. “We’re losing a lot of good employees. There’s just no respect for the people doing the job.

“These people are willing to work nights and weekends. They already make a lot of sacrifices, but they do it because they like what they’re doing and get a feeling of pride that they’re providing a necessary service to their country.”

Braunreiter’s local represents more than 225 St. Paul-based employees in the Army Corps of Engineers. Many of the workers are seasonal employees stationed on the locks and dams that facilitate barge and other boat traffic on the Mississippi River.

Braunreiter said the furloughs will “put a delay on barge traffic and increase costs to the barge industry, which will be passed on to consumers.”

“These cuts don’t just affect us,” said Dusty Hawkins, president of AFGE Local 1997, which services the Air Reserve station in Minneapolis-St. Paul. “It affects our military readiness, and it affects our communities.”

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Letters to the Editor: Sequestration cuts, Ramsey County Sheriff’s budget

September 12, 2012 by

Sandy Pappas

Letter: There is room for cuts in Pentagon budget

As some of us see Labor Day as a vacation and celebration of Minnesota’s workforce, others are struggling to recover from the Great Recession. We’ve seen efforts to reduce health care and retirement benefits for workers on the grounds that there’s no money, yet there’s always money for the Pentagon and its contractor cronies. Pentagon spending actually creates fewer jobs than spending on education, health care or clean energy.

If the automatic “sequestration” cuts occur, thousands more middle class jobs could be lost. Exempting the Pentagon from these automatic reductions will mean more draconian domestic program cuts.

As a legislator, I believe we need a balanced approach to the budget. There is room to cut waste from Pentagon spending. Our national security is strengthened by investing in our best asset – people. This Labor Day, let’s ask our members of Congress to invest in America’s workforce and economy – to secure our future.

– Senator Sandy Pappas, State Senate District 65

Letter: Your vote has consequences

Two years ago we were in the midst of an election campaign for the Ramsey County sheriff. During that time Matt Bostrom asked for the support of many unions. In turn, the vast majority endorsed his campaign for sheriff.

Prior to the election either Matt or I visited almost 20 of your union meetings, requesting your vote for him. A question frequently asked during those meetings was: “What does the sheriff’s race have to do with me or this union?”

Our response was that the Sheriff’s Office had consistently gone over budget during the previous 16 years, costing you more tax dollars – this at a time when many union members were sitting on the bench and struggling financially. Matt Bostrom found this unacceptable and made a public pledge to you and other taxpayers to balance the budget if elected.

Promises are easy to make, and you often never hear from them again or until the next election season. This is why I am writing now. Union members deserve a report for the faith they showed in Matt.

In March 2011 the Sheriff’s Office was reorganized to focus on core functions prescribed by state statute, providing efficient and effective services to the community and public safety partners. Through appropriate staffing, the community was kept safe as more deputies were assigned to the streets, courts, waterways and jail.

For the first time in 10 years, the Sheriff’s Office closed the year with budget savings. These budget savings would help offset an anticipated revenue shortfall. Working with the County Manager and the County Board in setting the 2013-2014 budgets, taxpayers were protected from an increase.

To continue these budget savings and create better efficiencies, employees are receiving training and performance evaluations, and innovative technology is being utilized.

Public service carries many expectations, including trust and accountability. As we look ahead, Matt Bostrom remains dedicated to guiding the transformation of the Sheriff’s Office and exceeding your expectations.

– Mark P. Wiegel, Bostrom for Sheriff Campaign

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