LIUNA summit digs into Minnesota’s infrastructure outlook

October 16, 2025 by

State Sen. Erin Murphy accepts an Infrastructure Champion award from LIUNA Local 563 Business Manager Joe Fowler (L) and LIUNA Minnesota and North Dakota President Joel Smith.

Advocates for public infrastructure gathered Oct. 10 at the Minnesota Laborers’ Training Center in Lino Lakes to take stock of the state’s investment needs and celebrate recent legislative gains.

The 2025 LIUNA Infrastructure Summit and Open House, sponsored by LIUNA Minnesota and North Dakota, brought together over 100 representatives of unions, contractors, state agencies and other infrastructure-minded groups.

The half-day event covered topics like water and energy infrastructure, incentives for high-road housing development, workforce development and initiatives within the industry to increase workers’ access to mental-health resources.

Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan addressed the summit, and LIUNA officers presented awards recognizing lawmakers and the union’s lobbying partners for their work to strengthen and expand prevailing wage and secure new investments in transportation, water, energy and other infrastructure needs statewide.

Walz noted that the awards recognized both Democrats and Republicans. He called it a testament to LIUNA’s ability to work “bipartisanly” in support of public investments and standards like prevailing wage, ensuring infrastructure jobs go to safe, highly trained and fairly compensated tradespeople.

“It’s a really difficult job right now to try to find common lines, and LIUNA and the Building Trades have been doing it year after year,” Walz said.

Earlier this year, Walz signed a $700 million infrastructure jobs bill into law. It will chip away at a backlog of requests from communities and agencies across the state that has surpassed $7 billion.

The governor struck a hopeful note that lawmakers will continue to invest.

“I think we have set a precedence with this leadership that’s here at the Legislature that it just makes good sense to continue to pass robust bonding bills every year to make sure that we’re staying ahead of what needs to be done,” he said.

In anticipation of that work, LIUNA Minnesota and North Dakota, which represents about 14,000 workers, will expand its apprenticeship and training programs to include a second campus in North Branch, where the union recently acquired 96 acres.

The Lino Lakes facility already operates Minnesota’s largest registered apprenticeship program. The site delivers about 150,000 training hours each year, LIUNA Minnesota and North Dakota President Joel Smith said, at no cost to taxpayers.

“This campus represents our commitment to connecting Minnesotans, including more women, people of color and veterans, to lifelong careers with family-sustaining wages, excellent benefits and dignified retirement,” Smith said.

Recipients of LIUNA’s 2025 Infrastructure Champion awards included two state lawmakers, Sen. Judy Seeberger (D-Afton) and Rep. Nathan Nelson (R-Hinckley), who authored legislation that appropriates $1 million to promote mental-health initiatives in the construction industry, where suicide rates are over three times higher than the U.S. average.

State Reps. Kaela Berg (D-Burnsville) and Mary Franson (R-Alexandria), Sens. Jen McEwan (D-Duluth), Rob Kupec (D-Moorhead), Grant Hauschild (D-Hermantown) and Erin Murphy (D-St. Paul), and U.S. Sen. Tina Smith also received awards.

– Michael Moore, Union Advocate editor

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

State workers fired up over Walz’s telework order as contract negotiations begin

April 25, 2025 by

Members of AFSCME Council 5 lined the sidewalk outside the St. Paul office where their bargaining team held its first negotiations session with the State of Minnesota.

State employees say Gov. Tim Walz’s new return-to-work order, handed down abruptly in March and set to take effect June 1, has galvanized union members just in time for contract negotiations this spring.

Talks covering nearly 40,000 members of two unions, AFSCME Council 5 and the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees, got underway earlier this month. Both unions, which are bargaining at separate tables with Walz’s team at Minnesota Management and Budget for now, held early-morning actions on their first day of negotiations in St. Paul.

Workers lined the sidewalk outside the office building to welcome their bargaining teams – and put the state on notice that they are paying attention.

The state’s telework policy was top of mind for many workers at the events. Revenue examiner Nico Montas, 23, said Walz’s announcement, delivered without notice to or consultation with MAPE or AFSCME, was a “shocking” call to action.

Although he was covered by AFSCME Local 2829’s bargaining unit, Montas wasn’t even paying dues before the governor announced changes to the telework policy. Within a month, he had signed up to become a union steward, completed the training and organized more than a dozen of his colleagues to join Local 2829, too.

That’s momentum, Local 2829 Vice President Spencer Abbe said.

“We’ve got a bunch of people out here who have never been involved before,” Abbe said at the kickoff event, adding that many state employees consider the governor to be an ally at a time when public-sector workers are facing unprecedented attacks.

“It wasn’t a slap in the face, it was a stab in the back,” Abbe said. “We’re already feeling attacked on all sides, and to have that come from (Walz) felt like a sneak attack. It was really disappointing.”

Union negotiators pledged to hold the governor’s team accountable for its previous commitments to public services. That means respecting and compensating the workers who deliver them.

Members of AFSCME Council 5 formed a “gauntlet” to welcome their negotiators – and the employer’s – to the first day of contract talks covering about 18,000 workers.

“We are fighting for fair wages, fair benefits, fair insurance – and we will stand for nothing less,” Council 5 Executive Director Bart Anderson said.

But while unions came to the table with proposals to address workers’ concerns, MAPE President Megan Dayton said, MMB’s proposals sought to strip them of their union rights and protections.

“MMB’s proposals take aim at the foundations of workplace stability, weaken union representation, undermine due process and, most cruelly, strip away rights that protect employees during layoff,” Dayton said. “At a time when we are seeing hundreds of layoffs and we know more are coming, the employer chose to bring proposals that would accelerate harm.”

At the AFSCME rally, Montas said he is holding out hope that the state’s posture changes as bargaining plays out.

“If we can’t get any sort of wiggle room on being able to work from home, I’m hopeful that we can get better pay, some sort of reimbursement for travel time or parking,” Montas said. “You would expect that would be a minimum, but, unfortunately, it seems like that may be a reason they want people to go back – so they can extract as much money from us as possible.”

If that’s the case, Abbe, who works in public records, fears that many state workers – concerned about parking costs, accommodations for people with health conditions and losing the flexibility to care for their families – will abandon public service.

“We show up every day to serve people because we believe in what we do,” Abbe said. “We aren’t out here to get rich.”

– Michael Moore, Union Advocate editor

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

Peterson: Support candidates who support union workers

October 23, 2024 by

When Vice President Harris chose Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate this summer, it put Minnesota in the spotlight. Americans digging into Walz’s record are getting a fresh look at what the governor and labor-endorsed majorities in our Legislatures – the so-called “trifecta” – have accomplished in just two years. They are seeing what can happen when elected leaders like Gov. Walz, leaders who share our union values, put working people and their families first: historic investments in infrastructure and public education, expanded family leave benefits, and the programs that help crack down on wage theft. And they’re inspired to see a state moving forward, not backward.

And make no mistake about it, Donald Trump and JD Vance want to take the country backward. It’s all spelled out in their Project 2025 Agenda, which would threaten our union contracts, limit our freedom to join a union and undercut our wages. Trump and Vance may claim to be on workers’ side, but Trump proudly stands with greedy, union-busting CEOs like Elon Musk – and he even praised Musk for firing striking workers. Trump and Vance claim to care about union members, but they are really just in it for themselves and their rich friends. They want to cut our pay, eviscerate our retirement, take away our health care and destroy our unions, just so they can dole out more tax giveaways to the wealthy and well-connected. Harris and Walz have walked on picket lines with workers. Trump crosses them.

Under Gov. Walz’s leadership, our state has become the gold standard for state governments aiming to do right by workers, and it’s exciting to see the governor celebrate his pro-worker, pro-union agenda on the campaign trail. The governor and labor majorities in the Legislature have been bold since taking power in 2023, delivering on campaign promises to guarantee workers have paid family and medical leave benefits and expand access to earned sick and safe time. Minnesota has banned anti-worker noncompete clauses and anti-union captive audience meetings. New laws have strengthened protections for meatpacking and warehouse workers, improved wages and working conditions in nursing homes and expanded collective bargaining rights for educators, university workers and others.

Now, many of the legislators who helped put Minnesota on the path to being the best state for workers are on the ballot. Labor’s majorities in the State House and in the State Senate, thanks to a special election, are at stake on Nov. 5. Lawmakers who had our back at the Capitol need union members to have their backs at the polls. That’s why union volunteers across the state, working through our regional labor federations and the Minnesota AFL-CIO, are leading the way to mobilize tens of thousands of voters. We’re knocking doors, making calls and talking to co-workers about the need to defend the progress we’ve made in Minnesota – about the need to elect labor-endorsed candidates up and down the ballot.

With so much at stake, it truly is one of the most consequential elections of our lifetime, and union members are well positioned to make a difference. People all over the country are realizing unions are the single best tool we have to stand up to the historic inequity and corporate greed we are up against. Every day, more workers are seeing past the lies and the well-funded anti-union campaigns from corporate America and deciding to come together. Unions are more popular with the public now than at any time since the mid-1960s. By talking to friends, family members and co-workers, union members can cut through all of the misinformation and focus on what matters this election – our freedoms, our union rights, racial and economic justice, and our democracy. So please vote on or before Nov. 5, and find out how you can get more involved in the Labor 2024 campaign at aflcio.mn/labor2024.

– Kera Peterson is president of the Saint Paul Regional Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, which brings together over 100 affiliate unions representing members in Chisago, Dakota, Ramsey and Washington counties. 

Filed Under: Labor Voices Tagged With: , , , , , ,

A former union member, Walz is perfect VP choice, MN labor leaders say

September 3, 2024 by

Gov. Tim Walz greeted delegates to the 2021 State Building and Construction Trades convention. (UA file)

Vice President Kamala Harris picked Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, and Minnesota labor leaders called it the perfect choice.

“The rest of the country is about to find out what working Minnesotans have known for years – Tim Walz is one of us who fights for working people like us every single day,” Minnesota AFL-CIO President Bernie Burnham said.

Burnham, who leads the state’s largest labor federation, was among dozens of elected union officers who signed a letter to Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, touting Walz’s credentials for the job of vice president.

Several also joined a Capitol press conference July 30 in St. Paul to make Walz’s case.

“What better way to continue the most pro-worker administration than to have the most pro-worker governor in the nation serve as our vice president?” Burnham said.

Labor leaders ticked off a list of legislative accomplishments in the state since Walz, a former teacher turned congressman, won the state’s governorship in 2018. Most came after he won re-election in 2022, when DFLers also won control of both the House and Senate.

The governor did not back down from an opportunity to be bold, signing legislation long sought by unions and worker advocacy groups, including:

  • New benefits like paid family leave and earned sick and safe time, covering most workers in the state.
  • Expanded collective bargaining rights, making it easier for workers at the University of Minnesota to unionize and for educators to bargain for student-centered priorities like lower class sizes. Walz also signed a ban on anti-union “captive audience” meetings.
  • New enforcement tools to crack down on wage theft, including tougher penalties.
  • A first-in-the-nation Nursing Home Standards Board that will improve wages and working conditions to address short staffing in the industry.
  • Historic investments in public education and infrastructure.

Joel Smith, president and business manager of LIUNA Minnesota and North Dakota, representing over 14,000 laborers in the state, credited Walz’s pro-infrastructure policies with delivering “tens of thousands of construction jobs fixing our roads and bridges and water infrastructure.”

Tim Walz talked with union members at a Helmets to Hardhats event in Duluth during his first campaign for governor. (UA file)

Smith also noted Walz’s strong support for prevailing wage, which the state recently expanded to cover developments that tap into low-income housing tax credits. That means more opportunities for union tradespeople, he said.

“With Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, your paycheck is safe, your health care is secure and your pension is protected,” Smith said.

Walz’s record isn’t the only reason he makes the best pick for vice president, labor leaders said. The governor, who was a member of Education Minnesota when he worked as a Mankato teacher, also brings a middle-class perspective and work ethic to Harris’ campaign, which has been endorsed by the AFL-CIO and the vast majority of unions.

“We all want Kamala Harris to win, and we believe having Gov. Walz on the ticket will help her win,” Education Minnesota President Denise Specht said.

“At his core he is still a teacher, and teachers get things done,” Specht added during the Capitol media event. “When you have a classroom full of students and they need your help, you know you can’t kick that can down the road. The children need you now. Every educator feels that powerful mix of urgency and responsibility, and Tim took that feeling from the classroom to Congress to his office upstairs.”

Harris quickly picked up the AFL-CIO endorsement after President Joe Biden announced his decision to end his reelection campaign July 21. Electing the Harris-Walz ticket will be the Labor 2024 campaign’s top priority this fall.

“We know that Gov. Walz will be a strong partner in the Harris White House, fighting every day to improve the lives of workers in communities across America,” AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said in a statement. “Gov. Walz isn’t only an ally to the labor movement, but also our union brother with a deep commitment to a pro-worker agenda.”

Walz leaned into his labor roots during his first solo campaign appearance after joining the presidential ticket Aug. 6. After a week of rallies with Harris in battleground states, including Wisconsin, Walz addressed delegates to the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees’ national convention in Los Angeles on Aug. 13.

The governor highlighted Harris’ working-class background, and he praised her work ethic and support for organized labor. Those qualities, Walz said, stand in sharp contrast with her opponent, former President Donald Trump, who crossed a Stagehands’ picket line while filming his reality TV show.

“I saw our friend (Autoworkers President) Shawn Fain at the UAW had a name for that, he called him a scab,” Walz said. “That’s not name-calling, it’s an observation in fact, just to be clear.”

Filed Under: Labor Voices, Politics Tagged With: , ,

Minnesota unions praise historic legislative session

May 24, 2023 by

Gov. Tim Walz spoke to supporters before signing 12 budget bills into law.

In a historically productive legislative session that ended on time Monday, labor-endorsed lawmakers delivered on nearly all their campaign promises, from investments in public infrastructure and schools to expansion of family-supporting benefits, union rights and workplace protections.

Union activists and leaders were among hundreds who celebrated the session’s accomplishments today on the Capitol grounds, as Gov. Tim Walz held a signing ceremony for 12 budget bills that will fund state government for the next two years.

Walz likened the newly approved budget to the “Minnesota Miracle” of 1971, when the state drew nationwide acclaim for investing in public education.

“If this is ‘Minnesota Miracle 2.0,’ the difference between then and now is … we’re leaving no one behind,” Walz said.

Labor leaders praised Walz and DFL legislators for rising to the occasion created by a projected budget surplus that swelled to $17.5 billion – thanks, in part, to one-time federal stimulus dollars that Republicans blocked the state from allocating one year ago.

After winning all three levers of power – with support from union volunteers – during the 2022 election, DFLers invested the surplus in infrastructure projects and jobs, schools, nursing homes and targeted tax relief for working families, including an expanded child tax credit that will return up to $1,750 per child to lower-income families.

Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, former director of the Minnesota Children’s Defense Fund, said the budget is “deeply rooted in equity and decades in the making.” She credited organizers and activists who have devoted years to fighting for policies that will soon become law, like earned sick and safe time and paid family leave.

“We have played the long game,” Flanagan said. “And we won.”

Children and families will also benefit from $2.26 billion in new funding for Minnesota’s public schools over the next biennium. The 10.5% increase will help school districts cover rising costs – and recruit and retain educators and other employees. And the budget allocates $600 million to hire and retain child care teachers.

Walz and DFL lawmakers focused on issues that matter to workers and families, Minnesota AFL-CIO President Bernie Burnham said, noting that their work stands in contrast to Republican-controlled chambers in other states that have sought to ban abortion, weaken child-labor laws and meddle in school curriculum.

“While other states are putting 14- and 15-year-olds to work on assembly lines, Minnesota is making sure parents have the time and resources to care for and sustain their families; while other states ban books in our schools and libraries, Minnesota is making sure no student goes hungry at school; and while other states make it harder to vote, Minnesota is expanding our Democracy to make sure every eligible voter has the freedom to make their voice heard,” Burnham said.

Public works, transportation and other infrastructure will see historic investments as a result of the session, putting members of unions like the Laborers to work for years to come.
Education Minnesota members praised a 10.5% increase in school funding.
SEIU Local 284 celebrated extension of unemployment benefits to hourly school employees.

Walz is also expected to sign a $2.3 billion infrastructure deal that contains a mix of borrowing – a so-called “bonding” bill – and cash investments. It would be the first bonding bill the state has passed since 2020.

Sen. Sandy Pappas, the lead author, said the measure “will create thousands of well-paying union jobs and ensure businesses have the infrastructure they need to build in Minnesota for years to come.”

On the Capitol grounds today, Walz gave a shout to people in hard hats throughout the crowd. “All of these good union jobs have built the middle class and built Minnesota,” he said. “It is going to continue that way.”

In addition to historic investments approved this session, Minnesota lawmakers took up several policy changes long sought by union members, including an extension of unemployment benefits to hourly school employees, a ban on private prisons and a new Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board with the authority to set standards like pay and benefits.

Lawmakers expanded and strengthened union rights, enshrining public-sector workers’ ability to bargain on non-economic issues like safe staffing and class sizes, giving workers in the newly legalized recreational cannabis industry a path to collective bargaining and banning “captive audience meetings,” in which workers are forced to listen to their bosses’ religious, political or anti-union views.

Funds allocated this session will also bolster the state’s film industry tax credit, raise pay for home care and nursing home workers and strengthen public pensions.

A measure to address hospital staffing shortfalls, however, fell short of the Minnesota Nurses Association’s expectations. The bill established new safety protections and recruitment bonuses for health care workers, but it left out language that would have would have required hospitals to create labor-management committees to determine appropriate staffing in their wards.

Support for a safe staffing law dwindled after Mayo Clinic threatened to withhold investments in its Rochester campus if it passed.

“I hope Minnesotans know how hard nurses fought for your care and safety,” MNA President Mary Turner said. “And I hope corporate executives and our public officials know that our fight is not over to put patients before profits in our health care system.”

Filed Under: Labor Voices, Politics Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

State to invest $240 million in replacing lead pipes

May 17, 2023 by

In April, Gov. Walz visited the site of ongoing lead-pipe replacement work in St. Paul, accompanied (L to R) by Rep. Sydney Jordan, SPRWS Director Patrick Shea and Council Member Chris Tolbert.

Minnesota will make a $240 million, jobs-creating investment in mapping and removing lead water pipes across the state, thanks to legislation Gov. Tim Walz signed into law this week.

Currently, about 100,000 water service lines in the state leach lead into the drinking water they carry, according to an estimate from the state Department of Health. Lead exposure can damage vital organs and slow childhood development.

Walz touted the legislation during an April 20 event in St. Paul’s North End neighborhood, held on a residential street where a union crew from St. Paul Regional Water Services was working on the capital city’s ongoing $14.5 million initiative to remove and replace lead pipes.

The governor said St. Paul’s program, which taps into funding from the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act, was “visionary” in demonstrating what the state might accomplish with a portion of its $17.5 billion budget surplus.

“No matter where you live, we’re making investments that will improve your quality of life,” he said. “Our proposal will fund local projects to identify and replace lead pipes across the state at no cost to families and homeowners. Minnesotans deserve to know where their water comes from and that it is safe and healthy.”

Several construction unions, including the Laborers (LIUNA), banded together with environmental groups and local governments to lobby in support of the statewide legislation, authored by Rep. Sydney Jordan (D-Minneapolis) and Sen. Jennifer McEwan (D-Duluth).

Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan greeted a crew of Laborers working to replace lead pipes in St. Paul.

The measure drew bipartisan support, passing 64-2 in the Senate and unanimously in the House.

While health risks associated with lead pipes have been known for decades, a statewide approach to identifying and replacing them in residences has long eluded Minnesota lawmakers.

The mechanism they traditionally use to fund major infrastructure projects – bonding – was a non-starter, as the state constitution prohibits bonding funds from improving privately owned property. Water service lines extend from the public right of way to the private residence.

“You can’t replace half a pipe,” Rep. Jordan quipped at the April 20 event.

Joel Smith, president of LIUNA Minnesota and North Dakota, said the coalition of supporting organizations “worked tirelessly for years” to get lead-pipe removal on state lawmakers’ agenda. The historic budget surplus, bolstered by one-time federal relief funding, created a golden opportunity for action.

“LIUNA members will be put to work to combat the serious and statewide health threat posed by lead water lines, and get the lead out,” Smith said. “The tradespeople who do this work are excited to contribute to protecting the water and health of our communities, lakes and rivers.”

In Ramsey County, SPRWS has ramped up hiring to meet the demand for its lead-pipe replacement initiative, partnering with LIUNA Local 363 on a fast-track career training program tailored for entry-level jobseekers.

“For the folks doing this, it’s really great work,” Walz said. “I really believe we are at the beginning of a great renaissance of infrastructure investments in America.”

Filed Under: Union Events Tagged With: , , , ,

Walz signs refinery safety bill at St. Paul Pipefitters hall

May 3, 2023 by

Gov. Walz signed the refinery safety bill into law May 2.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed one of labor’s top policy priorities into law Tuesday at the St. Paul Pipefitters’ training center, putting in place new training requirements for tradespeople working at oil refineries in the state.

Surrounded by union members, Walz said the refinery safety measure will help prevent catastrophic accidents like the Husky refinery explosion five years ago in Superior, Wis., and protect communities surrounding Minnesota’s two refineries in St. Paul Park and Rosemount.

“We will not cut corners when it comes to workplace safety in Minnesota,” Walz said on the floor of Steamfitters Pipefitters Local 455‘s apprenticeship training center. “We are adding safeguards and improving training standards, so that workers can return home safe.”

The new law applies to contractors brought in by refineries to perform construction, demolition, installation, maintenance and repair work, and to handle hazardous material. It phases in a minimum threshold of those tradespeople who must have registered apprenticeship training, beginning with 30% by Jan. 1, 2024, and reaching 60% by Jan. 1, 2026.

Refineries whose contracted workforce fails to meet the minimum threshold could incur fines from the Department of Labor and Industry.

David Ybarra, president of the Minnesota Pipe Trades Association, said it was fitting to hold the bill signing at an apprenticeship training center. Building Trades unions’ apprenticeship programs, he said, “represent the gold standard in workforce development,” with “best-in-class” safety training specific to each craft.

Pipe Trades Association President David Ybarra touted the safety training local registered apprenticeships offer.

“This historic bill will help ensure that those working in these inherently dangerous facilities are the best of the best,” Ybarra added.

Workers at the St. Paul Park refinery began sounding the alarm about safety in early 2021, when Marathon locked out members of Teamsters Local 120 for nearly five months, after they refused to accept language that would have allowed the refinery to outsource up to 50 jobs.

At the same time, Marathon began severing ties with local contractors that had regularly provided maintenance and other services at the facility. Building Trades unions warned that local laborers, pipefitters and other tradespeople familiar with the refinery had been replaced with subcontractors from across the country.

Inside the refinery, Teamsters like Dean Benson noticed the difference. During a committee hearing on the bill, he told senators he worked alongside subcontractors who didn’t know how to use critical safety equipment, including Minnesota fire hydrants.

“These guys don’t know what they don’t know, and that’s dangerous in a place like the St. Paul Park refinery,” Benson said.

Workers’ safety concerns gained urgency after a March 20 accident at the Marathon refinery, in which 20,000 gallons of hot asphalt leaked during maintenance repairs, with two workers sustaining severe injuries requiring hospitalization.

Sen. Judy Seeberger (D-Afton), whose district includes the Marathon refinery, said the new law “goes to show how boots-on-the-ground folks can affect legislation.”

“It ensures that the right person has the right training to do the job,” lead House author Rep. Dave Lislegard (D-Aurora) said. “It wasn’t union versus non-union, but it was the unions that drove the conversation to get the results.”

Sen. Judy Seeberger, whose district includes the St. Paul Park refinery, was a lead author of the bill.

Seeberger, the lead Senate author, credited her predecessor in office, current Washington County Commissioner Karla Bigham, with laying the political groundwork for the new law.

But it took a change in Senate leadership to get the bill to Walz’s desk. Two years ago, when Republicans controlled the chamber, Bigham patched together bipartisan support for the measure on the Senate floor, before GOP leaders abruptly withdrew their support as the session drew to a close.

“I’m sorry it took so long for us to get here,” Walz told union members during the signing ceremony. “The idea of worker safety becoming a political football is absolutely atrocious.”

Kera Peterson, president of the St. Paul Regional Labor Federation, said that the issue was a talking point in unions’ member-to-member political campaign in 2022.

“Both of Minnesota’s refineries are in the east metro, and we knew this bill was important to workers and our communities,” she said. “The signed law is proof that the work union members put into helping elect a labor majority in the Senate had a real impact.”

“When I was campaigning for office, I got the message loud and clear that this was something urgently needed to ensure workers in the refinery and the communities around the refinery were as safe as possible,” Seeberger added. “While we cannot guarantee the prevention of accidents, we can ensure that we are doing everything we can to make sure the workers at these facilities have the best training available to them.”

Filed Under: Community, Union Events Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Bree Halverson: Minnesota’s clean economy should power good-paying, safe jobs

March 1, 2023 by

Gov. Walz signed the 2040 clean energy standard into law during a ceremony at the St. Paul Labor Center in February 2023. (Minneapolis Labor Review photo)

Minnesota has a new law that puts us on a path to 100% clean energy by 2040. That’s indisputably good for the environment. Thanks to the strong labor standards and equity provisions in the bill, it will also be great for all workers in our state, specifically union workers.

Our nation has been struggling with economic inequality for decades, and it has only worsened over the years. The U.S. Census Bureau reported that income inequality in 2018 – the gap between the wealthiest Americans and the average worker – had reached the highest level recorded since the bureau started tracking the gap. According to the Economic Policy Institute, CEOs in 2020 were paid over 350 times more than the typical worker.

This is also a problem facing Minnesotans. The income gap here is significant, particularly for people of color, who are 300% more likely to be in poverty than white people. Unionization is a key pathway to fixing this growing problem facing our state.

There is a major reason why the 100% clean energy bill had such strong support from unions and why it was signed by Gov. Tim Walz at the St. Paul Labor Center. The measure rightfully tied specific labor and equity standards to the implementation of the bill.

For example, there is an emphasis on creating local, high-quality jobs in Minnesota. The bill encourages new energy generating facilities to be sited in communities where fossil-fuel generating plants have been retired or are scheduled for retirement. It also says that emissions reductions that clean up our air should also make the air cleaner for communities that are facing environmental injustice, and that all workers and communities should see the benefits of this law.

Perhaps the most important provision is a requirement to recognize the rights of workers to organize.

Kevin Pranis of LIUNA Minnesota spoke during the bill signing ceremony.

Unions matter. There is a direct correlation between the increase in income inequality and the decrease of worker power, as the share of workers in a union has fallen from 24% in 1979 to under 11% now. Unions also make job sites safer. Unionized workers are better trained and better protected to blow the whistle if they see something dangerous going on, without fear for retribution from management because the union has their back. Finally, unions can help overcome long-standing inequities for people of color in our state.

Clean energy has been great for our economy. Workers around the state are making buildings more energy efficient, constructing wind turbines and more. There are an estimated 57,000 jobs in clean energy, energy efficiency, advanced transportation and other clean sectors in our state. Now, as we grow those jobs, more and more of them will be good-paying, safe, union jobs.

Our environment also matters. Climate change is already here and impacting us all. The action we take now will determine the future of our state. We should be fixing what was broken and leaving future generations a cleaner environment than the one we inherited from previous generations. This bill will reduce the emissions driving climate change. That’s a good thing for everyone.

The future is bright for workers and our climate. The federal investments in the Inflation Reduction Act and the bipartisan infrastructure law, coupled with Minnesota’s own investments and policies like 100% Clean Energy, will ensure we are installing utility-scale solar with well-trained, local labor. We will expand the number of local wind jobs, keep workers safe on the job and build the technology of the future – like geothermal – here in Minnesota with union labor.

Thank you to the House and Senate DFL majorities and Gov. Walz for delivering this victory for workers and the environment.

– Bree Halverson is the Midwest States Director for the BlueGreen Alliance, a national partnership of labor unions and environmental organizations.

Filed Under: Labor Voices Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Labor 2022 volunteers say their freedoms, fundamental rights are on the ballot

October 18, 2022 by

Judy Seeberger, the endorsed candidate in Senate District 41, thanks volunteers at the United Steelworkers hall in Cottage Grove.

Energized to help re-elect Gov. Tim Walz and deliver majorities that will move labor’s agenda in the Minnesota Legislature, union volunteers are hitting the streets across the state and talking with fellow members about the stark choice voters face Nov. 8.

On one side are corporate-backed extremists who have aligned to strip working people of their basic freedoms and fundamental rights. On the other side, labor-endorsed candidates are fighting for dignity and respect for all workers, no matter their race, gender or zip code.

“It’s all about balance of power in the workplace and at the Capitol, and labor-endorsed candidates understand that,” said Eileen Weber, a registered nurse and member of the Minnesota Nurses Association from Denmark Township. “They’re the ones who support the kind of justice we need more of in this country.”

“I care about pensions, collective bargaining rights, health care, women’s rights, human dignity,” said Willie Snyder, an AFSCME Council 5 member who works in a residential facility for people with disabilities. “For me, it’s Walz-Flanagan. They get it. The other side only seems to be interested in looking out for millionaires.”

Snyder and Weber joined a Labor 2022 door knock in Cottage Grove last month, urging support for Walz and other endorsed candidates in hotly contested races in the southeast suburbs, including Rep. Angie Craig’s re-election bid in the 2nd Congressional District.

Craig has unabashedly supported pro-union measures like the PRO Act, the $1 trillion infrastructure bill and the Inflation Reduction Act, which ties tax credits to “buy-American” requirements, prevailing wage and apprenticeship training programs.

“Labor-endorsed candidates make sure people like me are going to stay in work,” said Craig Bell, a member of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 82.

Volunteers also sought to give candidates for the state Legislature a boost, looking to preserve a pro-union majority in the House and deliver one in the Senate. The list of pro-union investments and policy measures blocked by Republicans who control the Senate is long: statewide paid family leave, unemployment benefits for hourly school employees and safety standards for refinery workers to name a few.

But what stung many union members most was Senate leaders’ decision – at the urging of GOP gubernatorial nominee Scott Jensen – to walk away from an agreement to invest much of the state’s $9 billion surplus in schools, public safety, tax relief and infrastructure jobs.

That’s not the kind of leadership working Minnesotans want, said Wally Borgen, a Labor 2022 volunteer and president of Bakery Workers (BCTGM) Local 22.

“We need elected officials who support working people,” Borgen said. “The future is at stake, and if we have the wrong candidates in here, it changes everything in this state. We need unions to get stronger, and we don’t need them attacking our solidarity or everything unions stand for.”

Labor 2022 organizers said volunteers will be needed through Election Day. To get involved, call your local union or email Colleen Nocerini, St. Paul Regional Labor Federation political organizer, at cnocerini [at] stpaulunions [dot] org.

Filed Under: Labor Voices, Politics Tagged With: , , , , ,

Minnesota union members led the fight to secure bonus pay for 1 million frontline workers

October 4, 2022 by

“It was hard times, but we made it through,” said Keith Farr, a meat cutter at Lunds and Byerlys.

Over 1 million Minnesotans will begin receiving payments of $487.45 from the State of Minnesota this week as a token of public appreciation for their work on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As emails carrying the news began appearing in workers’ inboxes yesterday, union members who led the push for bonus pay gathered at the Capitol in St. Paul to celebrate the victory with the lawmakers who carried the measure in the House and Senate.

“This is a thank you to those who made safe happen,” said Rachel Hanneman, an intensive care nurse who worked at Bethesda and St. Joseph’s hospitals during the pandemic.

A member of the Minnesota Nurses Association, Hanneman worked in coalition with members of other unions to demand lawmakers compensate all workers who, by showing up to their jobs, helped keep the state’s economy running during the COVID-19 emergency.

Union nurses and other coalition members notably rejected efforts last year, after the Legislature approved a $250 million bonus pool, to pit frontline workers against each other. They refused to accept a proposal that would have excluded thousands of retail, public service, hospitality and other workers from recognition payments, and they succeeded in lobbying for a larger allocation, which Gov. Tim Walz signed into law April 29.

“Every effort was made to include anyone who had no choice but to go to work in order to continue to receive a paycheck,” Hanneman said. “We stood firm that health care workers never carried the weight alone.”

Applications for frontline worker payments exceeded the number anticipated by state officials, which meant payments fell short of the estimate of $750 from last spring.

But for Gene Sparks, an EMT and member of SEIU Healthcare Minnesota and Iowa, the bonus delivers on the outpouring of gratitude he and other frontline workers received at the height of the pandemic, which, he said, “often felt like empty words.”

“So many of us, especially health care workers, faced unimaginable challenges during the first year of COVID,” said Sparks, who worked in the emergency department of St. Francis hospital in Shakopee. “Long shifts, uncertain procedures and the constant threat of infection to ourselves, our patients and our loved ones had many of us worried throughout the day and sleepless at night.”

“It’s better than nothing,” said Keith Farr, a meat cutter at Lunds and Byerlys. The father of three said he and his wife plan to put the money toward their rent payment.

“I’m just happy that we’re finally getting this payment,” he added. “It was hard times, but we made it through.”

Nearly 1.2 million Minnesotans submitted applications for frontline worker payments over the summer. Those who were initially denied payments had 15 days to appeal in August, and the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry processed those appeals last month, with a final eligibility count of 1,025,655 workers.

Eligible applicants will receive an email from the state this week, and payments will go out by direct bank deposit or debit card, depending on which preference the applicant chose upon filing. Nicole Blissenbach, acting commissioner of the Department of Labor and Industry, said the agency will continue processing payments through the fall.

Lawmakers and workers applauded state employees for quickly developing an application and appeals process from scratch.

“It’s hard for me to believe it has only been a little over five months since this bill was signed into law by Gov. Walz,” Blissenbach said.

Two DFLers who authored the legislation, Rep. Cedrick Frazier of New Hope and Sen. Erin Murphy of St. Paul, agreed that it was a good day for workers in Minnesota – one that would not have come without the persistence of union members working in the frontline worker coalition.

“It did not cease to amaze me over the seven months that we listened to your stories the sacrifices that we did not know about that you all made,” Frazier said.

Added Murphy: “It is proof that when we lead with purpose and we persist despite entrenched politics, we can make progress for the people of Minnesota.”

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