Workers look to legislative session for action to spur job growth

When lawmakers convene the 2012 session of the Minnesota Legislature Tuesday, working people hope they will focus on job growth – and not divisive social issues, unions say. Organized labor is geared up to support legislation that will put more Minnesotans back to work, in particular Governor Mark Dayton’s $775 million bonding proposal. It would create an estimated 21,700 jobs and provide much-needed investment in roads, buildings and other infrastructure across the state.

“I hope that the Legislature will join me in growing Minnesota’s economy now by passing a bonding bill in the first month of the session,” Dayton said in announcing his proposal. “Doing so will enable many of the projects, and their jobs, to become realities this year.”

Among the projects that would be funded:

• $78 million for the University of Minnesota system;
• $63.5 million for the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System, including projects at Minneapolis Community and Technical College, North Hennepin Community College and Anoka-Ramsey Community College;
• $59.6 million for civic centers in Rochester, St. Cloud and Mankato;
• $55 million for state park and trail development;
• $30 million for construction and repair of bridges;
• $25 million for the redesign and renovation of Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis;
• $25 million for the Southwest Corridor Light Rail;
• $27 million for the design and construction of a new regional ballpark in St. Paul.

Time to act

Although the state and national economies have shown signs of recovery, millions of people are still out of work.

“The projects outlined in this bill will improve and build the infrastructure we depend on statewide,” said Shar Knutson, Minnesota AFL-CIO president, “and create the jobs that thousands of Minnesotans desperately need.”

“These projects are shovel-ready, and will create thousands of jobs for our members and the rest of the trades,” said Adam Duininck, political director for Operating Engineers Local 49. Minnesota’s construction industry, hit hard by the recession, still hasn’t recovered.
Building Trades unions also will be looking for legislators to act on a financing package for a new Minnesota Vikings football stadium.

The project proposed in Arden Hills would create 13,000 jobs, including 7,500 construction jobs, over a three-year period, the Building Trades said. It would generate $286 million in wages for construction workers, millions more in revenue for suppliers and roughly $10 million in additional income tax revenue for the state, the Trades said.

Divisive battles

What union members don’t want is a legislative session mired in ugly debates about policy issues, particularly proposed constitutional amendments. Some Republican lawmakers want to place constitutional restrictions on the state’s ability to raise revenue, Minnesotans’ voting rights and workers’ rights to have strong unions.

In an analysis on its website, Education Minnesota, the state’s largest union of educators, said working people need to make their views known to legislators.

“The change in Senate leadership, public opinion about what happened in last year’s epic budget battles and the looming election for all legislative seats have changed dynamics at the Capitol,” Education Minnesota said. “But the session leading into the 2012 elections will require active engagement by education advocates to help keep the focus on investing in Minnesota rather than allowing partisan political wedge issues to dominate.”

In addition to opposing any proposed constitutional amendments, Education Minnesota said it will work to stop Republican-sponsored bills to put the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul in control of their school districts and to funnel public money from levy referendums to charter schools.

Minnesota nurses will be working “to protect the nursing practice from legislation that threatens the independence and authority of our profession,” the Minnesota Nurses Association said.

The union will bring hundreds of registered nurses to the state Capitol Feb. 28 for its annual Day on the Hill and also is planning a separate “Student Nurses Day on the Hill” on Feb. 2.

Both events will send a broad message, the MNA said. “Elected officials need to hear how our families and our patients are being hurt by the greed and wrongdoing of corporate America.”

Other organizations planning Days on the Hill include the Minnesota Transportation Alliance (Feb. 23), the Minnesota School Employees Association (March 1) and AFSCME Council 5 (March 27).

Given that it’s a non-budget year and legislators are up for election in the fall, the 2012 session will likely end earlier than normal. A memo sent by House Speaker Kurt Zellers to colleagues calls for an April 30th adjournment date.

This article includes information from the Minneapolis Labor Review and the MAPE and Education Minnesota websites.

Barb Kucera

I edit the Workday Minnesota news site, www.workdayminnesota.org