In his victory speech on election night, Gov. Tim Walz acknowledged his union backers and the legacy that’s in the name of his party: Democratic-Farmer-Labor.
“This is a union state,” he said.
Labor unions spent millions to secure Walz’s re-election and help his party take control of the House and Senate for the first time since 2013.
The last time the DFL had a trifecta, workers saw some of the biggest gains in decades. Lawmakers increased the minimum wage by 50% and tied it to inflation. They expanded Medicaid benefits for tens of thousands of Minnesotans, and they passed a law allowing 19,000 personal care attendants to unionize.
Having played a central role their success at the polls this year, labor unions will arrive at the Capitol with a laundry list of proposals that could transform work for millions of Minnesotans.
Top priorities include a $15 an hour minimum wage, paid family leave and paid sick time. Public employees — including teachers, police officers, public defenders and other government workers — are also seeking large increases in funding as lawmakers create a $55 billion or more two-year budget, spend a $9 billion budget surplus and consider a multi-billion dollar public works bill.
Labor activists may also try to codify workers’ rights to collectively bargain with a constitutional amendment, as they did in Illinois this year. The Legislature would need to put the proposal before voters for approval. If passed, it would protect unions from future...
CHARLOTTE — A man is suing Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden and his office, claiming incorrect charges were posted on the county’s public mugshot website, damaging his reputation. Joseph ...