Tag Archives: organizing a new economy
Duluth ESST Council Final Vote
Posted May 23, 2018
Please join us for what we hope will be the Duluth city council’s final vote on the earned sick & safe time ordinance.
We are asking folks to join us at 6:30pm, on the steps of city hall.
We launched our Vision Duluth campaign for earned sick & safe time in the spring of 2016, it is fitting that it is spring again in Duluth and we are inching closer to seeing thousands of Duluthians get access to this essential worker protection.
This is a moment you won’t want to miss!
Please reach out to any of our staff in Duluth with questions.… Continue reading »
Unions Widen Who They’re Fighting For
Posted January 25, 2018
“Historically, public-sector unions have focused their attention almost entirely on negotiating for higher wages and better benefits. These days, though, many are showing up at the bargaining table to fight not just for themselves but also for the people they serve — like students, foster children and taxpayers.
‘Unions in past decades were largely in the habit of servicing their members,’ says Dan McGrath, executive director of TakeAction Minnesota, a progressive advocacy group. ‘Now they’re asking themselves to be at the edge of social change.'”
The First Earned Sick Time Win in Minnesota
Posted May 27, 2016
We did it! Driven by the leadership of workers, we won earned sick and safe time in Minneapolis for more than 123,000 people. From now on, all workers will be able to earn up to 6 days of paid sick and safe time. And they will be able to use them without being penalized for it. Join all of us in celebrating this victory by sharing this image! We’ve got to let the whole city know about it.
Minneapolis has joined 25 other cities across the country that’ve passed a similar policy and it’s the very first city in the Midwest to do so. Let’s revisit the work that happened to make this possible.
Last August, with workers in the front lines, we launched #MPLSWorks – an effort to raise standards for working families by passing policies like fair workweek, earned sick time, wage theft protections, and $15 an hour minimum wage.
The Workplace Partnership Group was established in October of 2015 and tasked to create recommendations for an earned sick and safe time ordinance. Liz Doyle, TakeAction Minnesota’s Associate Director, served as Chair and the Group made strong recommendations after hearing from thousands of workers and business owners. Because of a lot of grassroots organizing those recommendations are the backbone of the policy the City Council passed today!… Continue reading »
Back to School Without Earned Sick Time
Posted August 27, 2015
All summer long workers have been gathering together with Minneapolis City Council Members to talk about the difficult choices they make when they or their family members become sick.
With school resuming this week, working parents without paid time off for illness, will face tough decisions between caring for their kids or keeping their paycheck.
The numbers bear this out – a University of Chicago survey found that parents who don’t earn sick time are twice as likely to send a sick child to school. Fortunately, in Minneapolis, residents and workers have the opportunity to fight for a city ordinance that would ensure that every worker has paid time off to care for their family.
Gayle Zoffer, a TakeAction Minnesota member, recently held a house party to spread the word about the ordinance with neighbors and friends. As a teacher, Gayle sees and experiences the struggle first hand,
… Continue reading »“As an adult educator, I work with many students juggling work, parenting, and studying, and I believe that all of them deserve access to paid sick time to care for their children and to ensure that they don’t arrive at work (or school!) sick. Many of them work in restaurants, at nursing homes, or child care facilities, and their working while sick puts other vulnerable people at risk.
We can do better!
Posted February 17, 2015
I happen to think Northern Minnesota is pretty darn great. We have big lakes, nice trails, and good people. Yet, we aren’t perfect.
In fact, in Southern St. Louis County less than half of workers can earn paid sick time — the worst percentage in the state according to a recent study conducted by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. That’s why when the campaign to pass earned sick and safe time throughout Minnesota launched last week, they came to Duluth to do it.
We were proud to stand with the Minnesota Benefits campaign as it kicked off with labor leaders, legislators, community organizations, small business owners and people who know what it’s like to choose between caring for their family and a pay check.
I believe that by working together, Northern Minnesota, can and will do better.
Onward in 2015!
Posted January 21, 2015
The New Year has me thinking a lot about our great state.
Minnesota is home to 5.3 million people and 852 cities. We have four different ecosystems. We are vast, different and unique.
But we are also so much alike. We are Minnesotans.
I have lived in six of our state’s cities. From a tiny little farming town on the border of South Dakota to the heart of our largest city. Each place has shaped my experience of what it means to be a Minnesotan. One thing is clear to me: we all want a good life for our family, friends and neighbors. And the things that get in the way of someone thriving in north Minneapolis are the same as the barriers to living the life you choose in Duluth. 
Whether we are talking about a failed criminal justice system or the antiquated workplace that holds women back, the only way we are going to move on a path toward a Minnesota that leaves no one behind is if we move together.
The city I live in now (and love so much!) also affords me the privilege to work for an organization grappling with what it is going to take to win real change in people’s lives. … Continue reading »
A Minnesota that supports women and families
Posted
Working mothers in Minnesota are increasingly the primary breadwinners in their families and make up more than half of the workforce in our state. Yet, women continuously fall behind in almost every measure of economic success. 
Last week Minnesota took a big step towards tackling these problems when Governor Dayton signed the Women’s Economic Security Act into law. And on Monday, Duluth City Councilors, organizational leaders and community members gathered at Duluth City Hall to celebrate the passage of the Women’s Economic Security Act and to call on policy makers to continue moving forward. That night the Duluth City Council unanimously adopted a resolution highlighting the work that still needs to be done including expanding earned sick time for working families.
But you and I both know that there’s more to be done. Now is the time to continue to fight for changes that improve the lives of women in Minnesot and allow all Minnesotans to thrive — not just survive.
Want to be a part of a conversation on what’s next?
At TakeAction we are excited to be working with the Center for American Progress to bring a statewide summit on women and families economic security to Duluth on May 22nd. … Continue reading »
Minnesota makes history with largest minimum wage hike
Posted April 14, 2014
Gov. Mark Dayton signed into law the largest minimum wage increase in state history Monday, giving raises to more than 325,000 Minnesotans and making good on a signature Democratic pledge during an election year.
The move to a $9.50 base hourly wage catapults the state from one of the lowest minimum wages to one of the highest once it is fully phased in by 2016. The state’s base wage will be tied to inflation starting in 2018, ensuring the buying power of the state’s lowest-paid workers keeps better pace with the cost of living.
“Minnesotans who work full time should be able to earn enough money to lift their families out of poverty, and through hard work and additional training, achieve the middle-class American dream,” the DFL governor said, surrounded by legislators, workers and labor leaders at a ceremonial bill-signing in the State Capitol rotunda. “These are people, good Minnesotans all over the state, who just want to work and get paid something that is fair.”
The sharp wage hike puts Minnesota at the forefront of a major initiative by President Obama, who has failed to persuade Congress to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 and instead is pressing his case state by state.… Continue reading »
Marching with single moms
Posted February 27, 2014
Earlier today, 100+ Minnesotans braved the cold to march with single moms and ask Wal-Mart to support policies that will lift Minnesota women out of poverty. We heard from women who were fired for being sick and who struggle to make ends meet working low-wage jobs.
They’re not an anomaly. Two out of three low-wage workers are women. Female headed families are four times more likely to be in poverty. And on and on.
So although I couldn’t feel my fingers or my toes, it felt worth it marching behind this single mom and her son.
Our kids’ moms deserve to be paid a living wage. Minnesota kids deserve to have their parents home with them when they’re sick without fear of losing their jobs. And Minnesota women deserve to equal pay for equal work.
Representative Carly Melin and Senator Sandy Pappas have put forward a bill that would tackle all these issues at once. Elizabeth in our office started a petition on CREDO Mobilize to back them up — will you add your name?
Off and running
Posted February 19, 2014
Last weekend hundreds of Minnesotans gathered in St. Paul and watched online as we elected our board of directors, kicked off a bold agenda for change in 2014, dreamed big together, and just had some plain old fun at our carnival.
… VIDEO: Saturday, February 15 — 2014 Annual Meeting Livestream
Posted February 12, 2014
Our 2014 Annual Meeting & Progressive Carnival is this Saturday, February 15th at 10:30 a.m. at St. Paul Central High School Hundreds of Minnesotans will gather to launch TakeAction’s work for the year and to dream big about the change we want to see in our state in the long term — and we hope that you’ll join us (get the details here).
But if the drive is too far or you can’t get away from the house, we still want you to be a part of the day. Watch live on this page from your home starting at 11:00 a.m. this Saturday.
You’ll join a program in three acts. We’ll remember parts of our state’s progressive history and the people whose shoulders we stand on. We’ll talk about how we win by building relationships and partnerships, and why it matters that we shape the stories that get told about us. We’ll also explore what it takes to build the Minnesota we want — winning elections, winning campaigns, investing in our movement, and dreaming big together.
The program will start at 11:00 a.m. — hit play below to start watching, and then join the conversation on Twitter by tweeting @TakeActionMN with hashtags #ForwardTogether and #TAMN. … Continue reading »
VIDEO: Boring Meetings Protest
Posted February 11, 2014
Breaking! A group of tiny protesters has taken over our office in advance of our 2014 Annual Meeting in protest of boring meetings. Head below the fold to watch what happens:
(And then join us on February 15th at St. Paul Central High School for what promises to be a non-boring meeting.)… Continue reading »
13 Best Photos of 2013
Posted December 19, 2013
From January to December, see some of the best shots of the action that made big change possible in 2013.
1. We kicked off the year at our Annual Meeting making plans, and asking the legislature to expand and improve MinnesotaCare.
2. In February, we braved the cold with Representative Ray Dehn and the NAACP to file 10 complaints with the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission regarding Target’s hiring practices.
3. The next week hundreds of us stood outside Target Headquarters and asked them to be a leader in closing Minnesota’s worst-in-the-nation racial jobs gap.
4. In March we visited Wells Fargo to shine a spotlight on corporate tax loopholes.
5. We celebrated Minnesota’s new health exchange, and thanked champions like Senator Al Franken for making it possible.
6. In May, we hit the Capitol to ask legislators to ask the wealthiest in our state to pay their fair share in taxes.
7. In June we traveled to Denver with Representative Ray Dehn, ISAIAH, and CTUL for Target’s shareholder meeting.
8. Our members met with Governor Dayton to talk about making our state a place where all Minnesotans can thrive.
9. August isn’t complete without a visit to the State Fair!… Continue reading »
Pause for a moment to celebrate.
Posted December 18, 2013
As we close out 2013, take a look at all that people-power made possible this year, and start dreaming big about what big change we can win together in 2014 and beyond.
Like this? Share it with your friends on Facebook and Twitter.… Continue reading »
Joy Among Our Righteous Anger
Posted December 5, 2013
On Black Friday I was arrested with 25 others in an act of civil disobedience to demand an end to poverty wages in Minnesota. It was the busiest shopping day of the year and with a thousand people marching, we shut down half a dozen Saint Paul City blocks with our joyful rebellion. You can see pictures of the action here.
Now, we were determined to disrupt business as usual, but we weren’t creating a crisis. The truth is with hours cut, benefits non-existent and wages stagnating or in decline, our families are already in crisis. With our kids growing up in working poverty and our schools underfunded, our communities are already in crisis. With so much wealth in so few hands, our state is already in crisis. Our civil disobedience was about making the crisis visible.
I was surprised, though, that a demonstration filled with righteous anger felt so celebratory. The truth is collective action is a liberating thing. You’re not alone in your anger. You have a community. You come alive to the sense of possibility and power you’ve always had inside.
Maybe Minnesota’s Senate should take note. They could easily step up and pass the minimum wage hike the House of Representatives has proposed.… Continue reading »
Being welcomed into homes
Posted November 21, 2013
I approached the minimum wage door knock I had signed up for yesterday tired and stressed. I wasn’t fully committed to being there but wanted to follow-through on what I said I would do. I am so glad I didn’t back out.
The conversations I had with people – asking them to tell their story, sign a petition and write a letter to their Senator about raising the minimum wage — were amazing. The energy and real relationship building I was able to do reminded me why I do this work. Many people invited me in, treated me like a welcomed guest in their home (even though I had unannounced showed up at their door). Everyone thanked me.
That’s what stands out the most for me. I grew up in many of those apartments. Some of my childhood memories include hanging out in the halls with all the other kids who lived in the unit. No one that I recall took the time to meet me and my family, where we were at. That’s what these door-knocks are doing. We’re lucky enough to get out and meet people in their homes, where they are. And people are grateful that we are doing it.… Continue reading »
Celebrating HOW we won
Posted November 11, 2013
Last Friday, at our Annual Leadership Awards Celebration, we celebrated the concrete change we have all won that makes our lives and the lives of our loved ones – and our whole state better.
But last Friday wasn’t only a celebration of what we won, it was a celebration of how we won. Look around you, and you will see a new grassroots movement that has taken hold of our state.
Who was in the room on Friday?
Elected officials like Governor Mark Dayton, Speaker Paul Thissen, and members of the Minnesota House and Senate who acted to make our cities, our state, our nation more equitable.
Minnesotans who organized people in the streets, in government, or online. And the people who love and support someone who works so hard to make the world a better place.
Because of what we all won this spring, the future of our children is brighter, our unions are stronger, and love is the law.
The conventional wisdom used to be, that only what happened inside the state Capitol mattered. If you weren’t there, then you should just wait to hear what was decided.
But this year – unlike any in recent memory –people all across Minnesota led with their own talent and creativity and changed the status quo.… Continue reading »
What’s working in Minnesota?
Posted October 29, 2013
Consider what life is like in our neighboring states in the upper Midwest.
To the south, in Iowa, farm and rural activists are fighting off factory farms at every turn. Farther away, Illinois is continually facing a looming financial crisis. To the west, North Dakota continues trying to limit a woman’s freedom to choose by passing the most restrictive anti-choice laws in the country. And to the east, Wisconsin state government resembles that of Mississippi, restricting the right to vote and sitting idle as its health care costs skyrocket.
Meanwhile, here in Minnesota the list of populist accomplishments in the last 12 months is long and impressive… being the first state to defeat both the Voter Restriction and Anti-Gay Marriage Amendments, turning around six months later to pass Marriage Equality, passing historic Ban the Box legislation, Homeowner’s Bill of Rights, The Dream Act, increased progressive revenue and closed corporate tax loopholes, and expanded and strengthened health care coverage. The list goes on.
What’s working in Minnesota that we are breaking through the same barriers that are holding other states back?
For one thing, nothing that has happened here in Minnesota has happened overnight. For years, organizers and activists have laid the groundwork for what just recently emerged as a grassroots movement. … Continue reading »
$9.50 vs. $7.75: Looking Past the Numbers.
Posted October 23, 2013
At the end of the 2013 legislative session, Governor Mark Dayton, Speaker of the House Paul Thissen, and Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk agreed on one thing: they will need to take up the minimum wage again in 2014 session. Beyond that: they have differences. The Governor has indicated he “would settle” for an increase to $9.50/hr. The House has passed a bill that would raise it to $9.50/hr by 2015. The Senate’s bill raises it to only $7.75/hr.
Before the next legislative session begins on February 25, 2014 you can expect to hear a lot more about these dollar figures (as well as the rest of the minimum wage improvements being proposed.) As you do, it’s important to place them in some context. How high is too high? How low is too low? What do people need to make per hour in order to just get by? Here is a simple guide to the minimum wage dollar figure debate:
$28.34: This is what the minimum wage would be had it grown at the same rate as the income as the top 1% since 1968 (the year in which the federal minimum wage was at its highest).
$18.72: This is what the minimum wage would be had it grown with the productivity of the U.S.… Continue reading »
What Babysitters Can Tell Us About Minnesota’s Fate
Posted October 18, 2013
For the last five years my wife and I have had a string of top-notch babysitters. Our two daughters have had the benefit of getting to spend time with young musicians, burgeoning scientists, and up & coming early childhood educators.
Talented, caring, and thoroughly underemployed: all of them were college educated.
What’s been true in my experience has also been reflected by the employment data of the recession. According to the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University, the rates of underemployment for recent college graduates have grown from 27.4% in 2007 to 37% on 2012. Paired with straight up unemployment that means 1 of every 2 recent college graduates are under- or unemployed.
What underlies this trend, however, is not lazy students, bad schools, or superfluous college majors, what drives this trend is lousy jobs. According to a 2012 report by the Center for Economic Policy Research, since 1979 the U.S. economy has lost about the one-third of its ability create good jobs. If we were creating good jobs (meaning those that pay $18.50 an hour and have health insurance and retirement benefits) in the same way we were in 1979, 34.2% of workers would have good jobs. Instead only a shrinking 24.6% of U.S.… Continue reading »
Chris Conry, As New Taxes Begin; Old Theories Must End
Posted July 19, 2013
July 1st was the date that much of the Minnesota’s 2014-15 tax plan began to be enacted. This includes the new tobacco taxes, the corporate loophole closings, and, of course, the increased income tax on the top 2%. As we pass this milestone, expect critics to make their complaints known. At this point their threats are pretty familiar: taxes force the rich to move out of state and take their jobs with them.
Nowhere was this refrain more tired than in the debate over corporate taxes. For example, this year, the Legislature and Governor faced relentless lobbying from no fewer than four business associations that wanted to preserve a jumbo-sized tax loophole known as the Foreign Royalty Subtraction. This loophole, in essence, created an in-state tax haven for intellectual property. The theory was: if Minnesota shelters certain royalty payments for intellectual property, businesses will create more jobs, and not just any jobs, but high-paying, high-tech jobs in research and development.
As it turns out, this tired theory of taxes was no truer here than it has been in Ireland, Bermuda, or Vanuatu. During the final days of the recent Conference Committee on Taxes, non-partisan staff from the Department of Revenue explained that only three of the top twenty corporations that claimed the Foreign Royalty Subtraction actually had R & D operations in Minnesota. … Continue reading »
Minnesota’s tax plan: It’s not overreach; it’s overdue
Posted June 5, 2013
“That is the task which we begin today: to inaugurate an age in which our will is equal to our hopes. I believe that our people are waiting, and are ready, for such an age. They are waiting for government to catch up with them.” – Gov. Wendell R. Anderson, Inaugural Address, January 6, 1971
Changing our tax code is a long-run project, and it’s controversial every step of the way. There’s a good reason for that: We negotiate and renegotiate our social contract through taxes. It’s where we sort out who pays and how much and for what. Everybody has a stake and everybody has an opinion. The tax changes coming in Minnesota’s next biennium are no exception.
Chris Conry, Our Tax Plan: It’s Not Overreach, It’s Overdue
Posted May 24, 2013
“That is the task which we begin today: to inaugurate an age in which our will is equal to our hopes. I believe that our people are waiting, and are ready, for such an age. They are waiting for government to catch up with them.” – Governor Wendell R. Anderson, Inaugural Address, January 6, 1971
Changing our tax code is a long run project and it’s controversial every step of the way. There’s a good reason for that: we negotiate and renegotiate our social contract through taxes. It’s where we sort out who pays and how much and for what. Everybody has a stake and everybody has an opinion. The tax changes coming in the next biennium are no exception.
First, what happened? In a nutshell, we, as a state, did five things: 1) we raised $1.1 billion by asking the top 2% to pay 2% more, 2) we closed over $400 million in corporate tax loopholes, 3) we raised another $400 million in tobacco taxes, 4) we raised taxes nearly $100 million on large inheritances, and 5) we did a mini-version of sales tax reform: taxing digital goods and a handful of business services while lowering other taxes.
These are significant changes, but none of them are unprecedented. … Continue reading »
Dan McGrath, Getting From No to Yes
Posted May 23, 2013
“This campaign has lit a grassroots fire that has swept our state. We want a politics that happens by us, and not to us… Tonight I’m so happy to say we closed the chapter on no and we opened the chapter on yes – yes to a future where Minnesota unites in active grassroots democracy.”
Remember that? Election night 2012. Against all odds, an amazing grassroots movement defeated two harmful amendments and elected a progressive majority to the Capitol. We were on cloud nine. But we also knew we hadn’t won anything yet.
But what happened next? You refused to go away. The grassroots movement that started last fall got even stronger, and won a long list of populist achievements in this legislative session. A new health care exchange that puts people at the center. Ban the Box legislation that takes a step toward closing the racial jobs gap. Fairer taxation that closes corporate tax loopholes and invests in all-day kindergarten and a stronger MinnesotaCare. And those are just the issues TakeAction Minnesota focused on most. Our friends and allies led the way, passing marriage equality, the DREAM Act, the Homeowners Bill of Rights, the right to organize for personal care attendants and childcare workers…and on and on…and on.We… Continue reading »
Elizabeth Lienesch, Fixing the sharing problem
Posted April 17, 2013
I recently attended a superhero themed birthday party for a 3 year old. Imagine dozens of kids in capes, masks, and tights of all colors. Yes, it was a cute as it sounds. During this party, as cake was doled out and presents were opened, I watched parent after parent explain the concept of sharing to their kids. At one point, I overheard a parent say to their 3 year old, “we share so that everyone can have a good time.”
It’s time for corporations in our state to learn this lesson of sharing. For too long, corporations have failed to pay their fair share, and have instead been taking advantage of every opportunity they can to keep more and more money for themselves.
Let’s look at the real life examples of this in our state. We have corporations like Verizon paying 0% state income tax. We have companies like Wells Fargo using tax loopholes to stash money tax-free in Cayman Island shell companies. And we are just recently learning more about the millions of dollars in excess reserves that the four biggest HMOs in Minnesota are sitting on. That’s money that they’ve made from running our public health care programs that isn’t being spent on care.… Continue reading »
Advocates push to close corporate tax loopholes in Minnesota
Posted April 2, 2013
Advocates are pressing Minnesota legislators to close tax loopholes and prevent companies from shifting income to offshore subsidiaries to avoid paying taxes.
TakeAction Minnesota says that companies are avoiding paying millions in taxes, which either results in service reductions around the state or higher taxes for all Minnesotans.
“Minnesota families cannot continue to pay for corporate tax avoidance,” said Greta Bergstrom, spokeswoman for Take Action Minnesota, an advocacy group.
Legislators are exploring a proposal to close some tax loopholes, which would bring in an additional $36.5 million over the next two years. If legislators closed all tax loopholes, the state could potentially take in an additional $350 million.
