It’s locals vs. the Legislature, round 2: The battle over pre-emption is back at the Minnesota Capitol

Posted March 13, 2018

For his part, TakeAction Minnesota’s Conry is watching all of the pre-emption proposals at the Legislature this year, but he’s hopeful none will pass with Dayton in the governor’s office — and as more Minnesotans learned what those bills do. “It's deeply unpopular,” he said. “When people understand that their own legislator is trying to undermine local democracy to try and prevent people from raising the minimum wage or getting sick time, no one is really excited about it.”

Cities, States Deliver Paid Leave so Survivors Can ‘Get Safe’

Posted June 26, 2017

A growing movement is making it possible for survivors of domestic violence to take time off—without sacrificing their income or jeopardizing their jobs.

The lack of paid time off from work can spell economic disaster, or worse, for people escaping abuse.

Shawnu Ksicinski, a worker rights’ advocate, told Rewire about domestic violence survivors “fired for showing up with bruises on their face.”

“They lost their jobs because instead of staying home, or being able to seek medical assistance, they were going to work,” said Ksicinski, Duluth program manager with TakeAction Minnesota. The organization is pushing for paid sick time and “safe time” in cities around the state.

A growing movement is making it possible for survivors of domestic violence to take time off, with pay, to care for themselves and their families—without sacrificing their income or jeopardizing their jobs. Read the full story. … Continue reading »

Minnesota Governor Rejects GOP-Backed Wage Suppression

Posted June 2, 2017

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton (D) this week vetoed a bill written to deny workers paid sick-time and quash a local campaign to lift the minimum wage to $15 per hour.

The state’s base wage is $9.50 per hour, or $19,760 annually, Dayton noted in his veto message. It’s an amount that places a family of four below the poverty line.

“People need to be making a livable wage, which is $15 per hour,” Kyanna Roland, an activist with TakeAction Minnesota, which supports the $15 minimum wage, told Rewire.

The GOP legislation, SF 3, is an example of a preemption bill, an increasingly popular big-business strategy to suppress local labor laws. In 2016, 36 states introduced bills to preempt city ordinances, up from 29 states just a year earlier.

 

Minnesota Republicans advanced the preemption legislation in response to an anticipated $15 minimum wage hike in Minneapolis and paid sick-time measures passed in that city and St. Paul.

Without paid sick leave, employees “didn’t got to the doctor, they went to work sick,” Roland told Rewire. “That was a huge issue, especially in the food industry, where people would go to work sick.”

In recent years, roughly 40 U.S. cities have increased their minimum wage, and more than 30 have guaranteed paid sick days, according to the National Employment Law Project (NELP).… Continue reading »

Governor Dayton, vetoes are in order.

Posted May 26, 2017

May 26, 2017

Honorable Governor Mark Dayton

130 State Capitol

75 Dr. Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.

St. Paul, MN 55155

 

Governor Dayton:

On behalf of the 67,000 supporters and 28 member organizations of TakeAction Minnesota from across the state, we ask you to veto the following bills: H.F. 470 Public Safety, S.F. 3 Labor Standards, S.F. 1456 Jobs & Energy, H.F. 2 E-12 Education, and H.F. 1 Taxes.  We also ask for a meeting with you at your earliest convenience to discuss both our opposition to these bills and hour our statewide network of activists can support progressive legislative alternatives.

The purpose of our state government is to serve Minnesotans through a robust democratic process that is inclusive, fair, and focused on the future.  Provisions in each of these five bills fall far short of this vision; they contain policies or approaches that violate these basic principles, and the values we hold as Minnesotans. The Legislature’s bills harm ordinary citizens, while blatantly prioritizing the financial interest of corporations and wealthy individuals.

The anti-immigrant driver’s license language in H.F. 470, the Public Safety Finance bill, is pointless and mean-spirited.  It is an effort to slam the door shut on new Minnesotans, rather than welcome and include them. … Continue reading »

BelieveResist End of Session Phonebank

Posted May 4, 2017

Join us to generate patch-throughs to Governor Dayton and our legislators on our end of session priorities.

Sign up here: https://secure.everyaction.com/lfCdulNMT0GSdr3_AhdyNw2… Continue reading »