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| AFSCME members filled the ballroom at the Crowne Plaza Riverfront hotel in St. Paul for speakers and workshops kicking off AFSCME\'s Day on the Hill. About 800 AFSCME members registered for the event and a total of 1,000 members were expected, an AFSCME spokesperson said. |
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| Dave Long, a member of AFSCME Local 1011, is an electronics technician for the Minnesota Department of Transportation, where he has worked 25 years. Long said he was a "longtime union activist" and came to the Day on the Hill "to make some movement in getting some permanent transportation funding and raises for state employees." Long noted, "most of the past raises have been taken up by health care in the past." |
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| Following speakers at the Crowne Plaza, AFSCME members broke into small groups by legislative district to prepare for an afternoon lobbying legislators. Here AFSCME members who live in Senate District 61 in south Minneapolis coordinate plans for meeting with Sen. Linda Berglin. |
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| As part of the Day on the Hill, AFSCME asked members to vote in a straw poll for the U.S. 2008 presidential race. The ballot listed eight Democratic and eight Republican candidates. Jo Pels, state field director for AFSCME Council 5, cast her ballot. AFSMCE planned to announce the results of the straw poll at a reception at the end of the day. |
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| Day on the Hill participants were invited to write down on a poster what changes they thought "Changed Majorities" and "Changed Priorities" should bring to Minnesota. AFSCME provided three posters, one for the Governor, one for the Senate Majority Leader, one for the Speaker of the House. Beth Neubert, organizer for AFSCME Council 5, wrote "affordable health care for all." |
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| AFSCME members posed with the poster they brought to the office of Sen. Larry Pogemiller, the Senate Majority Leader. |
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| AFSCME members applauded a speaker at the Day on the Hill rally in the State Capitol rotunda. |
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| Rally speakers included Wayne Fleischhacker, a member of AFSMCE Local 1574, who works as a cook at the Brainerd Regional Treatment Center, slated to close soon. "I\'ve seen with my own eyes at my own workplace what happens when you start de-funding public services," he said. "The voters did not vote last year to turn their backs on investment in public services." |
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| Rally speaker Cliff Robinson, a member of AFSCME Local 34, is a child protection social worker for Hennepin County. "Privatization has become the new gold rush of the 20th and 21st century," he said. "The gold rush of 1849 pales in comparison to the one the robber barons are pursuing today." |
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| Rally speaker Lisa Thompson, a licensed family child care provider, is east metro president of AFSMCE Local 3400/Child Care Providers Together. "Supporting affordable, quality childcare is the best anti-poverty, social justice program," she said. |
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| After the rotunda rally, members of AFSCME Local 707 posed for a photo on the capitol steps. These workers care for the developmentally disabled at Lake Owasso residence in Shoreview, home to 64 residents. "We\'ve seen some staffing cuts--more work for fewer people," said Eric Praml, president of Local 707 and a residential counselor at the facility. For the residents, Praml said, staff cuts bring less staff contact, fewer opportunities to go to community activities, and safety issues. Praml said Local 707 also is concerned about Governor Pawlenty\'s proposal to privatize care in facilities like Lake Owasso. Private facilities, he said, have higher staff turnover and that lack of continuity in caregivers is harmful to the residents. Parents of residents who have lived in private facilities, he said, have expressed concern about putting their children in a private facility again. "Their kids got better at Lake Owasso," Praml said. |
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| AFSCME members filled the ballroom at the Crowne Plaza Riverfront hotel in St. Paul for speakers and workshops kicking off AFSCME\’s Day on the Hill. About 800 AFSCME members registered for the event and a total of 1,000 members were expected, an AFSCME spokesperson said. |
|
| Dave Long, a member of AFSCME Local 1011, is an electronics technician for the Minnesota Department of Transportation, where he has worked 25 years. Long said he was a "longtime union activist" and came to the Day on the Hill "to make some movement in getting some permanent transportation funding and raises for state employees." Long noted, "most of the past raises have been taken up by health care in the past." |
|
| Following speakers at the Crowne Plaza, AFSCME members broke into small groups by legislative district to prepare for an afternoon lobbying legislators. Here AFSCME members who live in Senate District 61 in south Minneapolis coordinate plans for meeting with Sen. Linda Berglin. |
|
| As part of the Day on the Hill, AFSCME asked members to vote in a straw poll for the U.S. 2008 presidential race. The ballot listed eight Democratic and eight Republican candidates. Jo Pels, state field director for AFSCME Council 5, cast her ballot. AFSMCE planned to announce the results of the straw poll at a reception at the end of the day. |
|
| Day on the Hill participants were invited to write down on a poster what changes they thought "Changed Majorities" and "Changed Priorities" should bring to Minnesota. AFSCME provided three posters, one for the Governor, one for the Senate Majority Leader, one for the Speaker of the House. Beth Neubert, organizer for AFSCME Council 5, wrote "affordable health care for all." |
|
| AFSCME members posed with the poster they brought to the office of Sen. Larry Pogemiller, the Senate Majority Leader. |
|
| AFSCME members applauded a speaker at the Day on the Hill rally in the State Capitol rotunda. |
|
| Rally speakers included Wayne Fleischhacker, a member of AFSMCE Local 1574, who works as a cook at the Brainerd Regional Treatment Center, slated to close soon. "I\’ve seen with my own eyes at my own workplace what happens when you start de-funding public services," he said. "The voters did not vote last year to turn their backs on investment in public services." |
|
| Rally speaker Cliff Robinson, a member of AFSCME Local 34, is a child protection social worker for Hennepin County. "Privatization has become the new gold rush of the 20th and 21st century," he said. "The gold rush of 1849 pales in comparison to the one the robber barons are pursuing today." |
|
| Rally speaker Lisa Thompson, a licensed family child care provider, is east metro president of AFSMCE Local 3400/Child Care Providers Together. "Supporting affordable, quality childcare is the best anti-poverty, social justice program," she said. |
|
| After the rotunda rally, members of AFSCME Local 707 posed for a photo on the capitol steps. These workers care for the developmentally disabled at Lake Owasso residence in Shoreview, home to 64 residents. "We\’ve seen some staffing cuts–more work for fewer people," said Eric Praml, president of Local 707 and a residential counselor at the facility. For the residents, Praml said, staff cuts bring less staff contact, fewer opportunities to go to community activities, and safety issues.
Praml said Local 707 also is concerned about Governor Pawlenty\’s proposal to privatize care in facilities like Lake Owasso. Private facilities, he said, have higher staff turnover and that lack of continuity in caregivers is harmful to the residents. Parents of residents who have lived in private facilities, he said, have expressed concern about putting their children in a private facility again. "Their kids got better at Lake Owasso," Praml said. |
Photo essay by Steve Share, Minneapolis Labor Review