Workday Magazine (https://workdaymagazine.org/category/government/page/18/)
Protest, Washington D.C. Vlad Tchompalov @tchompalov
The Minnesota Legislature worked into the early morning hours to pass the 12 budget and spending bills to end the state government shutdown. Governor Dayton held a signing ceremony Wednesday morning.
Critics of the just-approved state budget – which depends heavily on borrowing from school districts – plan a "Kids v. Fat Cats" rally Thursday at the Capitol.
Union members are awaiting details of the agreement to end the state government shutdown announced Thursday by Governor Mark Dayton and Republican legislative leaders.
A video produced by the Labor Education Service outlines the many public services being affected by the state government shutdown.
“Where are the damn jobs?” was the question posed by a sign at Thursday night’s state Capitol vigil. Not only were no jobs created during the 2011 legislative session, the state government shutdown that began at midnight put thousands of public and private sector workers out of work.
A state government shutdown would threaten vital public services, especially those serving vulnerable Minnesotans, but adopting the Republican’s proposed budget could be even worse, demonstrators said Thursday at the state Capitol.
Minnesota’s two largest public employee unions have ratified an agreement with the state that will protect all the rights of laid-off workers while saving taxpayers millions in layoff costs if state government shuts down Friday.
A coalition of labor, faith and community groups will rally Thursday to call for a fair state budget, while a vigil is planned that night on the eve of a government shutdown.
Autistic children, nursing home residents and people with disabilities are among the Minnesotans whose lives would be seriously affected by a potential state government shutdown. They describe the effect in this video featuring citizens of Rochester.
Governor Mark Dayton filed court papers Wednesday aimed at keeping some state services functioning during a government shutdown, according to media reports.