Workday Magazine (https://workdaymagazine.org/category/government/page/28/)
Protest, Washington D.C. Vlad Tchompalov @tchompalov
AFSCME Local 404 members who were laid off last week at the Minnesota Security Hospital in St. Peter held a news conference to share their concern that the cuts put public safety and worker safety at risk.
Union leaders warned management this would happen. If the U.S. Postal Service contracted out mail delivery in places like Beaverton, Ore., there would be accountability problems and breaches of mail security, said National Association of Letter Carriers officers like L.C. Hansen, president of Branch 82 in Portland.
By a 278-146 vote, the Democratic-run House June 20 voted for between four and eight weeks of paid family leave for the nation\’s 2.7 million federal workers. The paid leave bill says the remaining four weeks of annual family leave for those workers would stay unpaid, as all 12 weeks of leave are now.
This summer the Invest in Minnesota Campaign will hold brown-bag lunch discussions to review the state\’s revenue and budget crisis. The lunch discussions will focus on what concerned people can do to promote smart investment in Minnesota and renewed prosperity for Minnesotans.
In the 2008 legislative session, lawmakers made significant progress in addressing problems such as gridlock on the roads, but fell short in fixing others. Governor Tim Pawlenty unraveled some of their work by vetoing legislation to deal with the mortgage foreclosure crisis and raise the minimum wage.
Minnesota legislators and Governor Tim Pawlenty reached a deal to address the state\’s $1 billion budget deficit and lawmakers quickly ratified the measure in rare Sunday sessions. The legislation includes some actions – most notably funding for Central Corridor light rail – sought by organized labor.
Minnesota needs rigorous rules if it expects to effectively crack down on fraudulent misclassification of "independent contractors," union representatives and contractors told a public hearing Monday.
State lawmakers approved legislation last month that ensures Susan Murphy, the newly elected Mounds View School Board member who is married to a union janitor employed by the school district, will remain in office.
Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty announced line item vetoes cutting $208 million from the $925 million bonding bill passed by the state Legislature, cuts that labor leaders say also vetoed jobs and opportunity.
A House and Senate conference committee agreed on a $1.09 billion capital investment bill Tuesday, including nearly $925 million in state general obligation bonds. That is $100 million higher than the governor\’s recommendation, with at least two of his key projects absent from the proposal.