As they prepare for their first strike in 20 years, state employees are appealing to other union members and working people to support them.
Speaking to the Minnesota AFL-CIO convention Tuesday, AFSCME Council 6 Executive Director Peter Benner said the 20,000 members of his union and 10,000 members of the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees are ready to walk out and shut down scores of public services.
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"If you ask me today what I think will happen, I will tell you there will be a strike," he said. "There will not be a community in this state without a picketline."
On Saturday, 500 delegates to Council 6's Negotiations Assembly voted overwhelmingly to reject the state's last offer and strike in September. The recommendation will be voted on next week and ballots will be counted Sept. 1. If members reject the state's offer, a strike would begin Sept. 17.
First in 20 years
It would be the first strike by the state employees in 20 years. A 1981 walkout by AFSCME Council 6 members lasted 22 days.
Benner appealed to the 800 delegates at the AFL-CIO convention - and the 400,000 union members they represent - to support the state workers when they strike.
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"Sisters and brothers, we cannot win this struggle without you," he said. Benner also condemned Gov. Jesse Ventura's announcement that he would call out the National Guard in the event of a strike.
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"The National Guard has no business intervening in labor disputes," he said.
The state's last offer on the two-year contract included a 2.5 percent general wage increase and significant health insurance cost increases for AFSCME members. The union's last offer to the state included a 6.5 percent general wage increase and more equal sharing of insurance cost increase between the employer and employee.
The state's health care proposal is particularly onerous, Benner said. "People will end up paying 15, 20, 25 percent of their take-home pay in out-of-pocket costs for health care."
"This is a struggle that does affect more than public employees," he added. "You get what you pay for. Our members believe they deliver good public services . . . They are simply saying they deserve a fair wage and decent benefits for their work."
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