‘We Want Paychecks, Not Unemployment Checks’
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Workday Minnesota editor Barb Kucera reports on the Minnesota AFL-CIO’s job action yesterday.
Cement mason Jessica Keeley had a message for lawmakers Wednesday at the state Capitol:
We want to collect paychecks—not unemployment checks!
Keeley was among hundreds of workers and union leaders who rallied to urge the Minnesota Legislature and Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) to take action to save and create jobs. They said the government cannot cut its way to prosperity and must use fair taxes to fund important public services. As Keeley put it:
The bottom line is we can’t grow private sector jobs without fair public sector investment.
Shuler to Help Kick Off Minnesota AFL-CIO Political Efforts
Today and tomorrow, the Minnesota AFL-CIO is holding its 2009 Political Conference, and newly elected AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler will be on hand to mobilize and energize delegates to win all across the state.
Today, the conference will hear from a number of candidates for governor, and Shuler will kick off tomorrow’s session. State AFL-CIO President Shar Knutson, the first woman elected to head the state federation, will lead the conference.
The grassroots volunteer efforts of Minnesota union members and Working America members were critical to electing Sen. Al Franken, a co-sponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act, in the nation’s closest Senate race last fall. Over the next year they’ll focus on the 2010 race for Minnesota governor as well as key races for the U.S. House.
You can follow the Minnesota AFL-CIO on their blog and on Twitter.
Shar Knutson, First Female Elected to Lead Minnesota AFL-CIO
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Shar Knutson, president of the St. Paul Regional Labor Federation since 1998, will become the new president of the 300,000 member Minnesota AFL-CIO. Knutson, the union group’s first woman president, was elected yesterday by the state federation’s general board.
She succeeds current President Ray Waldron who will retire Oct. 1, after nine years as president.
Knutson, a member of AFSCME Local 1842, says she will continue the Minnesota AFL-CIO’s “mission of securing social and economic justice for Minnesota’s working people.”
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney says:
For the past 10 years, Shar has provided leadership and vision to state and local central bodies across the country as a leader of the Central Labor Council and State Federation Advisory Committee. I’ve had the opportunity to work with Shar and know that her energy and drive will help lead the State Federation for the benefit of the working women and men of Minnesota.
