AFSCME Converges on Minnesota Capitol Building

by Patricia Guadalupe  |  March 30, 2012

AFSCME members fan out at the Capitol rotunda in St. Paul to speak with their legislators.

Over a thousand AFSCME members filled the Capitol rotunda in St. Paul this week, crowding the balconies and hallways as part of “Day on the Hill.”

Decked out in green shirts and chanting, “We are the workers!” AFSCME members fanned out to meet with their state legislators and challenge an anti-worker agenda that includes a proposed right-to-work-for-less amendment.

If placed on the ballot and passed by voters in November, the amendment would allow workers covered by collective bargaining contracts to avoid paying their fair share of the costs of representation.

The bill is sponsored by state Sen. Dave Thompson, and while Republican leaders who control the Minnesota Legislature say it likely will not be considered during this session, AFSCME members say they aren’t taking any chances. 

“Anything can happen and we’ve seen that happen before,” said AFSCME Council 5 Exec. Dir. Eliot Seide, also an AFSCME International Vice President.

“We’ve got to make sure that this bill, which is bad for Minnesota, which is unsafe, unfair and unnecessary for Minnesota, does not come out for a vote. We already have higher pay than right-to-work states. We don’t want to be in a race to the bottom.”

AFSCME members also protested proposed changes in pension plans.

“It’s time to stop the war on the middle class, to stop the war on workers!” Seide told the gathering, which roared in approval.