An Injury to One is an Injury to All!VOL. 120

NO. 18MARCH 26, 2014WEDNESDAY

(ISSN 0023-6667)

See Teaching...page 6

Participants in Education Minnesota’s community conversation on teaching ponder aquestion during the event at Washington Center last Thursday evening.

Tiarah puts up her “A GreatTeacher...Ts their kiddos”poster at WashingtonCenter prior to EducationMinnesota’s communityconversation March 20.

Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Pulitzer-Prizecartoonist, again has a simple critique of conservative logic.Denise Specht

Senators buried in postcardsBy Barb Kucera, Workday Minnesota

Advocates of a higher minimum wage stepped up the pres-sure on state senators with the delivery of over 7,000 postcardssigned by Minnesotans who support $9.50 an hour, indexed toinflation, the Raise the Wage Coalition announced last week.

“We need the minimum wage to Catch Up to $9.50 and toKeep Up by indexing to inflation,” the coalition said.

A House-Senate conference committee is attempting to ham-mer out legislation acceptable to both bodies. The Senate report-edly has moved to the House’s position of a $9.50 an hour, butis balking at indexing it to inflation and other measures.

The Raise the Wage Coalition has grown to more than 60members, including community, faith, nonprofit and labororganizations and elected officials such as mayors. The coalitionis coordinating phoning by constituents to legislators.

bluestemprairie.com blog is maintaining a tally of how states e n a t o r sa r erespond-ing withu p d a t e sbut youcan sub-mit infor-m a t i o nand makesure yoursenator isaccountedfor also.

Indexing the minimum wage doesn’t reallyamount to much in increased pay, costs

Education Minnesota forum collectsthoughts on improving teaching, education

level of inflation over the nextseveral years.

Let’s assume a worst casescenario, in which the CPIgrows by ten percent everyyear for the foreseeable future.Even under these conditions,the minimum wage under HF92 would grow by just $2.08from 2016 to 2024 because ofthe annual 2.5 percent cap inminimum wage growth. Underthis scenario, 80 percent of theeffects of inflation would beborne by low-wage workers inthe form of declining minimumwage purchasing power, whileonly 20 percent would be borneby employers.

Based on the best CPI pro-jections available, the impactof the indexing in HF 92 ismodest, resulting in an averageminimum wage increase of lessthan 20 cents per year from2016 to 2024. Even if inflationturns out to be much higherthan expected, most of theimpact will be borne by low-wage workers, not businesses.By virtue of the 2.5 percentcap, the minimum wage index-ing in HF 92 is already accom-modating any legitimate busi-ness concerns. For the sake ofthe financial security ofMinnesota’s most vulnerableworkers, the indexing in HF 92should not be further watered-down or compromised away.

tion to indexing were baseless.To further bolster the case forindexing, new projections indi-cate that growth in an indexedminimum wage will be modest.

Under House File (HF) 92(fourth engrossment), the $9.50minimum wage would beadjusted in future years forincreases in the cost of living asmeasured by the ConsumerPrice Index (CPI), not toexceed 2.5% annually. This isthe legislation preferred byminimum wage advocates.

A Hindsight post noted that“If inflation over the next 10years resembles inflation overthe last decade, the minimumwage under the current propos-al will grow by $1.93 perhour.” However, newly avail-able CPI projections indicatethat the annual rate of CPIgrowth over the next severalyears is expected to be less thanit was over the last decade. Asa result, the minimum wageunder HF 92 is projected togrow from $9.50 in 2016 to$11.07 in 2024—an increase ofjust $1.57 over eight years.(This assumes all implementa-tion dates currently in HF 92would be delayed by one year,as discussed by legislators.)

Of course, these minimumwage estimates are based onCPI projections which couldoverstate or understate the

By Jeff Van Wychen Legislative negotiators have

agreed to raise Minnesota’sminimum wage to $9.50 perhour, but remain at an impasseover the subject of indexing thewage in future years so that itkeeps pace with the cost of liv-ing. A March 12 Minnesota2020 article contended that theprinciple arguments in opposi-

Last Thursday Duluth wasthe site of Education Minne-sota’s sixth and final communi-ty conversation series to gatherthe public’s ideas on teachingand education. The conversa-tions began Nov. 18 inRochester and have addressedsuch topics as professionalteaching standards, teacherquality and diversifying theteaching force.

Education Minnesota, theunion of 70,000 educators, hascollected the ideas and willbring them to a wider audiencethis spring. The goal is to useinformation gathered and craftnew ideas – whether it’s forg-ing new partnerships withorganizations or crafting newpolicies and legislative propos-als – to improve teacher quali-ty.

The community conversa-tions were generated by a July

31, 2013 resolution that stated“Therefore, be it resolved thatEducation Minnesota’sGoverning Board reaffirm itscommitment to consistenthigh-quality professionalteaching standards so all stu-dents are equitably served...”

All the conversations start-ed with the premise thatMinnesota is changing so howdo we prepare our teachers?

The Duluth session atWashington Center had over 40people in attendance includingDuluth schools SuperintendentBill Gronseth, three boardmembers, two candidates forthe state House 7A seat, teach-ers, support staff, and interest-ed community members.

Denise Specht, President ofEducation Minnesota, told

those in attendance that newideas are needed to piece thepuzzle together to hopefullydeliver new policies for educa-tion. “The solutions for ourschools can be Minnesota-grown, we don’t need federalhelp,” Specht said about educa-tion policy.

Minnesota is seeking itssecond waiver of the federalNo Child Left Behind Actbecause its schools are per-forming well. They aren’t per-forming well enough forMinnesotans, however.

The ED MN conversations

or DFL Senator?

Remember 1934 seeks more members, fundsThe Minneapolis Truck

Drivers Strike of 1934 is one ofthe most important strikes inAmerican labor history. OnJuly 20, 1934 police openedfire on strikers, shooting 60 ofthem in the back and killingtwo. But by August TeamstersLocal 574 won the strike in ahuge victory, spurring unionorganizing in the region andmaking Minneapolis a uniontown.

This year is the 80thAnniversary of the strikes anda Remember 1934 Committeehas formed to plan and organ-ize events in commemoration.

~~Job Openings~~The University of Minnesota Labor Education Service is

seeking a full-time labor educator to join their teaching staff.Job responsibilities include leading courses for working

adults, designing customized curriculum, and coordinating andimplementing educational programs. The position involves coor-dinating women’s programming. All applicants must applyonline through the University of Minnesota website. Searchpostings for requisition 185649. Application deadline is April 7.mnaflcio.org/news/job-opening-organizinggrowth-director

The Minnesota AFL-CIO is seeking a full timeOrganizing/Growth Director to oversee the execution of that fed-eration plan as developed and approved by the General Board.

Resume and letter of interest by 4:30 p.m. on April 18, 2014;by email to bhitzeman@mnaflcio.org or by mail to MinnesotaAFL-CIO, Attn: Shar Knutson, President, 175 Aurora Avenue,Saint Paul, Minnesota 55103. More donations needed for

“We Accept the Challenge”An effort is underway to secure donations for a new, expand-

ed, second edition of the popular “We Accept the Challenge”booklet. The 2002 publication by Erik Peterson and RichardHudelson s full of Duluth’s labor history with many images andlocations listed. Unions making donations will be given a num-ber of booklets based on their donation. Any donations by indi-viduals or other organizations would also be greatly appreciated.

Checks made out to NEALC, with WATC in the memo linecan be sent to NEALC, 2002 London Road, Room 99, Duluth,MN 55812.

LMN: “A Place at the Table”The North East Area Labor Council is partnering with

CHUM and Community Action Duluth to bring a two part LaborMovie Night series on the growing problem of income inequali-ty and the impacts of it that working families are experiencing.

The films will be shown at Teatro Zuccone in the ZeitgeistArts Building, 222 E Superior Street. The showings will be freewith panel discussions.

On Monday, March 31 at 7 p.m. the 2012 documentary “APlace at the Table” will be shown. Fifty million people in theU.S.—one in four children—don’t know where their next mealis coming from. Directors Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbushexamine the issue of hunger in America through the lens of threepeople struggling with food insecurity.

On Wednesday, April 30 at 7 p.m. the 2013 documentary“American Winter” will be shown.

Labor leaders, activists, his-torians, and descendents ofstrikers will remember with amusic/street fest in the down-town warehouse district – siteof many of the 1934 clashes–on Saturday, July 19.

A union family picnic willbe held at Minnehaha ParkSunday, July 20.

The committee plans toplace a permanent marker inMinneapolis to honor the strug-gle and sacrifice of the strikers.

Remember 1934 is seekingmore members and donationsfor the events. In 1934 aCommittee of 100 led the strike

and today event planners arelooking for a new Committeeof 100 to make $100 donations.

Checks can be made out to“Remember 1934” and sent to:Sponsored by the Remember1934 Committee, PO Box8115, Lake Street Station, 110East 31st St., Minneapolis, MN55408.

You can contact them at612-802-1482, remember1934mpls@gmail.com, orFacebook: Remember1934.

Trades Golffundraiser

seeks donors For 24 years the Duluth

Building & ConstructionTrades Council has been hold-ing a golf outing fundraiser. Inrecent years all proceeds fromthe event have been given tothe Community ServiceProgram’s Member AssistanceFund, a joint effort of theUnited Way of Greater Duluthand the Duluth AFL-CIOCentral Labor Body.

Last year’s event raisedover $12,000.

This year’s event will beSaturday, June 14, rain orshine, at Lester Park GolfCourse. There are a number ofways to help insure the successof the event.

If you wish to golf cost is$125 per person, $500 per teamof four. All entrants get a greatgolf shirt, balls and tees, lunch,and prizes throughout the day.

If you’d like to be a holesponsor you get a sign at a teebox for $150.

If you wish to donate prizesor cash you can mail it toDuluth Building Trades GolfEvent, 2002 London Road,Room 106, Duluth, MN 55812.

If you would like help witharrangements for pick up ordrop off of prizes contact Danaat 218-724-6466. All prize con-tributors will be recognized.

“Our golf outing has alwaysbeen a tremendous success duein part to the generous contri-butions made by contractors,suppliers, and unions for whichwe are very grateful,” saidTournament Chair Dan Olson.

CALLING�ALL�Building�Trades�Retirees!We�are�trying�to�put�together�a�lunchfor�us�old�farts�for�perhaps�June�in�theLabor�Temple.�We�need�to�know�ifthere’s�interest�and�if�so,�how�manywould�show�up.�Please�call�your�localunion�and�tell�them�you�want�on�the�list.If�they�don’ t�know�what�you’ re�talkingabout�tell�them�to�start�a�list...please.

%Anybody home?

PAGE 2 LABOR WORLD NEWS, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26, 2014

DOUGLAS COUNTY BOARDDOUGLAS COUNTY BOARDDistrict 10 LARRY QUAMDistrict 14 ROGER LETOURNEAUDistrict 16 KAY JOHNSONDistrict 18 RAE ANN ANDERSON

SUPERIOR CITY COUNCILSUPERIOR CITY COUNCILDistrict 1 DAN OLSONDistrict 3 WARREN BENDER

SUPERIOR SCHOOL BOARDSUPERIOR SCHOOL BOARDAll At-Large SHEILA KEUP

STEVE STUPAK

VOTEVOTE LABOR-ENDORSEDLABOR-ENDORSED

Tuesday April 1stTuesday April 1stTHANKTHANK YOU!YOU!

Paid for by Superior Federation of Labor Janice Terry, President

WISCONSIN VOTERSVote “Labor” on Tuesday, April 1st

There were open battles between striking teamsters armedwith pipes and police in the streets of Minneapolis in 1934.

Sheet Metal Workers’ Local 10Retirees’ LuncheonTuesday, April 1, 1:00 p.m. Hacienda South, 6428 Tower

I.U.O.E. Local 70Monthly Arrowhead Regional Meeting

Tuesday, April 8, 2014, 5:00 P.M. Duluth Labor Center, Hall B

Dave Monsour, Business Manager, (651) 646-4566

Ironworker RetireesMonthly BreakfastThursday, April 17

9:00 a.m.Twig Bakery & Cafe3930 E. Calvary Rd.

Governor Mark Dayton’schoice for his next lieutenantgovernor came calling to theMarch 13 Duluth CentralLabor Body meeting. TinaSmith told delegates she neverthought that would happen buthad to say “yes” when Daytonasked. She has been his chief ofstaff so its not like she’s beensaying “no” to the governor’srequests since she joined hiscampaign in 2010.

Smith, who will replace ourown Yvonne Prettner Solon,who is stepping down or some-thing like that, went right intocampaign mode with delegates.Well, there are a lot of good

things to say about what hashappened in Minnesota sinceDayton became governor.

Still hard to believe that hewas the state’s first DFLer inthe Governor’s Mansion sinceRudy Perpich walked out thedoor in January 1991. Why didit took voters so long to seepast Republicans, and IndyJesse Ventura. With what hashappened since Dayton got in –go ahead, compare MN andWIS – shouldn’t make it take20 years after Dayton’s gonefor it to happen again. I thoughthe was done as a politicianwhen he left the U.S. Senate.It’s nice to be wrong some-times. He done good.

Tina Smith told delegatesabout the rebound from a $6billion deficit to a $1 billionsurplus under Dayton.

“We lost 122,000 jobs in theGreat Recession, we (DFL)lost the House and Senate,”Smith said. “We’ve paid theschools back $2 billion. Thereare 2.8 million Minnesotansworking – which is more thanever – and we’ve gained150,000 jobs back. We’veasked the richest to pay theirfair share. We’ll have tax cutsfor the middle class and makefiling taxes simpler. We havefree all day kindergarten. We’reworking to get the minimumwage raised to $9.50 an hourwith indexing. We have abonding bill that will invest inour infrastructure.”

Whew, take it easy Tina, it’sonly March. She was on thecampaign trail and saidDayton’s looking forward to ittoo. For now he’s recoveringfrom hip replacement surgery.

“His hip and his sense ofhumor are great,” Smith said.

The next day he reversed hisposition on medical marijuana.Hmmmmmm...

He’ll be wearing a hip bracefor three months so the oldestgovernor in Minnesota history

at 67 won’t be out and aboutfor a bit.

You had to like that Daytonhad introduced Smith to thepress as his next running mateat the St. Paul offices of theMinnesota AFL-CIO.

At their Feb. 13 meetingDuluth Central Body delegatesendorsed Smith for Lt. Gov.

Smith has a lot of ties inpolitics, government, business,and with the non-profit sector.She’ll be a good campaignerfor the ticket, as was Y.P.Solon.

In Wellstone Hall Smithtook questions about the sexoffender program, help for peo-ple with physical and mentalconditions, and transportationissues for rural areas. She wascautioned about not being tooMetro-centric. She was advisedthat the state surplus should beinvested for the future ratherthan giving it back to taxpay-ers. Last week’s tax bill booststhe states budget reserves by$150 million.

Before going to work forDayton, Smith served fouryears as former MinneapolisMayor R.T.Rybak’s chief ofstaff. That administration didnot have a good relationshipwith its public employees butSmith learned a lot about localgovernment that can only helpin the governor’s office...whenDayton is re-elected.

LABOR WORLD NEWS, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26, 2014 PAGE 3

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Board of DirectorsPres/Treas Dan Leslie, IBEW31; VP Stacy Spexet, USW9460; Sec Jayme McKenna,AFSCME 66; Mikael Sundin,Painters & Allied Trades 106;Al LaFrenier, Workers’ UnitedMidwest Board; Dan O’Neill,

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S-70T W I N C I T I E S

D U L U T H

7

President Sybil: 50 Shades of CoolIt was more amusing than piano-

playing kittens to see Barack Obamaplug the Affordable Care Act on ZachGalifianakis’ internet comedy show.Not late night. Not basic cable. Aninternet show: “Between 2 Ferns.” Even funnier was thePresident trotting out the same expression he normally reservesfor Bill O’Reilly interviews.

The Chief Executive is apparently working his way down themarketing food chain. Next it’ll be ObamaCare coupons underwindshield wipers in the parking lots of flea markets. Then aseries of laminated ads posted above urinals. Won’t be longbefore Joe Biden is wearing a giant syringe costume twirling asign on Pennsylvania Ave.

The president is not new to the humor game. He’s proven hiscomedy chops o’plenty at previous functions, but even profes-sional comedians have problems holding their own with thebearded Hangover franchise comic’s trademark condescendingsnark. 44, however, traded disdainful barbs like a Catskillstrained tummler. Looks like the ordeal of dealing with Hillary’sState Department staff finally paid off. Can’t wait for him speakto Putin with the same sort of Borscht Belt pushback.

This was Comedy Obama at his finest. Just one of the manyguises we’ve seen Honolulu’s favorite son adopt. There’sDiplomatic Obama. Arrogant Obama. Tolerant Obama.Supercilious Obama. Hollywood Obama. Mississippi Obama.New Boss Obama. And Same as the Old Boss Obama.

Might explain why the country is this close to contracting aserious case of Multiple Presidential Personality Disorder. He’sPresident Sybil. Playing more roles than the tall kid who shavesat a summer Shakespeare camp.

Doctors say the onset of Dissociative Identity Disorder can betraced to trauma and its possible the Republican Party is respon-sible for these many faces of Eve, er, Barack. For 5 years thePresident has been hit in the head more often than an armlesssoccer goalie in a World Cup shootout. Of course, he could besetting himself up for an insanity defense. Mitch McConnellwould be well advised to hire extra security.

The Oval Office Shapeshifter’s pre POTUS resume was pret-ty tame. Kenyan. Kansan. Hawaiian. Community organizer.Constitutional law professor. State Senator. US Senator.Marijuana advocate. Audacity encourager.

It’s only since 2009 that we’ve been treated to a kaleidoscopeof eccentric facets. He’s a jock. A nerd. Cheerleader. Teacher’spet. Motorcycle riding bad boy. Probably a closet band geek.Party standard bearer. Good will ambassador. Policy enforcer. AlGreen impersonator.

He’s half black. He’s half white. Ramrod. Contortionist.Healer. Divider. Defender of transparency. Master spy. Outlaw.Sheriff. Muslim. Christian. Politician. Citizen. Figurehead. Hoodornament. White hatted hero. Melodramatic villain. A puppet, apoet, a pawn and a king.

Even the GOP can’t decide if he’s a hopeless novice or a dem-agoguing dictator. The right wing paints him as a radical jihadistwhile left wing progressives whine he’s a cowering conciliator.Making him a little bit Malcolm X and a little bit Urkel.

Barack Obama is harder to pin down than an eel in a buttersculpture. A Nobel Peace Prize winner or the ManchurianCandidate. He’s either the classiest of cats or Captain Clueless.Relentless shark or a spineless jellyfish. Power mad knight errantor lute strumming eunuch. Or maybe he’s all of them. 50 shadesof cool. Or drool. Perspective is everything. © 2014 Will Durst

Gov. Dayton and Tina Smith

This Day In History www.workdayminnesota.orgMarch 23, 1970 - President Richard Nixon declared anational emergency and ordered 30,000 troops to New YorkCity to break the first nationwide postal strike. The walkoutultimately resulted in collective bargaining rights for employees of the U.S. Postal Service.

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copyrighted material the use of whichhas not always been specificallyauthorized by the copyright owner.We make such material available inour efforts to advance understandingof labor, economic, political, humanrights, democracy, social justice, andenvironmental issues. We believe thisconstitutes a 'fair use' of any suchcopyrighted material as provided forin Section 107, US Copyright Law.

In accordance with Title 17U.S.C. Section 107, the material inthis paper and on the website is dis-tributed without profit to those whohave expressed an interest in receiv-ing the included information for edu-cational purposes.

~NOTICE~Labor World 2014 issues:April 16 (Workers Memorial); May 14, 28; June 25;July 9, 29; Aug. 6, 27;

BCTGM fights back against Kellogg’s greed in Memphis lockout

You got to be shipping me! Season’s open?

When the Kellogg Co.locked out some 220 workersfrom its Memphis, Tenn., plantin October, it was another stepin Kellogg’s corporate battleplan to replace steady, middle-

We all need help trying toshake off another mean winterand it came, kind of, Saturday.The shipping season opened!Can summer be far off?

Near record-setting thickand fast ice across the GreatLakes had slowed the start ofthe 2014 navigation season.However, traffic started mov-ing in the Port of Duluth-Superior last Saturday whenthe Cason J. Callaway leftabout 1 p.m. headed for TwoHarbors to load iron ore pelletsSunday or Monday and thenleave from there for steel millson the lower Great Lakes.

The Callaway, Presque Ilseand John G. Munson, had thesame travel plans Saturday. Allthree vessels are operated byKey Lakes, Inc., and all havereinforced hulls able to with-stand significant ice pressurehere at the Head of the Lakes.

After loading the three lak-ers were to await the arrival of

three U.S. Coast Guard ice-breakers – the Mackinaw,Morro Bay and Katmai Bay –who are cutting tracks acrossLake Superior from the SooLocks to Duluth. After a respiteto restock/refuel, the USCGunits will depart, slowing downjust long enough near TwoHarbors to pick up and escortthe vessels in a convoy acrossthe Lake and through the St.Marys River and locks at SaultSte. Marie.

Local Coast Guard ice-breaking cutter Alder and com-mercial tugs from HeritageMarine and Great LakesTowing continue working toopen up tracks in the Duluth-Superior Harbor. The MesabiMiner is scheduled to load coalat the Superior MidwestEnergy Terminal this week fordelivery to Taconite Harbor.

Additional vessels that win-tered over in the Twin Ports(including the Kaye E. Barker,

Great Republic, AmericanSpirit, St. Clair, Walter J.McCarthy) are fitting-out andplan to get underway within thenext couple of weeks.

With ever-changing ice con-ditions and weather patterns,plans are to have Coast Guardassists for upbound vessel traf-fic as well, so terminals in theTwin Ports can expect to seethe first inbound lakers arriveto load around April 1.

Oceangoing “saltie” trafficarrives later, generally mid-April, as eastern locks in theSeaway system won’t openuntil March 31.

Saturday’s activity madeyou wonder if the boats weremaking ice fishing difficult forpeople out on Lake Superior’sice. They weren’t far from eachother.

You can keep up with vesseltraffic via the BoatwatchersHotline: (218) 722-6489 orwww.duluthboats.com

class, full-time jobs in the U.S.and elsewhere with casual part-time employees making signif-icantly lower wages with sub-standard benefits.

A week ago the Bakery,

Confectionery, TobaccoWorkers and Grain Millers(BCTGM) union stepped up itscampaign to shed light onKellogg’s Greed and put pres-sure on the globally recognized

cereal maker to end itsMemphis lockout and stepback from its plans to cuts jobsand shutter plants in the UnitedStates, Canada, the UnitedKingdom and Australia.

In videos on the just-launched kellogggreed.comwebsite, Memphis workers talkabout the toll Kellogg’s lockouthas taken on them and theirfamilies. Workers in theLondon, Ontario plant thatKellogg is shutting down at theend of the year reveal how theywere deceived by the cerealmaker. Another video exploresthe $14 billion a year cerealgiant’s plan to increase produc-tion in low-wage countries,including Mexico, Malaysiaand Thailand.

While CEO John Bryantreceived $8 million in salary in

2013 and investors continue toprofit from increasing dividendpayouts and share buybacks,thousands of Kellogg employ-ees and the communities theylive in are left devastated andangry.

Visit kellogggreed.com totake action and send a messageto Bryant, urging him to endthe Memphis lockout and ceasethe attacks on Kellogg’s dedi-cated and hardworkingemployees in the United States,Canada, the United Kingdomand Australia.

The Memphis workers havereceived support from nationalpoliticians, religious leaders,civil rights organizations andinternational labor groups,including the CongressionalBlack Caucus, the NFL PlayersAssociation and others.

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PAGE 4 LABOR WORLD NEWS, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26, 2014

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The Cason J. Callaway was the first laker to leave Duluth plowing through LakeSuperior’s ice behind the Labor Temple early Saturday afternoon.

Moose Lake needs help for a $33M schoolBy Byron KusterMembers of the Building

and Construction Trades arelearning that there are twoidentical bills in the MinnesotaHouse (HF 366) and Senate(SF 297) that could benefitthem and the local economy byproviding good constructionjobs in the northland andbeyond.

Each bill requests $20 mil-lion to build a school in MooseLake, MN, and another $20million to build a school in theRushford-Peterson School

Good things in state tax billBy Nan Madden, Minnesota Budget ProjectThe Minnesota Legislature took important steps to make the

tax system work better for working Minnesotans March 21 whenit passed two great improvements to the Working Family Credit.

House File 1777 conforms the credit to federal improvementsreducing marriage penalties starting in tax year 2013, and itincreases the maximum credit starting in tax year 2014. Thesetwo improvements together represent about a 25 percent increasein the Working Family Credit.

House File 1777 also includes a number of other federal con-formity items, which make Minnesota’s tax system simpler bymirroring a number of credits and deductions found in the feder-al tax code, and repeals three business-to-business related salestaxes (commonly called ‘B2B’).

The bill also repeals the gift tax enacted last year and cutsMinnesota’s estate tax. We’ve argued that policymakers shouldminimize the loss of revenue and the impact on tax fairness asthey sought to address some technical problems with the estatetax. The estate tax cut passed March 21 is about $50 millionsmaller in FY 2016-17 than other versions on the table this year.

House File 1777 also makes a $150 million contribution tothe budget reserve. As we come out of more than a decade of fre-quent budget deficits, it’s wise to strengthen our budget reservesto prepare for the next downturn in the business cycle. Adequatereserves soften the shock of future budget shortfalls and enablethe state to better meet the needs of Minnesotans during toughtimes.

In total, the bill cuts taxes by $443 million in this budgetcycle, and $956 million in FY 2016-17.

Policymakers in the House and Senate said today they expectto put together a second tax bill before the session is over.

District in southeastern MN. The total cost of the pro-

posed Moose Lake school is$33M alone with the final$13M coming from the localschool district. The MooseLake School District alreadyowns 190 acres of high land ina good location with utilitiesavailable. Once all funding issecured, the project will likelymove fast.

Senator Tony Lourey intro-duced the bill in the senate, andRepresentative Mike Sundinintroduced it into the House.Both legislators are supportive.

The state does not normallybond to build new schools.However, these two schoolswere both severely damaged byrecent floods. The Moose Lakeschool was flooded in 2012,and the Rushford-Petersonschool in 2007. These billswill help each community tobuild a new school in an areathat is not prone to flooding.

Each local community isfinancially unable to build anew school without state assis-tance.

In the City of Moose Lake,much of the land is used by thestate for a prison, a sex offend-er treatment facility, a statepark, DNR, state trails, etc.Additionally, the local hospital,churches, and school do notpay taxes. As a result, the localresidents must pay dispropor-tionately high taxes.

To make matters evenworse, the flood of 2012 dam-aged nearly one third of thehomes in Moose Lake. In total,the flood did about $15M ofdamage to individuals, busi-nesses, and government enti-ties in Moose Lake, eroding thetax base even further.

The Moose Lake SchoolDistrict superintendent has saidthat the District has a history ofusing Project Labor Agree-ments (PLA) and he is recep-tive to signing a PLA for theconstruction of the new schoolonce he has a project. He alsoprefers to use local labor.

A group of Moose Lakearea community members havebeen actively lobbying key leg-islators such as the House andSenate leadership, members onthe House and Senate CapitalInvestment Committees, aswell as Governor Dayton to getthese projects into the final2014 bonding bill.

Union members are encour-aged to lobby for these projectsalso. Solid building and con-struction trade jobs are neededin the Northland to help ourstruggling economy recoverfrom the Great Recession.

Stay safe by staying clear of power lines when using ladders or other equipment while working on outdoor projects. Remember to look up and follow the 10-foot rule – equipment needs to clear power lines by 10 feet in every direction.

Electric energy is a powerful friend, but if your equipment comes in contact with a power line, the results could be deadly.

mnpower.com/safetyFor more safety tips:

1410

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LABOR WORLD NEWS, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26, 2014 PAGE 5

Moose Lake School after the 2012 flood. (Submitted photos)

Teaching profession looking to recruit more members, diversify...from page 1centered around three ques-

tions. The first was: We all want to improve our

schools. What are the charac-teristics of a great K-12school? What’s working andhow can we do better?

At Washington Center par-ticipants were placed into fivegroups that each discussed thequestions and reported back tothe entire group. A lot of theanswers were similar.

Answers to question #1showed a great school hasgreat, dedicated teachers thatare given flexibility in theirapproach. Schools should besafe environments and haveoptions for students, includingvarious pathways to graduationthat consider there are careerswithout college degrees. New,welcoming buildings areimportant in helping to engagestudents. Making sure kids areenjoying the learning processand that their parents are alsoinvolved is necessary for suc-cess, as is trust and consistency.

Improvements can be madeby reducing class sizes,expanding curriculums, having

Skills test for teachers biasedAdding diversity to the ranks of Minnesota’s teachers is a dif-

ficult task even if they scour the ranks of students of color frommiddle school on up looking for good candidates.

Minnesota’s new teacher development and evaluation systemgoes into effect in fall 2014. Education Minnesota, the union of70,000 educators, is among the state’s prominent educationstakeholders encouraging collaboration and stressing the need tohave a plan in place by the end of this school year.

Minnesota had a 2010 statute requiring a basic-skills examfor teachers, which measures their proficiency in reading, writ-ing and math. Opponents of the law say it is unfair to peopleinterested in teaching if they are people of color if English is nottheir native language. This year another attempt to repeal thecontroversial test is not getting traction in the legislature.

Opponents of the law, including school administrators, lead-ers of state teaching colleges, and some DFL legislators say thetest does little to understand a teaching applicant’s qualities andcontains cultural bias and unfair roadblocks for minority stu-dents.

Republicans say it would lower the bar for Minnesota’steachers.

Former teachers and educators are among the largest occupa-tional group of Minnesota legislators.

UFCW, Inter-Faith have pactOn March 18 members of United Food and Commercial

Workers Local 1189 at Carlton’s Inter-Faith Care Center (IFCC)unanimously approved a new 18-month contract.

The parties have had a difficult relationship since negotia-tions started last summer. On Sept. 5, 2013 workers had voted69-0 to reject the employers last and final concessionary offer.Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service mediated talks withIFCC on the contract that expired Sept. 30, 2012.

UFCW representative Tamara Jones said worker will see a3.15% wage increase and will have a $15 a month health care co-pay rather than the $100 the employer was trying to implement.

“On behalf of our 75 members employed at Inter-Faith we’dlike to thank them for their solidarity, as well as former membersand workers there, the community and other workers,” saidJones. “And we’d like to thank state Representative MikeSundin for his efforts to settle the dispute.”

teachers move with classes tomaintain relationships andunderstanding of students, andhaving a better partnershipbetween schools and their com-munities. Ensuring that publictransportation is well linked toschools is important.

Aaron Gelineau came to themeeting after working withkids elsewhere in the buildingin an after school program.He’s been doing that for 20years. Without Nettletonschool nearby anymore, theCenter is incredibly importantin the community.

“We have 75 kids whocome here, get something to eatand do homework,” Gelineausaid of the importance of com-munity. “We know that doesn’thappen when they go home.”He said there are other goodplaces for kids to go afterschool in Duluth like ValleyYouth Center, the Ys, and Boysand Girls Club, but the connec-tion to school is lacking andvery important.

Opinions about teachingand teacher preparation are inthe news daily. What do you

think are essentials of being agood teacher? What character-istics make someone an effec-tive, memorable teacher?

Good teachers establishsound relationships, listen, arecaring, and give their attentionto students no matter the classsize. They build self esteem instudents participants said. Theyhave high energy and highexpectations while adapting tothe needs and learning styles ofstudents. They enjoy kids andare curious and want to learnalso. They are creative withtheir content, confident, andgrowing all the time. Theyunderstand their student’s lives.

Good teachers have the pas-sion to retain interest in theircareers to fight burnout.Creating sabbatical programwould help that.

Good teachers have a goodsense of humor, they love thecurriculum, have a passion fortheir calling, and empathy,which they model in workingon relationships.

Fewer college students arechoosing teaching as a profes-sion and diversity in the teach-ing force remains woefullyinadequate. What ideas do youhave for how our state canmake teaching a more desir-able professional choice? Whatare some ways to attract candi-dates from all communities tobecome and remain teachers?

This was the tough one.When Angela Davis spoke

at UMD last month she saidblacks make up only 3% of stu-dents on California’s highereducation campus. In Michiganthey’ve dropped from 6% in2009 to 4% today.

Before the evening beganSpecht said many school dis-

tricts have support staff withmany members from commu-nities of color. Many of themexpress a desire to be teachersbut it’s difficult to work fulltime, support a family, and findthe time and resources to fur-ther their education.

Participants said poor grad-uation rates from high schoolfor students of color show howdifficult finding teaching can-didates is. A good student ofcolor is gathered up quickly bythe corporate world which isalso wanting to diversify.

The teaching professionneeds to be promoted better towithstand all the teacher bash-ing. Public education needsmuch better promoting.

Finding a way for studentloan forgiveness, making start-ing salaries better, and betterstaff development programs

would help as would mentoringand internships.

Gelineau said he tries torecruit students of color to gointo teaching with virtually nosuccess. He said they say theydon’t want to go to college tobecome a teacher and deal withbad kids. “We hand pick kidsand I’ve got one now thatmight and I feel good aboutthat,” he said.

Peggy Johnson said chang-ing teaching licensure optionsto allow middle age careerchanges can bring people ofcolor to the profession.

Community conversationshave taken place in Duluth,Bemidji, Rochester, Willmar,St. Paul, and Brooklyn Park.

“This won’t be the onlytime for listening sessions,”Specht told the Duluth gather-ing.

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Building Trades launch “Dakota Construction Careers Campaign”In December North Dakota

had a 2.7% unemployment rateand South Dakota was at 3.6%according to the U.S. Bureau ofLabor Statistics. With the low-est unemployment in the U.S.and rapidly growing econo-mies, the demand for skilledconstruction workers is sogreat in those states that sixlabor unions have formed acoalition to find more workers.

On March 18 leaders of theCoalition of Construction Pro-fessionals say they’re launch-ing the “Dakota Construction

Duluth has constructioncareer forum Monday

Duluth’s Minnesota WorkForce Center will host an informa-tional session on careers in the construction industry Monday,March 31 starting at 11:30 a.m. at 402 West First St. (old ChineseLantern/Duluth Athletic Club building).

Some of the area Building & Construction Trades unions willhave representatives there including Bricklayers, Carpenters,Electricians, Iron Workers, Laborers, Sheet Metal Workers, andRoofers. Most unions have apprenticeship programs that theycoordinate with their signatory contractors and the State ofMinnesota.

The event will also include the Arrowhead BuildersAssociation, home builders, and Lake Superior College, whichhas construction classes and programs.

The event is free and no reservations are required.On Monday, May 5 the MN WorkForce Center will host the

5th Annual Northland Job Fair at the DECC with veterans, stu-dents, and interns at 10 a.m., general public from 11 to 4 p.m.Visit regoline.com/northlandjf2014 to register.

You can visit minnesotaworks.net for a no fee job bank.

MN Orchestra CEO oustedMichael Henson, president and CEO of the Minnesota

Orchestra, will step down in August it has been announced. Hewas the divisive leader of the 16-month lockout of the orches-tra’s unionized musicians, members of Twin Cities MusiciansUnion Local 30-73, that began October 1, 2012 and ended witha compromise agreement Jan. 14, 2014.

Henson received a $202,500 bonus in 2011, bringing his totalcompensation that year to $619,313. A new board and a com-munity group have pressured his leaving. In the fall of 2012, themusicians issued a vote of no confidence in Henson.

“In light of today’s announcement, we look forward to work-ing with our board and future management to move theMinnesota Orchestra forward,” said musicians’ spokesman BloisOlson in a statement, adding that musicians hope to “build uponthe legacy of artistic excellence this community has supportedover the past 110 years.”

Henson’s departure may set the stage for the return of formermusic director Osmo Vänskä, who resigned last October whenthe orchestra’s dates at Carnegie Hall had to be cancelledbecause of the lockout. He has indicated he might come back butHenson had to be gone for him to do that. Vänskä will conductthe orchestra March 27-29 in Orchestra Hall in a sold out per-formance of Sibelius’ First and Fourth Symphonies, which wona Grammy Award this year for Best Orchestral Performance.Like Sibelius, Vänskä is of Finnish descent.

Careers Campaign” for jobs,and new careers with training,health and retirement benefitsand the opportunity to “build abetter tomorrow.” Their chal-lenge is to recruit and train newworkers, labor leaders say, tomeet the growing demand forlabor to build roads, bridgesand community infrastructureto accommodate growing pop-ulations in these states.

“We’re searching for moti-vated workers who are eager tolearn a trade and start a newcareer,” said Business Manager

Glen Johnson of OperatingEngineers Local 49, calling it“a fabulous opportunity.” Hesays they’re searching for the“next generation” of skilledworkers—high school gradu-ates—as well as experiencedworkers who have the skills orjust the inclination to build anew, rewarding career.

Residents in both Dakotaswill hear the Coalition’s call innewspaper, radio, billboard andmobile advertising launchedMarch 18 in multiple markets.

Open houses will be held in12 locations from the end ofMarch to mid-May in NorthDakota (Williston, Minot,Dickinson, Bismarck, Fargo,Jamestown, Grand Forks andDevils Lake) and South Dakota(Pierre, Rapid City, Aberdeenand Sioux Falls).

Attendees can learn aboutcareers and training opportuni-ties from representatives of thebricklayers, cement masonsand plasterers, iron workers,heavy equipment operators,painters and laborers.

This is the largest coalitionof building trade groups to evercollaborate on such a campaignin the Dakotas.

“The Laborers are ecstaticto be working together with somany of our partners to educateeverybody on what the trainingand benefits really are of work-ing a career in construction,”said Business Manager TimMackey of the Laborers. “A

few years ago, we had hun-dreds of members sitting on thebench. Now we’re looking at acouple of decades’ worth ofwork for skilled labor fromconstruction owners who wanttheir projects built to specs, ontime and on budget.”

Johnson says you can trainand develop the specific skill-set relevant to your career, “andyou won’t have to spendmoney on tuition or rack upthousands of dollars in debt todo it. In fact, it’s just the oppo-site—you’ll earn while youlearn.” How much can work-ers make? For example, hesays once heavy equipment

operators have completed theapprenticeship program, theycan earn up to $50 an hour inwages and benefits.

“There are so many jobs outthere, but we’re offering acareer with benefits and we’renot going anywhere,” saidBusiness Manager CharlieRoberts of Ironworkers Local512. “A lot of people offeringjobs are only there until thejobs are done. The buildingtrades are there for the longhaul.”

For further details go todakotaconstructioncareers.comor Dakota ConstructionCareers on Facebook.

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LABOR WORLD NEWS, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26, 2014 PAGE 7

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Jennifer Schultz gets DFL’s 7A endorsementDelegates to Duluth’s 7th

Senate District DFL conven-tion Saturday gave theirendorsement to JenniferSchultz for the MinnesotaHouse of RepresentativesDistrict 7A seat. She won onthe 7th ballot when PeteJohnson conceded as Schultzneared the 60 percent markneeded for endorsement.

Schultz is an EducationMinnesota member of theUniversity of MinnesotaDuluth’s University EducationAssociation. She is a professorof economics and director ofthe health care managementprogram in UMD’s LabovitzSchool of Business/EconomicsSchultz is a former delegate tothe Central Body from UEA.

Johnson is president of FireFighters Local 101 and aDuluth AFL-CIO CentralLabor Body delegate. He is anexecutive board member of the7th Senate District DFL.

Two candidates dropped outearlier in the balloting.

Duluth City Council presi-dent Linda Krug, a formerUEA president, is now a co-director of UMD’s Masters inAdvocacy and PoliticalLeadership Program. She gotthe Central Body endorsementin her victorious campaign forthe Duluth City Council.

Gary Anderson led thisarea’s efforts to defeat aRepublican state constitutionalamendment that would ban gay

marriage. That coalition thengot voters to make same sexmarriages legal in Minnesota inthe next legislative session lastyear. He is now an organizerfor Outfront Minnesota, work-ing on the anti-bullying Safeand Supportive Schools Act.

“I was honored to be in thesame race with Gary, Pete andLinda,” said Schultz. “Theircampaigns were well run andvery ethical. I learned a greatdeal from them during the race,and was impressed with theirtremendous graciousness intheir willingness to put theirown ambitions behind the goodof the DFL in helping to assurean endorsement. I am eager tohelp unite the campaigns so wecan go forward and win inNovember. I am looking for-ward to listening to concernsfrom local labor groups. Weneed labor to unite with theDFL party to retain the 7AHouse seat. I'm looking for-ward to bringing us together.”

The seat became open forthis fall’s election when Rep.Tom Huntley announced inJanuary that he would not seekre-election after 22 years. LikeSchultz and Krug, he is a for-mer UMD professor.

North East Area LaborCouncil president Alan Netlandwas a convention delegate.“Jennifer's speech at the begin-ning of the 7A screening washer best ever and very impres-sive,” Netland said. “Shetalked a lot about herself , whatformed her and her beliefs andreally connected with the dele-gates. In my mind, this and hersecond speech later after about4 ballots which I missed, butothers said was great as well,were the determining factors inbringing second choice votes toher. Jennifer was dynamic.

“This bodes well for her inthe general election in beingable to connect to voters as shedid on Saturday. She has stronglabor values, demonstrated byher active work in her union

and the broader labor commu-nity as an NEALC board andMinnesota AFL-CIO generalboard member.

“I think labor will cometogether behind her candidacyand I look forward to helpingher run a successful campaign,now to November.”

The state’s official filingperiod for elections is fromMay 20 through June 3. ThePrimary Election is Tuesday,August 12. All four DFL candi-dates have stated that theywould abide by their party’sendorsement process.

Republicans have endorsedperennial candidate Becky Hallfor 7A. Huntley defeated her in2006 by a 69 to 31% margin.

A highlight for many dele-gates at the convention wasseeing Senator Roger Reinertsporting a “$9.50 and index-ing” minimum wage button.

“It's true that most cases our law firm handles settlebefore going to trial by jury. But make no mistake about it- the insurance industry knows that we are not one of thelaw firms that will settle at any cost to avoid going to trial.But instead we will take a case to trial when necessary

to get full compensationfor a client.

And because of that reputation,we frequently get bettersettlements for our clients.”

PAGE 8 LABOR WORLD NEWS, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26, 2014

Delegates to Duluth’s 7th Senate District DFL conventionSaturday heard from U.S. Senator Al Franken, who is upthis year in his first re-election bid. After a long recount fol-lowing the 2008 election, Franken was declared the winnerby 312 votes over Norm Coleman. Independent DeanBarkley received 437,505 votes in that election. Frankenwasn’t sworn-in until July. He brings up his margin of vic-tory often and knows he’s targeted again by conservatives.

Retiring Rep. Tom Huntleysaid goodbye to 7th SenateDistrict DFL delegates attheir convention Saturday.“It’s been a great 22 yearsfor me, and you’re the folksthat put me there,” Huntleysaid. “But I have bad newsfor you people, I’m notgoing away.” He said he willwork on lessening the short-age of primary care physi-cians, especially in ruralareas. He said 80% of healthcare costs are for chronicconditions and the state cansave 9% on medical assis-tance for low income resi-dents by preventive care.

Jennifer Schultz