Operating Engineers Local 49 Endorses Republican incumbent Congressman Cravaack in Minnesota’s 8th District

International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 49 Announces Endorsement in MN 8th Congressional District

Earlier this week members of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 49 gathered in Duluth to screen candidates for Congress in Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District.  This screening was open to all Local 49 members that lived in the 8th District, and was widely advertised on our website and distributed via email.  Members came from across the 8th District to participate.

After hearing from all 3 candidates running in the Democratic Primary, and Congressman Cravaack, we had what turned out to be a very difficult conversation about who we should stand with in this election.  The conversation centered around jobs, our union, and the ability of our members to earn a good living.  These are the core issues that bind us together as a group, and we decided that this should drive our endorsement.

The members held a secret ballot vote the night of screening

Press Release – Local 49 announces first round of 2012 endorsements for MN Legislative elections

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 49, made up of 13,000 heavy equipment operators working in MN, ND, and SD, wishes to announce our first round of Minnesota State Legislative endorsements for 2012. Our union has three core issues that drive our political activity:

• Infrastructure and construction job creation
• Protection of our right to have a strong and healthy union
• Protection of construction industry standards on safety, wages, health care, and pensions

Our political philosophy is simple:
We will support any candidate, from any party, that is willing to stand with construction workers on the above three (3) core principals.

The bi-partisan nature of the list of current office-holders and candidates that make up our first round of 2012 endorsements demonstrates our commitment to our political philosophy.

How the MN Senate voted on Vikings Stadium Tuesday

MN Senate, on a 38-28 vote, approved a measure to finance a new Vikings stadium. It moves to conference committee due to radical differences in comparison to the bill the MN House passed. Here’s how it broke down – with more Democrats than Republicans supporting the bill as it stood at the time of the roll call: 

Scenes from MN State Capitol

Rally for jobs at State Capitol in St. Paul, MN as legislature resumes meeting in session May 3rd.

March 28, at 8:00 AM in Ways & Means, Room 200 MN State Office Building

Rep. Scott’s bill (HF 1476) changing the Mode to the Mean and allowing overtime only after 40 hours total in any 7-day period will be heard.

This is the bad Associated Building Contractors bill.

Business Managers and organizers are trying to get as many people as possible to attend. 49ers need to show our opposition to this yet again by turning out as many members as we possibly can on Wednesday morning.

Yes, it’s short notice – the sponsors would prefer we stay home and let them work without expressing our outrage about cutting our wages.

Background on Prevailing Wage changes is informative, but if you want to argue against it this discussion of why the changes limit the outcomes without saving money is probably the best quick read around.

Video: Minneapolis Firefighter at State Capitol: Should we have a Right to Work Out?

“Right to Work” isn’t just a union issue

What is a “Right-to-work-out” law?

It’s really not that complicated, although the name is misleading since everybody already has a right to work out — just as we have a right to work. What the special interests are trying to do is say union membership should be free, even though currently nobody is forced to join a union, and the economic boom of the 50s and 60s followed the biggest expansion of unions in the history of the U.S.A.

Gyms charge membership fees, but you don’t have to pay if you just work out at home, or walk in the park (which tax-payers make possible, actually.)

So-called “Right-to-Work” is Wrong for Minnesota

Does “free benefits” sound “too good to be true” to you?

When we get offered “free legal representation” if we cannot afford it, the GOVERNMENT pays, it’s not free.

When the people who don’t want to pay for union benefits stay at a union site, they choose to do so, they are not forced, but you can bet MN taxpayers don’t want to spend tax dollars paying for their benefits – so why should the Minnesota government force unions to pay for non-members health care or pension? Doesn’t sound fair, let alone very free-market to me.

Would those who say unions were important “back in the day,” but we don’t need them anymore also say that about the U.S. Constitution? The “Bill of Rights” assures me the right to associate with others. Evidently that offends certain extremists who prefer to “throw the baby out with the bathwater” because of some past offenses.  The United States government isn’t perfect, but it’s still the best system anywhere.