FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 16, 2010                                               click here for PDF
CONTACT: Jennifer Munt ▪ 651-357-8544

MnSCU Headquarters: Outside Wells Fargo Place – 30 E. 7th St., St. Paul
Tues., July 20 – news conference at 12:15 p.m.
Wed., July 21 – protest from 12-1 p.m.

AFSCME Council 5, the state’s largest public employee union, is trying to stop bonuses for bosses at Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) at a time when students are paying more for tuition and other employees are being laid off or taking wage freezes.

MnSCU trustees awarded a $40,000 bonus to Chancellor James McCormick on June 16, 2010. Additional bonuses are now expected for dozens of other top administrators despite the system’s budget crunch.

Last year, trustees paid bonuses totaling $287,500 to 35 administrators who earn six-figure salaries. This summer, they’re about to do it again.

“Trustees are passing out bonuses with one hand; pink slips and tuition hikes with the other hand. We need to put a stop to that,” says Karen Foreman, an AFSCME member who works at Minnesota State University in Mankato.

Foreman explains, “Most bosses are calling for shared sacrifice during tough times. Our union understands that and our members are doing their part to put students first.”

MnSCU trustees forgot that their boss, Gov. Tim Pawlenty, called for a wage freeze to minimize layoffs. In his 2009 State of the State address, he said “I’m proposing we freeze all state government wages for the next two years.”

AFSCME state employees accepted that deal – a wage freeze in exchange for fewer layoffs. Now, MnSCU may have to eliminate at least 500 more positions this year, when enrollment has increased by 32,000. Students will lose the services of AFSCME clerical workers, landscapers and janitors as they pay more for tuition.

MnSCU tuition will increase by about 4.5 percent this fall. That increase is necessary to make up for a 35 percent decline in state funding over the past two years. It means students will pay about $200 more for classes at community and technical colleges, and $300 more at MnSCU universities.

AFSCME Council 5 is a union of 43,000 public and non-profit workers in Minnesota, including 3,500 of MnSCU’s 10,000 employees. The union advocates for excellence in public services, dignity in the workplace, and opportunity and prosperity for all workers.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 12, 2010
CONTACT: Jennifer Munt ▪ 651-357-8544                                         click here for PDF

Last-minute tax filers will be greeted by members of AFSCME Council 5 on Tax Day, April 15 from 4–6:30 p.m. at post offices in Anoka, Bemidji, Brainerd, Cambridge, Duluth and Minneapolis. Union volunteers will ask taxpayers a simple question: “Are you tired of paying more so the rich can pay less?”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 23, 2010                                    click here for PDF
CONTACT: Jennifer Munt ▪ 651-357-8544

The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) released a plan this month to redesign the state’s mental health services by cutting $17 million and 200 jobs. Today, the union representing regional treatment center workers told legislators that this blueprint is likely to increase costs, put more staff in danger, and harm the treatment of adults with mental illnesses.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 21, 2010                                       click here for PDF
CONTACT: Jennifer Munt ▪ 651-287-0575 work ▪ 651-357-8544 cell

AFSCME APPLAUDS REPS. WALZ, McCOLLUM, ELLISON AND OBERSTAR FOR “SIDING WITH MN FAMILIES, SMALL BUSINESSES, DOCTORS AND SENIORS OVER INSURANCE COMPANIES”

-- With “yes” votes on landmark health reform,
Minnesotans will see huge benefits under historic law --

The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 5 and Council 65 today applauded Reps. Tim Walz, Betty McCollum, Keith Ellison and James Oberstar for their historic YES votes on health reform legislation, which will make health care more affordable for middle class families, provide aid for small businesses and doctors, and improve care for seniors throughout Minnesota — all while reducing the federal deficit by $143 billion over the next decade.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 21, 2010                                          click here for PDF
CONTACT: Jennifer Munt ▪ 651-287-0575 work ▪ 651-357-8544 cell     

By voting against the health care reform legislation, U.S. Reps. Michele Bachmann, John Kline, Erik Paulsen and Collin Peterson chose to side with insurance companies over countless Minnesota families, small businesses, doctors and seniors who will see huge benefits from the reforms. The callous move shows that Reps. Bachmann, Kline, Paulsen and Peterson are more interested in protecting insurance industry greed than in making health care more affordable for working families, lowering prescription drug costs, and providing aid for doctors and small businesses.  

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 11, 2010
CONTACT: Jennifer Munt ▪ 651-287-0575 work ▪ 651-357-8544 cell                       click here for PDF

(St. Paul) — Today, one of the state’s largest and most politically active unions – AFSCME Minnesota Council 5 – announced its endorsement of Rebecca Otto for reelection as State Auditor.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 10, 2010
CONTACT: Jennifer Munt ▪ 651-287-0575 work ▪ 651-357-8544 cell               click here for PDF

(St. Paul) — Today, one of the state’s largest and most politically active unions – AFSCME Minnesota Council 5 – announced its endorsement of Mark Ritchie for reelection as Secretary of State.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 2, 2010
CONTACT: Jennifer Munt ▪ 651-287-0575 work ▪ 651-357-8544 cell                  click here for PDF

PUBLIC EMPLOYEE UNION OFFERS A BETTER BUDGET FIX
Save Jobs and Services with Fair Taxes on the Rich

With today’s forecast that Minnesota’s budget deficit will be $5.8 billion for the next two-year cycle, AFSCME Council 5 called on the Legislature to raise revenue fairly.

“How we respond to the recession will define who we are as a people,” said Eliot Seide, director of AFSCME Council 5. “We can fix the budget with fairness and compassion if we ask the richest Minnesotans to pay their fair share of income taxes. It’s simply wrong to continue shifting their burden onto the middle class, the jobless and the vulnerable.”

The impact of “no new taxes” since Gov. Pawlenty took office in 2003:

FOR RELEASE: February 12, 2010
CONTACT: Jennifer Munt ▪ 651-287-0575 work ▪ 651-357-8544 cell                click here for PDF

Members of AFSCME Council 5 – one of Minnesota’s largest and most politically active unions – will meet with legislators February 17 to help shape a state budget that will put Minnesota back to work. This year’s Day-on-the-Hill theme is “For a Better Minnesota.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 11, 2010
CONTACTS: Jennifer Munt ▪ 651-287-0575 work ▪ 651-357-8544 cell               click here for PDF

Today, Gov. Pawlenty delivered his final state of the state address. Below is a response from Eliot Seide, director of AFSCME Council 5, a union of 43,000 public and non-profit workers throughout Minnesota.

“Wendell Anderson’s legacy was the Minnesota Miracle; Tim Pawlenty’s legacy will be the Minnesota Massacre. Under his failed ‘no new taxes’ leadership, Minnesota is lagging where it used to lead the nation.”