All workers deserve decent wages, health care, and a secure retirement. That’s what AFSCME stands for, that’s what unions stand for, and that’s what the 99 percent stand for. Council 5 is supplying locals with winter-proof lawn signs so you can demonstrate that those values are what you stand for, too. To get a sign, contact your local union president.

Minnesota legislators who belong to the secretive American Legislative Exchange Council are sponsoring more than 60 bills that directly benefit the bottom line of the corporate sponsors who bankroll ALEC, a new expose says. “Legislating Under the Influence,” an investigative report from Minnesota Common Cause, demonstrates how state legislators obediently try to turn ALEC’s corporate wish lists into law. The report spells out how pervasive ALEC’s influence is on bills in St. Paul that protect the rich, attack workers, promote privatization, harm consumers, and weaken citizens’ rights. Read more.

The Democratic-Farmer-Labor party, the Independence party, and the Republican party hold precinct caucuses on Tuesday, Feb. 7, beginning at 7 p.m. Find the location of the caucus in your community. For more information, call the AFSCME political organizer in your area – Metro: Jon Grebner, 651-287-0587; Northern and Western Minnesota: Chad McKenna, 218-310-8412; Southern Minnesota: Laura Askelin, 651-287-0586. Read more.

Brad Bruegger, a member of Mankato MnDOT Local 280, remains in intensive care at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester. Brad was airlifted after a Union Pacific freight train collided with his snowplow Jan. 20, while he was plowing Highway 22 in Faribault County. More information: To leave a note for Brad or his family, or to keep up to date with Brad’s medical condition, see his Caring Bridge website.

Nearly two dozen members of Local 868 are taking the Polar Bear Plunge again this year in Rochester. You can help Special Olympics by pledging cold, hard cash to the cause. The plungers are part of the MnDOT District 6 team. They jump into the icy waters at 1:30 p.m., Saturday Feb. 11, at Foster Arend Park, 4109 E. River Road NE, Rochester.

This week the people of Wisconsin dropped a ton and a half of democracy on Governor Scott Walker. That’s what the recall petitions against Walker weigh. The recall movement collected more than a million signatures to recall Wisconsin’s anti-union governor. Forty-six percent of the state’s 2010 gubernatorial voter turnout signed. Four Republican state senators are also being recalled. Wisconsin’s Government Accountability Board will now process those signatures.

On the national holiday commemorating the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. – Monday, January 16, 2012 – AFSCME reaffirms our commitment to freedom, justice and equality. Nearly a half century after his historic “I Have a Dream” speech was delivered at the Lincoln Memorial, many of the problems confronted by Dr. King continue to fester in America. Each of us can be a change-maker to ensure that his work continues until poverty, injustice and war are rendered obsolete. To realize the “Beloved Community” that Dr. King envisioned, please consider observing the holiday by offering a day of service to your community. Read Dr. King’s speeches to labor and feel inspired to empower new leaders in your local union.

Gov. Mark Dayton on Tuesday proposed a bonding bill to spruce up Nicollet Mall, build a new home for the St. Paul Saints, repair buildings at the state's colleges and universities, expand light rail and overhaul correctional facilities. The governor’s $775 bonding bill would put up to 21,700 Minnesotans back to work. “My bonding proposal makes reasonable, focused investments on projects that are ready for immediate action. I hope that the legislature will join me in growing Minnesota’s economy now by passing a bonding bill in the first month of the session. Doing so will enable many of the projects, and their jobs, to become realities this year,” Governor Dayton said. Read more…

Gov. Mark Dayton and DFL legislators today announced a jobs plan that, if passed by the Legislature, will put thousands of Minnesotans back to work this year. The plan includes a number of proposals designed to provide incentives for businesses to hire out-of-work Minnesotans, invest in infrastructure and train workers for the jobs of the future. Gov. Dayton will also propose a $775 million bonding bill, which will put more than 25,000 Minnesotans back to work. As the legislative session begins January 24, getting Minnesota back to work will be the governor’s top priority. These smart investments in our state’s economy and future prosperity will help position Minnesota for success in the future.

Minneapolis voters elected two AFSCME-endorsed candidates to the Legislature on January 10. Kari Dziedzic, a staffer to Hennepin County Commissioner Mark Stenglein, beat Republican Ben Schwanke for the state Senate seat vacated last year by Larry Pogemiller. Dziedzic won 79 percent of the vote in Senate District 59 encompassing Northeast, the University of Minnesota, Cedar Riverside, Como and Prospect Park areas. Attorney Susan Allen grew up on a reservation and is the first American Indian woman elected to the Legislature. She will fill the south Minneapolis House seat vacated by former Rep. Jeff Hayden, now a senator. Allen won 56 percent of the vote in House District 61B that includes the Powderhorn Park, Bryant, Lyndale, Kingfield, Field, Regina and Central neighborhoods. If you’d like to meet your legislators, sign up for AFSCME Day on the Hill – it’s March 27.