Join Council 5’s Civil Rights Alliance for a “One Day United” event benefitting Minnesotans United for All Families, the official campaign to defeat the constitutional amendment banning marriage for same-sex couples. Our event is Saturday, May 19 from noon to 3 p.m. at Council 5’s South St. Paul office, 300 Hardman Ave. S. Suggested donations are $15, $25, $50, $100, $200 – more if you can, less if you can’t. Please RSVP to Kim Klose at klose001@msn.com. Everyone is welcome with or without a RSVP. Download the flyer. Remember, an injury to one is an injury to all of us. If you’d like to join the Civil Rights Alliance or help with the benefit, please contact Travis Lenander at travmanmn@yahoo.com.

More than half of Minnesotans approve of the job being done by Gov. Mark Dayton, according to a new poll released by SurveyUSA. Among registered voters surveyed, 56 percent indicated support for Dayton’s performance, compared to 33 percent who expressed disapproval. State legislators earned significantly lower marks, with just 21 percent of respondents indicating support for their job performance, compared to 67 percent expressing disapproval. Read more.

One state government shutdown. Two divisive constitutional amendments. Zero progress on things that matter most to working Minnesotans. We’re lucky the Republican-controlled legislature finally adjourned May 10 before they could do more damage. They wasted months attacking AFSCME and our right to organize and bargain for decent wages, affordable health insurance and safe working conditions. They tried – but failed – to put an unsafe, unfair and unnecessary “Right to Work” amendment on the ballot. They borrowed billions from our children’s schools to prevent the richest Minnesotans from paying their fair share. They jacked up our property taxes while they gave big breaks to big corporations that game the system. They voted against common-sense measures to support job creation at a time when our economy hangs in the balance. They’re extreme, out of touch, and unwilling to work on the priorities of Minnesota’s working families. Starting today, let’s build a better legislature. Join the campaign at www.abetterlegislature.org.

Every day on the job, AFSCME members see the urgent need to fix our aging infrastructure: bridge repairs, flood control, wastewater treatment, and new roofs, boilers, floors and windows for public buildings. Thank goodness Gov. Dayton and the DFL minority prevailed on a $566 million package of public works projects that will create union construction jobs across the state. The bill wasn’t small enough for tea party obstructionists, like Rep. Steve Drazkowski. They’re the reason the final bill includes only a down payment on the long-overdue renewal of our crumbling State Capitol. The modest bill also omits some of Gov. Dayton’s priority projects: Southwest LRT, convention centers in Mankato, Rochester and St. Cloud, a new ballpark for the St. Paul Saints, and much more. Find out what’s included in the bonding bill.

May 18 is the deadline to apply for the 2012-2013 Union Leadership Program through the Labor Education Service at the University of Minnesota. The program examines the labor movement and how current and emerging leaders can take on the challenges unions face today. Participants meet for six extended sessions over nine months, beginning in September. Tuition is $1,250. For more information, application materials, and a video that features graduates from AFSCME, see the LES website.

The Vikings got their stadium, but state workers still don’t have a contract! The state negotiator walked away from contract talks on May 9 after three days of mediation and a 15-hour marathon session. Failing to reach a voluntary settlement, the state has chosen to drag out the process and let an arbitrator decide the deal. Disputed issues continue to be compensation, health insurance, and employee involvement in government redesign. Last month, AFSCME members voted to reject the state’s final offer because higher health insurance costs would eat up the proposal’s tiny wage increase and make it even harder for state workers to make ends meet. There’s still time to reach an agreement and members can help by calling Gov. Dayton today at 651-201-3400 or toll free at 1-800-657-3717. Tell him that hardworking state employees can’t afford to pay more for health insurance. We deserve a fair contract with steps and a raise. Download the Negotiator’s Report. Take action to win a fair contract.

Whether politicians call it government “redesign” or “reform,” the changes usually mean that public workers will lose their jobs, their pay, their rights and their voice. That’s because 40 years of failed state initiatives have one thing in common – they excluded frontline workers. That’s AFSCME’s concern with the “Back Office Consolidation Act” (SF933 / HF418), a new law that mandates a $450,000 study to centralize accounting, payroll, procurement and human resources – all functions that involve AFSCME state employees. This misguided study is the brainchild of anti-AFSCME Rep. Keith Downey and Sen. Ted Daley in partnership with Administration Commissioner Spencer Cronk and his State Program Administration Manager, Curt Yoakum, a carryover from the Pawlenty regime. Without real involvement from frontline workers, this politically-motivated study will be nothing more than another public relations stunt that wastes taxpayer dollars. Tell your supervisors that frontline workers can help them improve service delivery if they show us respect and ask for our input and cooperation. Read AFSCME’s Principles for Redesigning Government.

Recall elections take place June 5 against Scott Walker and five of his cronies who helped destroy collective bargaining for public workers in Wisconsin. Our sisters and brothers are asking us to help them finish the job. Here’s how you can help: door-knock in Hudson, La Crosse or Superior; make phone calls from Wisconsin or the Twin Cities; or help get out the vote the week before the election. To volunteer, contact Jim Niland at 651-287-0547. Donations are urgently needed. This week Council 5 locals have raised more than $16,000 to dump Walker. Contributions can be made from individuals or dues funds held by local unions. Make checks payable to We Are Wisconsin, Inc. at P.O. Box 2567, Madison, WI 53701. Download the flyer.

In the last two weeks, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Kraft Foods, Intuit, McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Mars have all dropped their memberships in the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Consumers are making it toxic for any corporation to associate itself with ALEC,  a conservative business organization that is also behind the controversial “Stand Your Ground” gun laws, the “Right to Work (for Less)” amendments, and other socially divisive measures. The two soda giants cut ties with ALEC after civil rights group ColorofChange launched an online drive that called on Coca-Cola to cease funding ALEC because of its support of voter identification laws that ColorofChange called discriminatory. Learn more at NPR.

Investigative reporters are shining a spotlight on the right-wing American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a membership organization of Republican state legislators bankrolled by the Koch brothers and powerful corporations. Their conservative philosophy is that government should be demonized, starved or privatized. To impose their view, ALEC produces model legislation that, according to articles in the The Nation and Bloomberg, is heavily influenced by industry groups. ALEC boasts that 1,000 bills based on its model legislation are introduced in state legislatures each year. In Minnesota, we’re familiar with those toxic bills that take away the collective bargaining rights of public employees, cripple unions, privatize public services and loosen regulations and lower taxes on corporations. Minnesota co-chairs of ALEC are Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer (R-Big Lake) and Rep. Matt Dean (R-Stillwater). Read more.