January 1, 2022
Saint Paul, MN — Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan have been strong allies of the hard-working men and women of LIUNA Minnesota and North Dakota. LIUNA is proud to endorse Tim Walz for Governor and Peggy Flanagan for Lt. Governor again because we can count on them to create family-supporting jobs and invest in our local infrastructure to keep moving Minnesota forward.
“Gov. Walz declared construction essential from the start of the pandemic and he signed the largest infrastructure jobs bill in Minnesota history. Walz and Flanagan are about jobs, jobs, jobs,” said Joel Smith, President and Business Manager of LIUNA Minnesota and North Dakota. “In 2010, Wisconsin construction workers made the wrong choice for governor and it cost them dearly. Our working neighbors in Wisconsin are living a reality of less jobs, lower wages, gutted healthcare and retirement benefits. Some workers’ unions were wiped out. The stakes are high this coming election. It’s Walz or Wisconsin.”
Since 2019, Minnesota Laborers have enjoyed record-breaking work hours over the last three years. Minnesota’s infrastructure union is looking forward to nearly doubling the size of the Laborers’ Training Center in Lino Lakes in anticipation of an abundance of work and growing union membership in the coming years — significantly driven by the Walz-Flanagan administration’s historic statewide infrastructure investments and new worker protections.
LIUNA union leaders across the state are united in their support for Gov. Walz and Lt. Gov. Flanagan. Below are quotes from the Business Managers of all five Laborers Locals, collectively representing more than 28,000 members and family members of LIUNA Minnesota and North Dakota.
“As a labor leader from southern Minnesota, having one of our own in the Governor’s Office has made a difference for our local economies,” said Sheldon Steele, Business Manager of LIUNA Local 405, serving Rochester and Southeast Minnesota. “Walz has created local jobs for local workers on wind energy projects and transportation, water and building construction projects in southern Minnesota. Tim Walz shares our values. He’s one of us. A teacher, coach, veteran and governor from and for Greater Minnesota.”
“Gov. Walz is the jobs governor. Duluth is a construction zone. From fixing our roads and bridges to investing in our hospitals and housing, Gov. Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan are creating family- and community-supporting jobs to move Minnesota forward,” said Dan Olson, Business Manager of LIUNA Local 1091, serving the Duluth-Superior, Northeast Minnesota and Northwest Wisconsin area.
“Gov. Walz ensured a timely and fair review of the Line 3 replacement — the largest construction project in Minnesota history. Hundreds of Local 1097 members were proud to build a safer and more reliable pipeline and help local businesses and communities thrive during the pandemic,” said Shawn Braford, Business Manager of LIUNA Local 1097, serving the Iron Range and Northern Minnesota. “We are counting on Gov. Walz to continue creating jobs and supporting mining in northern Minnesota.”
“Gov. Walz is putting construction workers’ jobs, wages and safety first. He signed the strongest wage theft law in the nation and he funded more OSHA inspectors. Walz appointed Public Utilities Commissioners that have advanced local hiring on clean energy projects, and his administration supported local hiring and apprenticeship standards on the Fargo Moorhead Area Diversion Project,” said Joe Fowler, Business Manager of LIUNA Local 563, serving the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Metro, Greater Mankato and Saint Cloud Areas and North Dakota. “Gov. Walz has appointed union leaders and members to his transition team and key positions in his administration, and I am proud to serve on his Council on Economic Expansion.”
“Minnesota’s public workers, including city employees who work for Public Works, Parks and Recreation and Water Departments can count on the Walz-Flanagan adminstration to protect public workers’ right to organize,” said Tony Kelly, Business Manager of LIUNA Local 363, representing City Employees of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. “Keeping Gov. Walz and Lt. Gov. Flanagan means frontline workers will have the right to bargain a fair return on our work.”