Says Bill Creates Good-Paying Jobs in Key Industries, While Providing Training and Protections for Working Minnesotans
SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic (DFL-Minneapolis) said the Senate has passed a final Jobs and Labor budget that will invest in creating good-paying jobs in key Minnesota industries and expand racial equity, as well as training and protections for working Minnesotans.
Majority Leader Dziedzic said the bill, authored by Senator Bobby Joe Champion (DFL-Minneapolis) and Senator Jen McEwen (DFL-Duluth), is a key part of the Senate DFL majority’s efforts to build an economy that works for all Minnesotans.
“When this session began, we told people across our state that we would work to build an economy the works for all Minnesotans. This bill is a key piece of keeping that promise to Minnesotans, no matter where they live, who they are, or where they work,” said Majority Leader Dziedzic. “It will create good-paying jobs in every corner of Minnesota, expand training and protections for working men and women, and it will make improvements for communities of color who have historically been left behind.”
Majority Leader Dziedzic said the measure also includes an Earned Sick and Safe Time provision that will help ensure that no working Minnesotan has to choose between a paycheck and the time to care for themselves or a loved one.
“The Jobs and Economic Development budget bill focuses on supporting Minnesotans of all walks of life living across our state — from St. Cloud, to Owatonna, to Mankato, to the Northwest Angle, to the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, to the Twin Cities metro,” said Senator Champion, chief author of the bill and Chair of the Senate Jobs & Economic Development Committee. “By making critical investments in childcare, workforce, and economic development, we are building an economy that works for all Minnesotans and ensuring that everyone has an opportunity to succeed no matter their race or zip code.”
“This historic bill is the result of years of effort by Minnesota workers and labor organizers,” said Senator McEwen, chair of the Senate Labor Committee. “It is not an exaggeration to say this is the strongest pro-worker legislation passed in a generation, if not in Minnesota history. Most of the major advances we’re making with this bill have been brought to the Capitol for years. Many couldn’t even get serious consideration in a committee. This year was different. Working people brought us their concerns, their issues, and their solutions. There are provisions in this bill to help people working in construction, nursing homes, meatpacking plants, factories, warehouses, and schools. Workers will have a stronger voice at their workplace and at the bargaining table. With this legislation, the Democratic Farmer Labor majority is living up to its name and founding principles, and it has been our honor to carry on that tradition alongside our siblings in the labor movement.”
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