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At a Labor 2022 “Day of Action” October 15, members of the Minnesota Nurses Association posed for a photo with Keith Ellison (orange plaid jacket), the Minnesota AFL-CIO’s endorsed candidate for Minnesota Attorney General.
To volunteer for a Labor 2022 doorknock or phone bank, e-mail volunteer@minneapolisunions.org. |
AFL-CIO supports re-election of Governor Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, Secretary of State Steve Simon, State Auditor Julie Blaha
Adapted from the Minneapolis Labor Review, October 22, 2022
By Steve Share, Minneapolis Labor Review editor
MINNEAPOLIS — Union members voting in the 2022 election have the chance to vote for two of their own plus for two stalwart labor champions for Minnesota’s top statewide office-holders.
The Minnesota AFL-CIO has endorsed the re-election of all four incumbent DFLers: Governor Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, Secretary of State Steve Simon, and State Auditor Julie Blaha.
Governor: Tim Walz
Walz is a former social studies teacher in Mankato and member of Education Minnesota.
Before winning election as Governor in 2016, Walz served six terms in the U.S. House of Representatives and earned a 93 percent lifetime AFL-CIO voting record on working family issues.
As Governor, Walz has partnered with labor on a broad agenda from investing in infrastructure to increasing the state’s minimum wage to winning bonus payments for the state’s frontline workers who served during the COVID pandemic.
Walz’s Republican opponent, former State Senator Scott Jensen, earned a lifetime AFL-CIO voting score of only 19 percent during his single term. Since his time in the state legislature, Jensen has staked out positions on the extreme right — including opposing a woman’s right to choose. Jensen has shown particular hostility to educators’ unions during the current campaign and would be no friend of labor if elected Governor.
Attorney General: Keith Ellison
Keith Ellison won election as Attorney General after serving six terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he scored a 98 percent lifetime AFL-CIO voting record on working families issues.
Prior to winning election to the U.S. House, Ellison served two terms in the Minnesota House, where he earned 100 percent voting scores from the AFL-CIO.
As Attorney General, Ellison has truly served as “the people’s lawyer,” creating a wage theft unit and championing consumer protection, among other issues.
By contrast, Ellison’s Republican opponent is a hedge fund lawyer who “has spent his entire career enriching the richest people and corporations in the world,” Ellison recently told a labor audience.
Secretary of State: Steve Simon
A former five-term member of the Minnesota House, Simon earned 100 percent AFL-CIO voting scores.
Elected Secretary of State in 2014, Simon has led Minnesota back to the number one spot in the nation for voter turn-out, overseeing a state elections system that also leads the nation in integrity.
Simon’s Republican opponent is an extremist who raises unfounded charges of election rigging and who denies the results of the 2020 presidential election.
State Auditor: Julie Blaha
Blaha is a former middle school math teacher in the Anoka Hennepin district and member of Education Minnesota.
Before winning election as State Auditor, she served as president of her local teacher’s union, as an executive board member of the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation, and as secretary-treasurer of the Minnesota AFL-CIO.
Candidate websites:
Tim Walz
walzflanagan.org
Keith Ellison
keithellison.org
Steve Simon
stevesimonmn.com
Julie Blaha
blahaforauditor.org
To volunteer for a Labor 2022 doorknock or phone bank, e-mail volunteer@minneapolisunions.org.
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