Commentary
Stakes are high in 2022 elections
Do your part: Volunteer and vote!

From the Minneapolis Labor Review, October 22, 2022

By Chelsie Glaubitz Gabiou, President,
Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation

Recent opinion polls are showing close races in the 2022 election contests that will shape Minnesota’s future. Our Labor 2022 political effort can make a difference for our AFL-CIO endorsed candidates — with your help!

Our statewide offices from Governor, to Attorney General, to Secretary of State and State Auditor are critical to protecting our freedoms as citizens and our voice in the workplace.

We have champions for working families and workers rights in Governor Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, Secretary of Steve Simon, and State Auditor Julie Blaha. All four merit your support.

In addition to these statewide offices, working family majorities are on the line in both the Minnesota House of Representatives and the Minnesota Senate. Just a couple of seats in each legislative body could determine the majority. And without working family majorities, our most important statewide policy initiatives cannot move forward.

In the southeast metro area, the race for the Second Congressional District has become a national battleground contest. The outcome could tip the balance of power in Washington, D.C. Incumbent Congresswoman Angie Craig is our AFL-CIO endorsed candidate.

You can’t turn on a TV, open your mailbox or listen to the radio without the urgency of all these races standing out front and center. Only labor’s voice and labor’s vote can cut through the noise and the distractions.

The stakes are high in 2022 — Do your part! Talk to your co-workers! Talk to your neighbors! Volunteer for a doorknock!

While these big races are vitally important, equally important is what’s more quietly happening in our local elections for county, city and school board offices. Every day, local elected officials make decisions that directly impact workers. This year, the MRLF has endorsed one of our largest-ever slate of local candidates.

Cities and counties are doing innovative work to adapt to post-COVID realities and to address long-standing economic inequalities. Not only do they lead on critical infrastructure projects such as fixing our roads and making sure our water is clean, but they also lead on establishing minimum standards for work and workers across industries in their communities. 

Our local public schools are especially facing an existential crisis. They are experiencing woefully inadequate resources as they encompass all of the challenges our communities are facing both in the classroom and out of the classroom. Even the truth of our shared history is under attack from forces who want to divide us, an attack that is coming to local school board meetings across the state.

This election, we need union members voting all the way down their ballots in every race. We know who our working families champions are! See the back page of the Labor Review for your list of AFL-CIO endorsed candidates.

The stakes are high — Do your part! Talk to your co-workers! Talk to your neighbors! Volunteer for a doorknock!

And start making your vote plan today! Are you voting early in-person or by mail? Are you voting in-person on Election Day? Will you be voting before or after work? Visit mnvotes.org for all voting locations, sample ballots and other resources.

Chelsie Glaubitz Gabiou was re-elected December 11, 2019 to a second four-year term as president of the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation, AFL-CIO.

Contact MRLF president Chelsie Glaubitz Gabiou at 612-321-5670 or chelsie@minneapolisunions.org.