Commentary
Despite forecasts, Labor’s efforts helped bring election night wins

From the Minneapolis Labor Review, November 19, 2022

By Chelsie Glaubitz Gabiou, President,
Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation

As we worked towards Election Day Tuesday, November 8, we were doing two important things: protecting our democracy and advancing candidates forward who support workers rights.

Leading up to the election, the political pundits and their analysis of past mid-term elections promoted a narrative that it was going to be a tough election night for pro-worker candidates across this state and across the country.

We defied all of those expectations, however — due to the hard work of thousands of union members and volunteers who knocked on doors, made phone calls, and talked to family, friends and neighbors.

One part of our success is that we didn’t shy away from our shared values.  Those values were at the forefront in our conversations with voters in union households.

When we join together in our workplaces, we can raise wages, improve our benefits, and make our workplaces safer.

When we join together at the ballot box on election day, we can put elected officials in office who will protect our collective bargaining rights and invest in our communities and in our children’s future and in our state’s future.

We need to meet this moment and show our elected leaders that now is the time to act boldly to grow the labor movement.

Together, this year, we defended our public schools and the public services that Minnesotans rely on for our quality of life.

We have a winning pro-worker team leading our state with the re-election of Governor Tim Walz, Secretary of State Steve Simon, Attorney General  Keith Ellison and State Auditor Julie Blaha.

We also are celebrating pro-worker governing majorities in both the Minnesota House and Minnesota Senate. Now, pro-worker legislation including infrastructure investments and investments in education can move forward in both legislative bodies and get to Governor Walz’s desk for a signature.

And, in a close race for U.S. House that drew national attention, our efforts helped return Angie Craig back to Washington, D.C. to represent Minnesota’s Second Congressional District.

In addition to these high-profile wins, our AFL-CIO endorsed local candidates for school boards, city councils and county boards won their races all throughout our region.

We helped elect governing majorities in the cities of Brooklyn Park, Columbia Heights and Crystal.

And we helped elect defenders of public education from Robbinsdale, to Minneapolis to Chaska and Prior Lake.

While we are taking a moment to celebrate, the hard work is just now getting started. Indeed, in some ways the work only gets harder when we are afforded the opportunity to govern.

The organizing that we have seen overflowing in the streets and on strike lines must continue at a hastened pace regardless of governing majorities at local city halls or in the state legislature.

We need to meet this moment and show our elected leaders that now is the time to act boldly to grow the labor movement. Right now in Minnesota, we have the opportunity to make the largest change for workers in the history of the labor movement.

I know I am ready to get to work with all of you.

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.