|
|
Minneapolis City Council
Andrea Jenkins: ‘A strong advocate for equity and racial justice’
From the Minneapolis Labor Review
October 21, 2023
By Steve Share, Minneapolis Labor Review editor
MINNEAPOLIS — “I’m a strong advocate for equity and racial justice on the City Council, says Andrea Jenkins. “That has to be a part of the City Council’s work going forward.”
Andrea Jenkins is running for a third term to represent Ward 8 on the Minneapolis City Council with the endorsement of the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation, AFL-CIO.
Celebrating her “strong partnerships with labor unions,” Jenkins’ other labor endorsements include AFSCME Council 5, Firefighters Local 82, the Laborers district council, Minneapolis Building and Construction Trades Council, North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters, SEIU Minnesota State Council, and Teamsters Joint Council 32.
 |
In addition to endorsement by the MRLF, Jenkins’
other
union endorsements include: AFSCME Council 5, Firefighters Local 82, the Laborers district council, Minneapolis Building and Consruction Trades Council, North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters, SEIU Minnesota State Council, and Teamsters Joint Council 32. |
Ward 8 includes eight south Minneapolis neighborhoods, stretching from Lake Street to 50th Street, and from Lyndale Ave. to Cedar Ave.
Jenkins currently serves as City Council president, elected by her peers.
Pointing to a record of accomplishment over the past term, Jenkins cites historic investments in affordable housing, the creation of the city’s Climate Legacy Initiative and the creation of a new Department of Public Safety, which includes not just police but also a behavioral response team as well as a team of “violence interrupters.”
“Now we’re in the midst of talking about this Labor Standards Board which I think can bring some positive impacts for workers in our community,” Jenkins says.
Looking to priorities for another term, Jenkins highlights affordable housing, public safety and climate change and “working to revitalize George Floyd Square to really create the kind of memorial to social and racial justice that is befitting…”
An internationally recognized writer, Jenkins says “like many artists during this moment of uprising, I’ve been able to write some new poems, new essays… It’s really been a part of how I’ve been maintaining my own mental health.”
Jenkins teaches writing part-time as an adjunct professor at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, noting “I am a labor member, dues-paying member” of SEIU Local 284.
At City Council, “I’m absolutely 100 percent advocating for labor unions and workers rights,” she says.
Jenkins noted the surge of labor union activity locally and nationally. “I think we’re seeing a revitalization of the labor movement and I’m all for it — we’re moving in the right direction.”
Website:
andrea-jenkins.com
|
