Ilhan Omar seeks re-election as champion for unions, working families

By Steve Share, Minneapolis Labor Review editor

MINNEAPOLIS — “Your labor is what makes the city and the state work,” said Ilhan Omar. At the podium at the United Labor Centre July 4, Fifth District U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar offered encouragement — and inspiration — to a roomful of members of City Employees Local 363 as they were about to begin their union’s historic, first-ever strike at the Minneapolis Park Board.

Omar began, however, by recalling the nervousness and uncertainty she experienced as a member of AFSCME Local 3800 when her union of clerical workers was about to go on strike at the University of Minnesota back in 2007. “I remember my union siblings telling me we have each other’s backs,” she said. To Local 363 members, Omar said, “your union siblings will have your back.”

Minneapolis parks don’t “magically” rank among the top in the nation, Omar said. The park board workers make it happen. “You should be striking; They should be willing to do a fair contract.”

Following the rally, Omar didn’t rush off: she marched with workers and helped carry their LIUNA Local 363 banner.

During Omar’s three terms representing the Fifth Congressional District, she’s helped inspire the crowd at countless labor rallies and marches.

She’s met regularly with a labor roundtable convened by the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation to provide updates about her work in Washington — but more importantly, she told the Labor Review,  to hear directly “how the rank and file is feeling about things.”

Omar is AFL-CIO endorsed. “I think we’re deeply connected,” she said. “For me and most Democrats, what really grounds us is understanding who we fight for.”

And Omar’s voting record shows it. In 2023, she earned a 100 percent voting score from the national AFL-CIO on working families issues. Over her three terms in Congress, her lifetime AFL-CIO score is 91 percent.

Omar is the only member of the House from Minnesota on the House labor committee. She helped pass the Meals Act, to provide meals to students during the pandemic, helped pass the Inflation Reduction Act to create 10,000 jobs per year for 10 years in Minnesota — “green union jobs,” she noted, and more.

“We working to build a world that cares for all of us,” Omar said.

August 13, Omar faces a challenger in the DFL primary election.

Omar is running with the Minnesota DFL Party's endorsement as well as the endorsement of the Minnesota AFL-CIO. Her website includes a long list of endorsements including state and local elected officials who also have endorsed her.

Other labor endorsements for Ilhan Omar include:
• AFSCME Council 5
• American Federation of Teachers
• Education Minnesota
• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 292
• International Union of Painters & Allied Trades District Council 82
• National Education Association
• National Nurses United
• SEIU Minnesota State Council
• Teamsters Joint Council 32
• UNITE HERE Local 17

Website:
ilhanomar.com