Brian Raines, Minnesota House 34A: Third-generation union member

By Steve Share, Minneapolis Labor Review editor

ROGERS — “I think it’s important for union members to run for office, because no one represents us like us,” says Brian Raines, a Carpenters union business agent.

Raines is making his third race for the Minnesota House of Representatives, seeking the District 34A seat in northwest Hennepin County, including Champlin, Dayton and Rogers.

He’s running with the endorsement of the Minnesota AFL-CIO, plus a long list of unions. He also is DFL-endorsed.

The race is a rematch between Raines and Republican Danny Nadeau, who won the race for the then open seat in 2022. Over Nadeau’s  two years in the House, he earned a 20 percent voting score from the Minnesota AFL-CIO on working families issues. In the 2024 session, Nadeau’s score was nine percent — only one pro-labor vote out of a dozen votes tracked.

While doorknocking, “the main issue that the voters talk about is protecting a woman’s right to choose,” Raines reports. Raines is pro-choice. “I trust women,” he says. “I believe decisions made regarding a woman’s body and reproductive choices are between her and her doctor.”

“I’m a third-generation member of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters,” Raines says proudly. Raines grew up in Prior Lake and graduated from high school there, then joined the U.S. Navy.  Returning to civilian life, he became a member of the Laborers union. Next, he joined the Piledrivers and went through their apprentice program, later transferring to the Millwrights. In 2011, he became a business agent for the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters.

“The importance of union membership and what it does for a family, I can’t stress how important it is,” Raines says.  “It’s the driving force behind what I do.”

Raines has lived 17 years in Rogers, with two sons in the Rogers Public Schools.

Website:
brianforminnesota.com