Dear Neighbors, This week we passed several pro-worker bills on the House floor. I was honored to support and co-author legislation ratifying the 2020-21 public employee labor contracts and thank our state workers who have done so much for us. These contracts help our dedicated workers create a better future for themselves and their families. You can watch my comments on the House floor here. Also approved was legislation to protect and empower Minnesota’s warehouse workers and to address practices leading to high injury rates at Amazon facilities. No one should be at risk for injury in the workplace. This measure holds large corporations accountable and impels them to create and maintain a safe environment for every worker. Lastly, the House approved legislation to require Minnesota employers to provide workers Earned Sick and Safe Time. The legislation would ensure, at a minimum, one hour of paid time for every 30 hours worked, up to at least 48 hours per year, and can be used to attend to physical and mental health needs – including illness, injury, or a doctor’s appointment – for workers and their family members. Thousands of Minnesota workers, including two-thirds of workers in the lowest wage positions, lack access to paid time off. All workers should be able to take time off to care for themselves if they are ill or injured or for a family member in a time of crisis. This legislation not only helps employees take care of urgent needs, but also makes good business sense. You can view a video recording of Monday’s floor debate on the House Public Information YouTube channel.  Pioneering Program RenamedAccording to the most recent data available, 101,388 of the 870,506 students enrolled in Minnesota schools in the 2019-2020 school year (11.6%) were Black/African American, but only 1,521 of Minnesota's K-12 teachers holding a license (1.5%) were Black/African American. Responding to this longstanding gap, Normandale Community College developed the Black Men in Teaching program, launched in the Fall of 2021, designed to recruit, and support Black, African American, and African men into the K-12 teaching profession. Normandale Community College has recently announced a new name for program which will now be known as “Sirtify.” The program seeks to empower Black men in education to have a positive impact on all students, especially those from similar backgrounds.  |