Slideshow: Unions rally for tax on Minnesota’s wealthiest

Supporters of 22,000 laid-off public employees rallied at the Minnesota State Capitol in support of a tax hike on the rich Wednesday evening.

Their protest was nicknamed “Downeyville” for Edina Republican Rep. Keith Downey, who introduced legislation that unions said would eliminate 5,000 state jobs and threaten collective bargaining rights for public employees.

The unions AFSCME and MAPE argued in favor of Gov. Mark Dayton’s proposal to increase income taxes on the state’s wealthiest citizens to end the budget standoff that shut down the state.

Antonio Rojas, age 8, with his French bulldog, Yogi. Photo: Michael Kuchta, AFSCME.

Jim Monroe, executive director of MAPE, told the crowd that Republican legislators had turned their backs on the middle class.

“We stand at a point in this state’s history of either standing strong for the common good or allowing extreme special interests with a radical social agenda to destroy our middle class as we know it,” Monroe said. “The chief business of all elected officials should be the common good and welfare of all members of society—not just a selected few.”

Downey (R-Edina) told Fox 9 that Gov. Dayton should sign the “lights on” bill proposed by legislative Republicans so public employees can get back to work: “Everyone appreciates the frustration people are feeling, we do too, we didn’t get our job done with the governor.” But in an interview with Edina Patch last week, Downey said the shutdown offers a chance to see how state government functions with only one-third of the typical workforce.

“Nobody wants a shutdown, but it’s an interesting opportunity to see what impact not having these nonessential employees has,” [Downey] said. “It will allow us a chance to assess, one-by-one, what can actually be done without all of those people.”

Minnesota AFL-CIO President Shar Knutson had a message for Republican legislators: “Do your jobs. You’re supposed to represent all Minnesotans, not just the two percent of the richest.”