Afscme Council 5

AFSCME Council 5, the state’s largest union for public employees, has endorsed former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton for governor.
“Mark Dayton has won statewide elections — twice,” said Eliot Seide, director of AFSCME Council 5, in a press release announcing the endorsement. “Minnesotans know and like Mark. That’s because he listens more than any other candidate. [...]

Tarryl Clark continues to rack up labor endorsements in her bid to known off U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann. The latest union to lend support is the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters. The organization has 13,000 members across the state, with nearly 2,500 in the 6th Congressional District.

Throughout the 2008 campaign, the “card-check” provision of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) was a political lightning rod. Business groups pilloried the proposal as an attack on workers’ rights, while organized labor lobbied ferociously for the measure, which would allow workers to unionize when more than half have signed cards indicating support for collective bargaining. When Democratic leaders quietly decided to drop the measure from EFCA last month — without so much as a vote — it came as something of a slap in the face for labor.

A new billboard at a busy St. Paul intersection takes aim at Gov. Tim Pawlenty. Paid for by a coalition of liberal advocacy groups and labor unions, the sign seeks to highlight Pawlenty’s potentially key role in the ongoing U.S. Senate contest. If the Minnesota Supreme Court rejects Norm Coleman’s appeal and certifies Al Franken [...]

Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s plan to cut state spending by $750 million over the next two years — with major hits to health and human services, higher education and aid to cities — is not attracting many fans. Since its unveiling yesterday afternoon, the proposal has been roundly criticized by local elected officials, university leaders and advocates for the poor and disabled.

The Office of the Legislative Auditor has determined that there are no grounds to further investigate the conduct of Attorney General Lori Swanson. In a report released today, the office stated that any possible wrongdoing fell outside the purview of the auditor’s investigative powers.

Swanson has been dogged by allegations that she pressured staff to pursue [...]