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Here’s what workers should watch for at the Minnesota Legislature — and other news [1]

['Max Nesterak', 'More From Author', '- February']

Date: 2024-02-16

Take a seat in the Break Room, our weekly roundup of labor news in Minnesota and beyond. This week: Labor’s 2024 agenda; St. Paul educators authorize strike; what it takes to be middle class; what workers should know about legal cannabis; and bus drivers reach a deal.

Labor’s 2024 agenda

Last year, Democratic-Farmer-Labor majorities in the Legislature passed the most significant pro-worker agenda in generations, including mandatory paid sick leave, paid family and medical leave, a historic $2.6 billion infrastructure spending package, and greater labor protections across numerous industries. They have a shorter to-do list this year (and constraints on new spending) that mostly consists of bills that build on their work from last year.

“There’s still a lot to do to improve the lives of working people in the state,” said Sen. Jen McEwen, DFL-Duluth, who chairs the Senate Labor Committee.

Public option: Democratic lawmakers plan to introduce a bill that would allow all residents without employer-sponsored health care to buy into MinnesotaCare, the state’s health insurance for low-income residents. No other state currently has a similar public option, which lawmakers hope could begin in 2027. An actuarial estimate projects as many as 151,000 Minnesota workers — including farmers, small business owners and independent contractors — would sign up for MinnesotaCare. The cost estimates vary greatly — somewhere between $86 million and $364 million annually — depending on the details, and lawmakers haven’t identified a revenue source to pay for the subsidies.

Infrastructure bill: The Legislature usually passes a “bonding bill” in even numbered years to pay for critical infrastructure projects like roads and bridges. Lawmakers passed a $2.6 billion infrastructure package last year, but aim to approve more public works spending this year. Gov. Tim Walz is pitching a $982 million package, but will need Republican votes to approve more borrowing. It has the strong backing of trade unions, whose members would do much of the work.

Uber and Lyft minimum standards: The Legislature is poised to again debate the minimum pay Uber and Lyft drivers should receive as well as other labor standards. Walz issued the only veto of his tenure on a bill regulating Uber and Lyft pay and driver terminations, instead creating a statewide task force to study the issue. That task force adjourned without making recommendations on what the minimum pay rates should be. The state Department of Labor and Industry is conducting the largest analysis of Uber and Lyft rides ever, studying all 19 million trips taken on both apps in 2022. The results of that analysis is expected in the coming weeks and will likely inform whatever figure lawmakers land on.

Ban shadow noncompetes: Lawmakers aim to build on their work last year banning contract provisions that restrict workers’ employment choices like noncompete clauses and no-poach agreements between franchise owners. As one of its first actions, the House labor committee advanced a bill banning companies from prohibiting their customers from hiring their workers. The issue came to light after desk attendants at condo buildings discovered their employer, a property maintenance company, forbids homeowners associations from employing them, which means the workers could be laid off or forced to change jobs if homeowners associations’ switched contractors.

Unemployment benefits for striking workers: Labor unions want the state to extend unemployment benefits for striking workers, which would give unions a significant advantage in protracted work stoppages. New York and New Jersey already allow striking workers to apply for unemployment, with more than half a dozen other states also considering it, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

Regulations for hospital compensation: The Minnesota Nurses Association, the union representing about 22,000 nurses, wants state lawmakers to cap hospital CEO pay; require hospitals to produce more transparent employee wage data; and set stricter standards on hospital spending earmarked for the public’s benefit. The union’s legislative agenda — dubbed the “Healing Greed Agenda” — is a pointed response to hospital leaders successfully killing the union’s key policy goal last year: mandatory staffing level committees at hospitals with equal weight for nurses and bosses.

Eliminate subminimum wage: Some disability advocates want Minnesota to join more than a dozen other states in ending subminimum wages for workers with disabilities, saying the practice is discriminatory and exploitative. But other advocates worry that ending the subminimum wage would result in disabled workers losing employment and an important connection to their communities along with it, the Star Tribune reported.

Salary transparency: Lawmakers will consider requiring companies to post salary ranges for jobs. The proposal builds on a law passed last year that bars employers from asking job applicants about their current or previous pay in order to set compensation. That law is intended to decrease gender and racial pay disparities.

Saint Paul teachers authorize strike

More than 92% of St. Paul teachers and education support professionals voted to authorize a strike, which could come as soon as next month if the union and district fail to reach a deal, the St. Paul Federation of Educators announced on Friday. The union must give the school district 10 days notice before a work stoppage.

“Nobody wants to strike, but the short-term sacrifice is worth it to give our students the schools they deserve and keep our educators in the profession for years to come,” said Leah VanDassor, SPFE president, in a news release.

The St. Paul school district said it does not believe a strike is necessary to resolve their differences over wages, health insurance and other proposals. The district noted it has a budget shortfall of about $107.7 million next year with the expiration of federal COVID-19 funding, declining enrollment and increased operational costs.

St. Paul teachers and support professionals last went on strike in 2020 for three days.

Nearly 40% of public teachers unions — including Minneapolis — have yet to reach agreements on new contracts as of Feb. 13, according to Axios.

Do you make a basic living wage?

A couple with two kids in the Twin Cities metro area needs to earn $119,229 a year — or about $28 an hour each — to afford the basics: food, housing, health care, transportation and a cell phone. That’s according to the Economic Policy Institute’s latest Family Budget Calculator, which estimates how much it costs to make ends meet across America.

While the cost of living far exceeds the minimum wage in Minnesota, most households across much of Minnesota earn more than the basic cost of living, according to the latest income estimates from the Census Bureau. For example, the median four-person household in the Twin Cities metro area — meaning half of households make more, half make less — earns $148,901 a year.

You can search for what it costs to live in every county in America (according to EPI) here.

Interestingly, most Americans consider an income of $75,000 to $100,000 to be middle class for a family of four, according to a Washington Post poll. But that wouldn’t even cover basic expenses in many Minnesota counties, according to EPI’s calculations.

The Post poll also found Americans largely agree on six indicators of a middle class life that only 35% of Americans have: a secure job, health insurance, ability to save for the future, ability to afford an emergency $1,000 expense, ability to pay all bills on time and ability to retire comfortably.

What workers should know about legal cannabis

The Star Tribune examined the state’s new cannabis laws from the human resource manager’s perspective, which is useful for workers to understand, too. Most employers are not allowed to test for cannabis use as a condition of pre-employment or randomly test workers, but they may ban workers from using on the job. (Jobs that are vaguely defined as “safety sensitive” like police officer, firefighter, health care professional and teacher may be subject to testing.)

Employers must have a policy in writing dealing with cannabis explicitly if they expect to ban workers from using on the job. They may only test workers for use if there is reasonable suspicion of on-the-clock use or if intoxication is suspected after an accident. Workers who test positive should be evaluated for substance use disorder and offered treatment.

“There’s pretty overwhelming protections for employees,” cannabis industry attorney Jason Tarasek told the Star Tribune. “Our state is treating THC like alcohol, and I think employers should consider it in a similar vein.”

Bus drivers reach tentative agreement

The union representing Metro Transit bus and light rail operators reached a tentative agreement with the Metropolitan Council this month that would increase wages by about 13% over three years. The agreement, which must still be approved by workers, comes after workers voted to authorize a strike in September. Bus and train operators complain of high stress on the job, grueling schedules with little breaks and ongoing threats to their safety. Bus and train operators are also frustrated with being on the front lines of intractable social issues like homelessness, substance abuse and untreated mental illness, as Workday Magazine reported.

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