Responding to news that Senate Republicans have abruptly cut off negotiations on a potential special legislative session, Minnesota AFL-CIO President Bernie Burnham made the following statement:
“Senate Republicans didn’t just walk away from legislative negotiations, they put election year politics first and walked away from working people and families across our state.
“Senate Republicans walked away from jobs by rejecting an infrastructure bill that would have leveraged federal dollars to upgrade transportation and other key infrastructure while putting tens of thousands of union tradespeople to work in every corner of our state.
“Senate Republicans walked away from our kids by refusing to use a portion of the budget surplus to make desperately needed investments in public school classrooms and educators.
“Senate Republicans walked away from our communities and our most vulnerable residents by rejecting much-needed funding for pandemic-strapped nursing homes and health and human services along with increased investments in public safety.
“Minnesota’s unions thank Governor Walz, Speaker Hortman, and pro-Labor lawmakers’ efforts to deliver May’s bipartisan agreement.
“If Republicans in the Legislature refuse deliver for working Minnesotans, it’s time for working Minnesotans to elect leaders who stand with us instead of billionaires and CEOs.”