2025 Legislative Priorities

What happens at the State Capitol impacts working people in every corner of Minnesota. It’s why the Minnesota AFL-CIO and members of our affiliated unions advocate for pro-labor legislation and fight to stop any attack on our rights. With a closely divided Legislature for the next two years, it will be vital to defend the historic gains we won in 2023 and 2024 and continue Minnesota’s progress towards becoming the best state for working people. What follows are the Minnesota AFL-CIO’s shared labor legislative priorities.

 

2023 and 2024 saw victories that grew workers’ protections and freedoms like Paid Family & Medical Leave, a ban on anti-union captive audience meetings, expanded prevailing wage, unemployment insurance for school workers, greater freedom to organize, and more. Minnesota’s Labor Movement is resolved to fight any attempt to roll back these historic wins.

 

From public schools and healthcare to water quality and construction – Minnesota’s two-year state budget impacts workers, retirees, and their families in so many ways. As a

Labor Movement, our goal is to make sure the next state budget provides the necessary resources for Minnesotans of every color and in every zip code to have the freedom to provide for their families and thrive.

 

From roads, bridges, public buildings, water treatment, and more – there is critical infrastructure across our state that needs improvement. Every dollar we spend on infrastructure keeps tradespeople working, who in turn spend money in their communities. Investing in infrastructure should be a priority for lawmakers from every corner of our state.

 

Working people have an expectation that state and federal laws designed to protect them will apply no matter where they work. Sadly, far too many employers across industries

break the rules to save money by classifying workers as independent contractors while demanding the same expectations as if they were employees. Minnesota took major steps in strengthening enforcement of our existing misclassification laws last year. It’s now time to strengthen our laws to stop employers from wrongly misclassifying and exploiting workers who should be treated as employees.

 

Collective action – like going on strike or even threatening to go on strike – is still the most effective way for workers to improve their pay and conditions. However, a strike is a tactic of last resort because it often means no pay for workers and families. Even though unemployment insurance payments don’t come anywhere near a livable income, it would allow a worker to put food on the table and meet the bare minimum of family expenses until they return to work. Our nation’s labor laws remain heavily skewed in favor of employers – who can temporarily replace workers, stall negotiations, make threats, or cut off healthcare. It’s time to balance the scales between workers and management by continuing the fight for Minnesotans to access unemployment insurance while on strike.