Minnesota AFL-CIO President Bill McCarthy issued the following statement on Governor Tim Walz’s proposed state budget:
“Governor Walz’s budget proposal is a bold plan that invests in priorities to help working people recover from the COVID-19 pandemic while laying out a vision for a more just and equitable state.
“While working Minnesotans lost their jobs, worked from home while having to care for and support children in distance learning, or continued to report in person for critical frontline jobs during this pandemic, the richest people and biggest corporations continued to report record income and profits. Governor Walz recognizes this unjust reality in his budget and calls for those who have benefitted the most to pay their fair share in taxes.
“By funding priorities such as paid family and medical leave, schools, healthcare, job creation, and other vital services, Governor Walz’s budget invests in working Minnesotans in every zip code.
“Budgets are moral documents that demonstrates our leaders’ priorities. We challenge lawmakers to make their budgets based on Minnesotans’ needs – not arbitrary numbers.”