For some months now, the MN AFL-CIO has been holding planning meetings in preparation for the Labor 2020 Elections Campaign. Part of this planning is being done through the Labor Table gathering of leaders from affiliates. Leaders from the Retiree Council have been participating.
Many topics have been discussed and we have received much useful information. Part of the planning and preparation includes “one on one” meetings between MN AFL-CIO staff and leaders of each affiliate. On November 5, nine Retiree Council leaders met for our “one on one” and learned a lot and passed on ideas to MN AFL-CIO leaders.
VOTER REGISTRATION ISSUES
Among the disturbing things we learned is that union voter registration is down. This is a big problem. Among union retirees, about 1/3 are not registered to vote! This is a considerable reduction of percent of our union retiree voters registered since 2016, the last presidential election year.
This will require lots of ideas and work to plan how we get union retiree voters registered. Put on your thinking caps! And bring them to the Campaigns Conference – see next paragraph!
MN AFL-CIO 2020 CAMPAIGNS CONFERENCE
One of the ideas Retiree Council leaders have passed on to the MN AFL-CIO is for retirees to work on the voter registration issue in our own workshop at the first big get-together for Labor 2020. The 2020 Campaigns Conference will be held Thursday, February 6 and Friday, February 7, 2020 at the Delta Hotel in Minneapolis.
The Retiree Council has suggested 2 Retiree workshops be held at the Conference, one for retiree attendees to work on ideas for registering voters and start developing a plan. The other retiree workshop would feature “organizing conversations” for talking about issues important to seniors. We hope these workshop offerings will be on the agenda, which will also include speakers and information about goals, activities and schedules of the Labor 2020 program.
Registration information will be available soon. Watch for mailings and bulletins to our affiliates so you can participate in this important work!