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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Tom Anzelc (DFL)

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House Iron Range Delegation Calls for Legislators to Put Workers Ahead of Politics

Thursday, November 19, 2015

ST. PAUL— Today Minnesota House Speaker Kurt Daudt (GOP-Crown) told reporters he would consider a Special Session to help steelworkers who have been laid off during the recent downturn in taconite markets, but only if certain conditions were met. It is clear, by the number of and scope of the layoffs, that swift action without condition is needed. These layoffs are the result of illegal steel dumping by foreign countries – which is crashing not only the domestic steel markets, but the Minnesota taconite industry.

 

“We have experienced ups and downs before,” said Representative Carly Melin (DFL-Hibbing). “But it doesn’t make it any easier to see almost a thousand layoffs in our small communities touch friends and neighbors. Minnesota families are paying the price for illegal steel dumping across the globe and unfair trade practices here at home.”

 

Representative Melin met with Keetac steelworkers after Speaker Daudt’s announcement, and workers expressed concerns that political games were being played with their family’s economic security so close to Christmas.

 

“As the holidays near, families all across Minnesota will run out of unemployment benefits and it is disgraceful to use them to score political points,” said Representative Tom Anzelc (DFL-Balsam Township). “If you support mining then you have to support miners, not attach strings to unemployment insurance while they need help. Steelworkers are not asking for handouts, they are merely asking for assistance to get them through this rough period.”

 

“I started working at Keetac in 1965 and this is by far the worst downturn on the Range that I have ever seen,” said Rep. Anzelc. “This is a crisis caused by the global marketplace.”

 

“We on the Iron Range appreciate the willingness of the Governor and the Senate to help hurting steelworkers whose unemployment benefits will soon expire,” said Rep. Melin. “We are disappointed that Speaker Daudt seems to be playing politics by making other demands in order to address the immediate needs of our steelworkers. Playing politics with laid-off taconite workers is not good for the people here, or for long-term plans for economic development.”

 

“It is honestly not surprising to see these political games,” said Rep. Melin. “Last spring we put forward an amendment requiring that public works projects would be made from steel produced in America to combat illegal steel dumping, but House Republicans blocked it.”