Dear neighbor,
Over the past several weeks, the House has seen a flurry of harmful legislation from majority party legislators. In fact, over the past two weeks alone, the House has heard 618 bills in committee. Many of these bills have been rushed through committees. Public debate, in many cases, has been cut off. This is not good governing and not what the hardworking taxpayers of Minnesota expect from their elected representatives.
One of the bills that has been moving hastily through the committee process is the proposal to unionize childcare providers – House File 950. I have multiple objections to this legislation. The first is that unionization would create fewer choices for low-income parents. Many childcare providers who do not want to be unionized or can’t afford it will be forced to reject C-CAP kids (children of parents who qualify for state childcare assistance). This will create fewer quality childcare providers who will be able to accept children of hard-working low-income parents.
I’m also concerned that unionizing childcare providers will lower their quality of service. Taxpayer dollars meant for quality childcare programs will be redirected into union coffers and partisan activities. If unionization occurs, childcare assistance funds can be diverted to unions. Many providers are concerned that the deduction of dues would require them to stop enrolling childcare assistance families or to make drastic cuts to their childcare programs.
Higher costs will also result from unionization as childcare providers will be forced to raise rates or shut down. Even those who opt out of joining the union will be forced to pay a fair share union due rate of 85 percent. Profit margins are already small for these primarily women-owned providers. Requiring the payment of union dues will hit their bottom line and force them to possibly shut down or raise rates on working families.
Recently, the majority party legislators were successful in adding personal care attendants (PCAs) unionization into this bill as well. To make matters worse, now the bill only requires a 10% threshold to trigger a certification for either childcare providers or PCAs. Perhaps we should call this proposal the “omnibus unionization” bill. Please know I will continue to fight against this legislation. If this issue is important to you, I encourage you to contact Governor Dayton’s office with your thoughts.
This week, we are on legislative break. I’ve been spending time in the district meeting with city official and constituents. I also plan to spend some time with my family from Iowa.
Wishing you and your family a blessed Easter!
I am always interested in your feedback. Please feel free to contact me by e-mail at Rep.Peggy.Scott@House.MN or contact my office at 651-296-4231. You can also send me mail to my office address: 201 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155.
Sincerely,
Peggy