St. Paul, Minnesota — Today, the Minnesota House of Representatives voted to ratify state employee contracts, HF 2768. Approximately 50,000 state employees are covered under these contracts, which are currently in effect. State Representative Dan Wolgamott (DFL - St. Cloud), voted for the legislation.
“Our state employees are the ones responsible for keeping Minnesota running as we face this global pandemic,” said Rep. Wolgamott. “As we work to deliver economic security to all Minnesotans, it’s incredibly important that we don’t leave behind the state employees that are often at the forefront of our response to COVID-19.”
State employees include nurses on the front lines of COVID-19, corrections officers, cleaning and sanitation workers, public health workers doing the essential job of testing, monitoring, tracing, and mitigating COVID-19 in Minnesota; and staff that create and administer the conduits of federal and state resources to affected Minnesotans, including small businesses, hospitals, schools, and families.
The costs for the labor agreements were included in last year’s state budget. Failing to ratify these contracts will mean pay cuts for essential workers, putting their wages below employees in similar jobs in the private sector.
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