2022 State Legislative Candidate Questionnaire (MN)

 
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LIUNA Minnesota and North Dakota, Minnesota’s infrastructure union, represents and serves more than 29,000 members and family members of five Local Unions: Local 363 (City of Minneapolis and City of Saint Paul Parks and Recreation, Public Works and Public Housing employees); Local 405 (Rochester and Southeast Minnesota); Local 563 (Minneapolis-Saint Paul Metro, Mankato, Saint Cloud and North Dakota); Local 1091 (Duluth-Superior, Northeast Minnesota and Northwest Wisconsin); and Local 1097 (Iron Range and Northern Minnesota).  We are united to help create living wage jobs while building our communities and the economy to truly benefit all of our friends and neighbors.

LIUNA operates Minnesota’s largest and most diverse skilled construction apprenticeship program, delivering an average 150,000 privately-funded training hours annually. We partner with more than 800 union contractors to enhance worker skills and promote workplace safety at our training center in Lino Lakes. Our Registered Apprenticeship Program leads a diverse workforce to job and career opportunities.

LIUNA is one of Minnesota's largest and most politically active unions. We are proud to support leaders who share our values and priorities:
  • Creating family-sustaining careers
  • Protecting working peoples’ freedom to negotiate a fair return on work
  • Ensuring affordable health care and retirement security
  • Advancing all workers’ freedom to prosper so that we can provide for and have the time to be with our families
LIUNA members engage in political action to protect our livelihoods. Every year thousands of LIUNA members make personal phone calls, talk to fellow members and visit the Legislature and Congress to advocate for good jobs and to hold elected leaders accountable. LIUNA members, retirees and families also vote and give their hard-earned wages in political contributions to help elect pro-worker champions from both political parties.

Work hard and good luck on the campaign trail. We look forward to working with you in the future.

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* 1. Date:

Date

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* 2. Candidate and campaign information:

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* 3. What is your political party?

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* 4. What is your district?

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* 5. Are you an active, retired or former union member?

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* 6. Are you seeking a financial contribution from LIUNA members to your campaign?

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* 7. We use this questionnaire to educate candidates on our priorities; to give you an opportunity to be clear where you stand on our issues; as a resource for LIUNA members and public communications. We do our best to make our candidate questionnaires candidate-friendly (mostly "Yes" or "No" with limited open-ended questions, unless you prefer to answer "Other"). This survey is not a litmus test. We appreciate your open and honest answers - they will help us know we need to be proactive about reaching out and discussing our priorities with you. If you do not support our position on an issue(s), either now or in the future, we appreciate the opportunity to have a conversation with you in advance of public statements and/or votes.

While we may not agree on every issue, can we count on you to build a relationship with our union to advance shared priorities, and to learn about our members’ perspectives before you make statements and/or vote for or against our agenda?

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* 8. LIUNA's strength comes from our diverse and multiracial membership. For over 100 years, our brothers and sisters have fought for systemic transformation and racial equality, and for decades, we have advocated for diversity, inclusion and access to union construction careers. Today, LIUNA membership includes more than 2,000 people of color and 600 women who are skilled and trained journey and apprentice laborers. LIUNA Minnesota, along with our partners in the Minnesota Building and Construction Trades, is committed to expanding union construction career opportunities for women, veterans and people of color.

What is/will be your approach to building greater economic inclusion for working women, veterans and people of color?

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* 9. What is your role in helping to create and protect family-supporting jobs and career opportunities in your area?

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* 10. All working people should have the freedom to join a union to make their workplaces better and to negotiate for the wages and benefits they deserve. Unions advocate for working people to keep us safer, healthier and able to enjoy a higher quality of life. Collective bargaining provides workers the opportunity to have a say in decisions affecting their pay, working conditions and benefits. While national union membership is falling, Minnesota’s union growth is at its highest in the last 14 years - in large part due to new organizing efforts and federal infrastructure funding.

Can we count on you to protect working peoples' freedom to prosper, publicly affirm the benefits of collective bargaining and publicly oppose and vote against any so-called "Right to Work" legislation?

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* 11. For over fifty years the Public Employees Labor Relations Act (PELRA) has granted workers the right to organize and collectively bargain for wages, hours, and conditions of employment with Minnesota’s public employers. PELRA was passed by the legislature in 1971 with bipartisan support and establishes the criteria for defining a bargaining unit, procedures to certify exclusive representation, and provides methods for resolving impasses in bargaining. LIUNA represents hundreds of workers who provide critical public services in the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.

Can we count on you to oppose any efforts to weaken PELRA?

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* 12. Prevailing wage requirements guarantee living wages for local construction workers on many transportation, water, energy, housing and other building construction projects funded or financed with taxpayer dollars. Prevailing wage laws, also known as Davis-Bacon laws, ensure construction workers earn a fair wage, and they lead to safer, higher-quality work and stability for local economies. Prevailing wage laws ensure that labor costs are uniform, allowing contractors to compete for public projects based on skill, productivity, and management abilities, not on who can scrape together the cheapest workforce. The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry sets the prevailing wage rates to be comparable to wages paid for similar work in the county where the construction project is located. The rates are determined through surveys of actual wages paid to construction workers in the local community. LIUNA opposes any effort to weaken or repeal prevailing wage laws.

Can we count on you to oppose any effort to weaken or repeal Minnesota's prevailing wage laws?

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* 13. Many local units of government, including cities, counties and school districts across Minnesota have adopted prevailing wage ordinances or bid specifications to ensure safe, high-quality construction while maintaining family-supporting wages, preserving a level playing field for local workers and contractors and preventing wage theft, insurance fraud, and worker exploitation on locally-funded construction projects.

Can we count on you to support the use and consistent enforcement of prevailing wage requirements by local units of government, including cities, counties and school boards, and to vote for resources to assist with enforcement?

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* 14. Project Labor Agreements (PLAs), which have been used in Minnesota for generations, are collective bargaining agreements between building trade unions and contractors. They govern terms and conditions of employment for all craft workers - union and nonunion - on a construction project. A typical PLA will establish uniform standards for working hours, overtime, holidays, grievance procedures, drug testing, jurisdictional dispute resolution, etc. PLAs are particularly useful on large, complex construction projects that require many skilled craft workers, and that are expected to last a long period of time, and on projects that are particularly time-sensitive. PLAs protect taxpayers by eliminating costly delays due to labor conflicts, shortages of skilled workers and can also be used to advance workforce diversity and inclusion.

Can we count on you to support the use of Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) on state-funded projects and promote their effectiveness as a project-delivery tool at all levels of government and in the private sector?

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* 15. Wage theft is a rampant problem in the non-union construction industry where immigrant workers are often exploited, and it drives down standards for all workers. Wage theft is the unlawful withholding of wages or benefits due to an employee. It can take many different forms - from illegal “deductions” from an employee’s pay to outright not paying an employee at all. Incorrectly classifying an employee as an independent contractor is also a pervasive problem in Minnesota. A 2021 report by the Midwest Economic Policy Institute estimates that nearly one-in-four construction workers in Minnesota are victims of wage theft. LIUNA has worked to expose unscrupulous employers and brought cases to the attention of the Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) that have already secured hundreds of thousands of dollars in back-wages owed to dozens of immigrant construction workers. In May 2019, the Legislature passed the Minnesota Wage Theft Prevention Act to create additional protections for workers, including adding criminal penalties for employers that commit wage theft. This law included additional funding to allow DLI to add staff members needed to perform strategic and targeted workplace enforcement and to conduct outreach and education for employers, workers and their communities.

Can we count on you to vote for resources to assist state agencies and local units of government with implementation, support efforts to strengthen and expand upon the Minnesota Wage Theft Prevention Act, and work with local units of government to increase wage theft prevention and accountability?

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* 16. Minnesota's Responsible Contractor Law provides enhanced contractor accountability for public construction projects. The law sets minimum standards for responsible contractors and requires that certain public construction be awarded only to responsible contractors. Agencies and local units of government still have discretion to consider additional factors. Responsible contractors must be in compliance with federal Fair Labor Standards Act and Davis Bacon Act requirements and Minnesota requirements including but not limited to: workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance, minimum wage, overtime, prevailing wage, prompt payment of wages, payment to employees who quit or resign, and proper representation of employment relationships. Contractors are ineligible for public construction projects if their Certificate of Compliance is revoked more than twice throughout three years or if they are suspended or debarred by the federal government or the state of Minnesota or any of its departments, commissions, agencies, or political subdivisions.

Can we count on you to vote for resources to assist state agencies and local units of government with implementation and support efforts to strengthen and expand Minnesota’s Responsible Contractor law?

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* 17. The State Legislature sets minimum labor standards, such as minimum wage and prevailing wage laws, that local governments can improve on. Recently, legislation has been proposed that would preempt local control, lowering wages, taking away earned sick days, and preventing local communities from protecting workers' health and safety.

Can we count on you to protect local control and oppose preemption of local laws and policies affecting workers' wages, benefits and working conditions?

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* 18. LIUNA's Registered Apprenticeship Program trains people from around the state to become highly skilled, well-paid construction workers through a debt-free, state-of-the-art education. LIUNA is proud to operate Minnesota’s largest and most diverse skilled construction apprenticeship program. We partner with more than 800 union contractors to enhance worker skills and promote workplace safety at our training center in Lino Lakes - which has recently doubled in size to meet industry’s increasing demand. Our apprentices earn while they learn and train while they work, receiving family-supporting wages, healthcare, and retirement benefits. Minnesota's Building and Construction Trades unions are prepared to meet industry workforce needs through our Registered Apprenticeship Programs and age-appropriate and safe career exposure and exploration programs for youth.

Can we count on you to support construction workforce training through Registered Apprenticeship Programs and safe, age-appropriate and career exposure and exploration programs for youth, including requiring or incentivizing employment of apprentices on public works projects?

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* 19. Anti-worker construction industry groups have recently proposed legislation that would introduce child labor to active construction sites under the guise of exposing youth to the construction industry. LIUNA and the Minnesota Building and Construction Trades strongly oppose child labor in the construction industry for reasons best summed up by the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) January 2020 report “Ensuring the Safety of Youth in Skilled Trades Training Programs”. This report to the Minnesota Legislature explains that any benefit gained by bringing youth under the age of 18 onto an active construction site is “overwhelmed by the unacceptable risk to youths’ health, safety and wellbeing.” The report concludes “it is the strong recommendation of the department that hands-on training for youth under the age of 18 not be provided on active construction sites.”

Can we count on you to oppose child labor in construction?

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* 20. Oil refineries are among the highest-hazard facilities in Minnesota for both workers and host communities. The use of unskilled construction workers could potentially jeopardize the safety of workers and local residents. Firefighters have testified that a major refinery fire could quickly overwhelm the capacity of local fire departments and the Environmental Protection Agency found that a toxic hydrogen fluoride plume could travel up to 19 miles, putting 1.7 million Minnesotans at potential risk. The Minnesota Legislature can strengthen safety standards for refinery workers, the environment, and the community by requiring contractors working at oil refineries to employ a qualified, local workforce trained through registered apprenticeship or equivalent programs.

Can we count on you to support strengthening refinery workforce safety and skills by requiring contractors working at oil refineries to employ a qualified, local workforce trained through registered apprenticeship or equivalent programs?

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* 21. Large capital investment bills preserve public assets, put thousands of Minnesotans to work in high-quality, family-supporting careers in construction, and are an economic engine for communities across the state. Passage of the $2 billion Local Jobs and Projects Act in October 2020 and the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act are a necessary down payment but are insufficient to address Minnesota’s critical infrastructure needs. Now is the time to leverage these efforts, the state’s AAA bond rating and low interest rates by passing large ($2.7-$3 billion), balanced and statewide bonding bills that maximize the creation of high-quality water and transportation infrastructure and building construction jobs.

Can we count on you to vote for large statewide infrastructure bonding bills that maximize the creation of high-quality water, transportation and building construction jobs?

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* 22. Minnesotans want safer roads and bridges, and more transit options. Minnesota's crumbling infrastructure is putting our safety at risk. The American Society of Civil Engineers recently graded our roads a 'D+', bridges a 'C' and transit a 'C-'. Fixing thousands of miles of roads in poor condition and hundreds of structurally deficient bridges needs to be a top priority. A comprehensive transportation funding package will make Minnesotans safer and create 84,000-126,000 family-supporting construction jobs. Improving key corridors for freight will boost the state's economy by helping manufacturers and farmers get their products to market more efficiently.

Minnesota is facing an $18 billion funding gap over the next 20 years just to maintain our current system of state and county highways, city streets, town roads and bridges. Nearly all funding for Minnesota’s roads and bridges is received from constitutionally dedicated revenue sources: the state fuel tax, state motor vehicle registration tax and state motor vehicle sales tax. Minnesota needs new, dedicated revenue to meet the need.

Can we count on you to prioritize a sustainable, comprehensive, long-term and dedicated transportation funding package and support increasing Minnesota's constitutionally dedicated user fees, specifically the state fuel tax, state motor vehicle registration tax, and state motor vehicle sales tax, and/or create a new long term, stable and predictable funding source to meet the need for our state and county highways, city streets, town roads and bridges?

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* 23. Besides increasing dedicated funding sources to catch up and meet the need for our current system of state and county highways, city streets, town roads and bridges, Minnesota needs to keep up and meet the need in the future. Indexing the state fuel tax to the Consumer Price Index or a similar index would prevent the state's capacity to maintain roads and bridges to be eroded by inflationary cost increases. Indexing would increase the state fuel tax by approximately one cent per year. The loss of value and deterioration of our roads and bridges will continue to be on auto-pilot if the Legislature does not index the state fuel tax.

Can we count on you to support indexing the state fuel tax or other funding sources dedicated to roads and bridges to inflation to ensure Minnesota keeps up and meets the need in the future?

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* 24. Less than one-half of one percent of Minnesota's General Fund goes towards transportation. Approximately 50 percent goes towards education and approximately 30 percent goes towards health and human services. Currently, approximately half of the existing sales tax on auto parts and repairs is statutorily dedicated to roads and bridges. LIUNA supports dedicating 100 percent of the sales tax on auto parts and repairs to transportation.

Can we count on you to support the dedication of 100 percent of the sales tax on auto parts and repairs to transportation?

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* 25. Over the next 20 years, metro and Greater Minnesota transit systems are facing a $2 billion funding gap to maintain our current system and a $5 billion gap to meet the needs of transit users. Increased investment in transit is essential to connect communities, expand access to jobs and housing, address climate change, and improve daily life for Minnesotans of all ages, races, incomes, and abilities. We need long-term, dedicated funding to build a transit system that addresses the state’s growing mobility and safety needs.

Can we count on you to support creating and dedicating a new revenue stream, such as a one half-cent sales tax in the metro and/or regional centers, to meet the needs of transit users?

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* 26. Minnesota's clean water infrastructure faces urgent needs: aging municipal infrastructure is at or beyond its useful life; treatment upgrades are needed to restore impaired waters and protect threatened waterbodies; ever-increasing impacts from stormwater runoff and failing septic systems and chemical and other contamination concerns threaten drinking water systems. More than 100,000 lead lines in public and private drinking water systems that threaten the health and vitality of communities throughout the entire state.

It is estimated there is over $11 billion in wastewater and drinking water needs over the next 20 years to protect the health and safety of Minnesotans. Both the 2020 Local Jobs and Projects bill and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act have made a bold first step toward addressing these needs.

Can we count on you to support increasing dedicated, regionally balanced and long-term solutions and funding for clean and safe wastewater and drinking water infrastructure?

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* 27. LIUNA Minnesota is proud to represent the members of Local 363 - City of Minneapolis and City of Saint Paul Public Works, Parks and Recreation, and Public Housing employees. These members and thousands of LIUNA members and their families live and work in communities that rely on Local Government Aid (LGA). LGA stabilizes local property taxes and ensures that quality basic city services - roads, sewers and public safety - are available in all Minnesota cities regardless of population size or property tax base. When LGA funding was cut in the early 2000s, cities were forced to rely more heavily on property taxes and cut services. Property taxes and LGA are the two major revenue sources for most Minnesota cities. Cities usually need authorization from the state to create other revenue sources, such as a local sales tax.

Can we count on you to support increases in Local Government Aid to keep local communities across the state strong?

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* 28. Minnesotans want a good life and a better future for our families and for our neighbors. For too long, large corporations and the richest one percent have failed to pay their fair share while too many Minnesotans have struggled to get ahead and stay ahead. LIUNA believes it's time for the richest Minnesotans and largest corporations to pay their fair share, so that every Minnesotan - across race and region - has the opportunity to build a better future.

Can we count on you to support raising new, progressive revenue to fund the things we know ensure the well-being of our communities: affordable healthcare, quality education, safe infrastructure, good-paying jobs, clean air and water and public safety?

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* 29. The second-largest source of work for LIUNA members is the energy sector. Our members work with utility and other industry partners every day to ensure that Minnesotans have access to electricity and fuels that are affordable, reliable and increasingly carbon-free. We install wind, solar and hydro generation, and build and maintain conventional and nuclear power plants, pipelines and distribution lines. LIUNA advocates for rapid deployment of renewables and transmission, as well as support for emerging battery storage, clean hydrogen, carbon capture, biofuel, and geothermal technologies that most climate experts believe are essential to achieving net-zero. At the same time, we recognize the need to ensure continued safe and reliable operation of our carbon-free nuclear fleet and legacy infrastructure that Minnesotans rely upon for their daily lives.

As the State Legislature looks to enact legislation to address climate change, it is imperative that we come up with resilient solutions using all available technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining reliability and affordability, and minimize the loss of high-quality jobs.

Can we count on you to support a comprehensive energy strategy that includes sensible infrastructure investments that make Minnesota's power and fuel supplies safe, reliable, affordable, and increasingly clean while protecting Minnesota workers during the energy transition?

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* 30. Clean energy projects have the potential to create family-supporting jobs and careers for skilled construction workers, especially in Greater Minnesota, but only when we put local workers first in the clean energy transition. Conventional plant host communities and workforce, including LIUNA members, need support as we face the challenge of developing new employment and economic opportunities to replace losses from plant retirements.

Will you protect local workers and support local communities in the transition from conventional to clean energy by working to ensure that energy projects create high-quality local jobs and provide opportunities for Laborers and fellow Trades to put their skills to work building a clean energy economy?

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* 31. Minnesota’s investor-owned, cooperative, and municipal utilities and our state’s approach to utility regulation have delivered affordable and reliable electric and natural gas service, and provided high-quality union jobs for generations of Minnesotans. LIUNA and the Minnesota AFL-CIO oppose all forms of utility deregulation and support the central role of regulated utilities in providing reliable, affordable, and fair electric and gas service, including supporting utility ownership of energy assets and resources.

Can we count on you to support Minnesota’s successful system of utility regulation and oppose efforts to deregulate utility services and to shrink the role of regulated, cooperative or municipal utilities in the delivery of electric and gas service?

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* 32. Energy, mining, industrial, civil, and commercial projects have created tens of thousands of jobs for working people and have been the lifeblood of communities across the state. The Legislature establishes the procedures by which beneficial projects are considered and approved by agencies like the Pollution Control Agency, Department of Natural Resources, and Public Utilities Commission. LIUNA supports the timely consideration of job-creating projects using a thorough, predictable and fair process that ensures compliance with the state's rigorous environmental requirements and public interest standards.

Can we count on you to support common sense procedures that will ensure thorough, predictable, timely and fair review of energy, mining, industrial, civil and commercial construction projects?

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* 33. LIUNA is proud to be leading the way on Minnesota's transition to a clean energy economy. One of the most important contributions Minnesota can make to the fight against climate change is leading the world in the responsible production of copper, nickel and other precious metals. Renewable and electric vehicle technologies consume these precious metals at roughly five-times the rate of conventional technologies. Yet, today, most of these precious metals are mined in countries without strong labor or environmental protections. Northern Minnesota is home to one of the largest undeveloped mineral deposits in the world, containing more than four billion tons of copper, nickel and precious metals. The Duluth Complex holds the world's second largest copper deposit (34 percent of U.S. resource) and the world's third largest nickel deposit (95 percent of U.S. resource). LIUNA believes that if mining companies can demonstrate to state and federal agencies that we can mine copper and nickel safely and responsibly in compliance with rigorous environmental standards, protect workers and provide financial assurances, then projects should be allowed to move forward.

Can we count on you to support responsible development of critical mineral resources needed for the clean energy transition here in Minnesota as long as those projects meet the State’s rigorous environmental standards and provide high-quality jobs for local workers?

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* 34. Voting rights and fair elections are the cornerstone of our democracy. LIUNA supports measures that protect every American’s right to vote and ensure the government’s responsibility to protect this right. We saw our democracy attacked on January 6, 2021. It is our responsibility to defend it. Unfortunately, in the past decade, lawmakers have proposed new laws restricting the right to vote, using the myth of voter fraud as a pretext.

To protect voters from these undemocratic proposals and voter restrictions, LIUNA supports making Election Day a public holiday, enacting an automatic voter registration system, offering more early voting and mail-in voting options, same day voter registration, restoring the right to vote for returning citizens, targeted protections for voters with disabilities, and more.

Can we count on you to support protecting and expanding voting rights and to oppose voter suppression efforts?

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* 35. LIUNA was founded more than a century ago by immigrants struggling for citizenship and trying to improve their lives. These men and women helped build our nation just as many immigrants do today. But our current immigration policy is failing both citizens and immigrants. LIUNA supports comprehensive immigration reform that includes an earned path to citizenship for undocumented workers. Labor standards must be enforced to protect workers' rights so that immigration does not depress wages or working conditions.

Can we count on you to publicly support comprehensive immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship for undocumented workers?

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* 36. Guest worker visa programs allow employers to hire guest workers to fill temporary "seasonal" jobs. Construction and landscaping work, often performed by LIUNA members, are two of the top industries for H- 2B visas. Many contractors that use H-2B visas falsely contend that they are unable to fill vacancies because workers already in the U.S. are unwilling to do those jobs. This is simply not true. Employers often turn to the program to exploit a captive workforce and avoid paying U.S. workers fair wages. Many employers using H-2B visas have repeatedly violated program rules and yet continue to get these visas. Additionally, the H-2A agricultural visa program is being misused to hire construction and landscape workers from other nations to come to the U.S. even though that program is not supposed to be used for construction workers.

Can we count on you to publicly oppose the misuse of guest worker visa programs, such as H2-B visas, in the construction industry?

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* 37. A state or national single payer safety net Medicare for All/Universal Healthcare program is an admirable goal, and worthy of debate. However, LIUNA calls on candidates to proceed with caution in light of our union's strong multi-employer health and welfare plans that our members and their families benefit from. Employer and union provided health insurance should be encouraged, and employers who do not provide insurance for their workers should "pay for" the safety net insurance programs. LIUNA supports lowering the age of Medicare participation as one way to provide more coverage to uninsured or under-insured Americans.

Can we count on you to consider the impact of healthcare reform on multi-employer health and welfare plans and support a plan that includes current employer and union-provided health coverage, if and when you publicly support a plan?

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* 38. (State Senate candidates only) The State Senate is authorized to give its advice and consent on executive appointments. Recently, the State Senate has withheld confirmation hearings for more than two years and has rejected or threatened to to reject several gubernatorial appointments to head up agencies, potentially over policy disagreements or using confirmations as leverage. LIUNA supports reforming the confirmation process to ensure timely action on executive appointments that ensures accountability and respect for qualified and competent candidates seeking to lead agencies and serve the public.

Can we count on you to support reforming the confirmation process to ensure timely action on executive appointments using a thorough, predictable and fair process?

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