City, County & School District Candidate Questionnaire

Thank you for seeking LIUNA Minnesota & North Dakota's endorsement for local office. We are proud to represent more than 12,000 skilled construction & blue collar Laborers who join in union & raise the bar for all of Minnesota. We are your friends & neighbors improving Minnesota through our work in building construction, heavy & highway construction, construction supervision, environmental remediation, demolition, restoration & city services. We serve the members, families & retirees of five Local Unions: Local 563 (Twin Cities Metro, Mankato, Saint Cloud & North Dakota); Local 405 (Rochester & Southeast Minnesota); Local 1091 (Duluth-Superior, Northeast Minnesota & Northwest Wisconsin); Local 1097 (Iron Range & Northern Minnesota); & Local 363 (City & County Employees Union of Minneapolis, Saint Paul & Greater Minnesota).
 
By the Numbers:
  • We represent 12,679 skilled construction LIUNA members
  • We partner with 800 total signatory Union Contractor employers
  • We accumulated 173,580 privately funded training hours in 2016-2017
  • We cover 27,800 participants in our health & welfare plan
  • We pump $780.6 million dollars into Minnesota’s economy annually

LIUNA Minnesota & North Dakota is proud to partner with our signatory contractors to enhance worker skills, promote workplace safety, offer job & career opportunities for a diverse workforce. We are on the side of all working people & working families, fighting for the freedom to negotiate, fair return on work, family-supporting wages, affordable health care, & retirement security, so working people can provide for & have the time to be with our families. We are proud to support leaders who share our values & priorities & protect our freedom to join together in union & freedom to prosper.

Work hard & 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 & campaign information:

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* 3. Are you an active or former union member?

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* 4. What is your plan to win?

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

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* 6. Can we count on you to speak out affirmatively about the benefits of construction careers & state-registered apprenticeship programs & to support policies that encourage participation in construction careers & apprenticeship?

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* 7. So-called "Right-to-Work" laws take away workers' freedom to join together in unions & negotiate a fair return on work. "Right to Work" laws hinder a union’s ability to collectively bargain, & as a result, residents of “Right to Work” states earn thousands of dollars less per year, & are more likely to lack health insurance & retirement security, & to die on the job.

Can we count on you to support public & private sector workers' freedom to organize & prosper, speak out affirmatively about the benefits of unions & oppose policies that undermine workers' ability to bargain collectively?

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* 8. Prevailing wage standards protect taxpayers from problem contractors & support the creation of family-supporting local jobs by requiring contractors to pay the local "going rate" for skilled construction labor. Projects built without prevailing wage standards can attract unscrupulous contractors that cut corners when it comes to quality, safety, & fair treatment of workers, including exploitation of immigrants & use of child labor. 

Can we count on you to support the use & enforcement of prevailing wage requirements for publicly-supported construction projects?

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* 9. Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) are agreements between builders & unions to facilitate delivery of high-quality construction projects on-time & on-budget. PLAs are widely used by public & private construction owners that want to minimize risks & ensure ready access to skilled labor & responsible contractors.

Can we count on you to support the use of PLAs where appropriate on local taxpayer-supported projects & to promote their effectiveness as a project-delivery tool at all levels of government?

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* 10. Can we count on you to defend the right of local government units to establish local wage & benefit standards & worker protections that exceed state minimum standards, such as local prevailing wage, minimum wage & earned sick time requirements? 

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* 11. Can we count on you to support robust enforcement of Minnesota's Responsible Contractor Law, which prohibits the award of public construction contracts to companies that have failed to meet state labor & licensing requirements?

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* 12. Can we count on you to hold municipal construction contractors accountable for meeting all of their legal & contractual obligations, including proper payment & treatment of workers & compliance with contract specifications?

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* 13. Can we count on you to carefully consider a construction bidder's past performance & compliance with applicable legal & contractual requirements before determining whether the bidder is a responsible contractor & therefore eligible for a contract award?

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* 14. Can we count on you to support efforts to ensure large construction projects  that are publicly-funded, subsidized, or regulated, including renewable energy projects, are built by local Minnesota workers?

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* 15. Can we count on you to support increased funding to fix Minnesota's road, bridge & transit infrastructure by increasing gas &/or sales taxes to fund infrastructure?

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* 16. Can we count on you to support increased funding for community infrastructure, including water systems, schools & hospitals?

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* 17. Can we count on you to support efforts to end wage theft, protect the rights of immigrant workers & hold employers accountable?

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* 18. Can we count on you to support & speak out affirmatively about the benefits of quality, affordable healthcare for all Minnesotans?

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* 19. Can we count on you to advocate for responsible increases in Local Government Aid & County Program Aid to keep communities & local economies strong across the state?

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* 20. Can we count on you to treat public employees with respect & dignity & as partners in fulfilling the mission of your office?

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* 21. Like many Minnesotans, LIUNA members depend on energy infrastructure for their livelihood. LIUNA supports a comprehensive "all of the above" energy mix that includes wind, solar, nuclear, natural gas & coal generation as well as the oil that fuels our vehicles. 

Can we count on you to support sensible infrastructure investments to keep ensure keep energy safe, reliable & affordable & to help protect Minnesota jobs & Minnesota workers during the transition to lower-carbon energy sources (including use of local labor to build renewable energy projects)?

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* 22. LIUNA members build & maintain gas & oil pipelines, & our union supports environmentally-sound pipeline projects such as the Line 3 Replacement that was recently approved by the Public Utilities Commission.

Can we count on you to support the safe & timely construction of approved projects such as the Line 3 Replacement?

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* 23. LIUNA members build & maintain mine infrastructure, & our union supports environmentally-sound mining, including the recently-approved PolyMet copper-nickel mine project.

Can we count on you to support responsible iron, copper, nickel & precious metal projects that meet Minnesota's strict standards for protecting the environment?

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