#LSBNOW — Proposed Minneapolis Labor Standards Board is Close to Becoming Reality

Minneapolis is poised to establish a powerful new tool for improving labor standards in the city, and two Confluence grantees, as well as many of our labor union partners, are calling for public support this week to help move the proposal over the finish line. 

After two years of advocacy from CTUL, Kids Count on Us (ISAIAH), and many others, a Minneapolis Labor Standards Board is close to becoming reality. This board would be made up of five workers, five business representatives, and five community representatives, and would have the power to create temporary boards for specific industries or geographies. The purpose of these boards is to investigate industry conditions and make recommendations to the mayor and council. 

From a Workday Minnesota piece on the campaign: “The idea guiding this legislation is that, to improve conditions in a sector, you need to study and review that sector, to learn about its specific challenges. How else would you know, for example, that employers in retail often change schedules at the last minute, upending workers’ lives, or that sexual harassment plagues the fast food industry?”

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Opportunities for Action

Wednesday, November 6th, 1:30 pm – The City Council’s Public Health and Safety Committee will vote on whether to advance the Labor Standards Board proposal to the full council.

Thursday, November 14th, 9:30 am  – The Minneapolis City Council Meeting is expected to vote on the Labor Standards Board.

Both meetings are open to the public and will take place at the Minneapolis Public Service Center, 250 S. 4th Street, Room 350.

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Such boards existed in 13 states during the Progressive era and contributed to raising wages and improving health and safety conditions for non-union workers, especially in low-wage industries where women, immigrants, and people of color are disproportionately concentrated. In recent years New York and California have established labor boards for specific industries, and last year Minnesota established a statewide labor standards board for the homecare industry.

The labor organizations supporting the proposal, including SEIU and the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation, emphasize that these types of boards are a compliment to workers unionizing, rather than an alternative. They create an avenue to “raise the floor” in ways that benefit union and non-union workers alike.

However, some business groups have pushed back on the proposal. “Disinformation and fear-mongering about a Labor Standards Board — which is simply an advisory body to the Council — seems strange unless the special interests groups simply object to the equal presence of workers,” said Councilmember Aisha Chughtai, one of the sponsors of the proposed ordinance (quoted by MN Daily). “They’ve made it clear that it’s in their interest for policymakers to never hear from everyday Minneapolitans that make up the workforce.” 

CTUL and Kids Count on Us are calling on the community to attend two upcoming public meetings (listed above) to show support for the Labor Standards Board Ordinance. If the City Council votes in favor of the ordinance, it will be sent to Mayor Frey, who has already signaled his support for establishing such a board.

For more context:

• Worker Advocates Push for Nation-Leading Labor Standards Board in Minneapolis (Minnesota Reformer)
• Minnesota Labor is Reviving a Progressive-Era Tool to Improve Working Conditions (Workday Minnesota)
• Business Owners, Worker Advocates, Clash Over Proposed Minneapolis Labor Standards Board (Minnesota Public Radio)
• Former City Councilmember Elizabeth Glidden: For a More Equal Minneapolis, Move the Labor Standards Board Forward (Minnesota Star Tribune)
• Minneapolis City Council Considering Creating Labor Board (MN Daily)