Tag: Rep. Nelson

Minnesota House expected to ratify state employee contracts

House DFL logoSAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA — Today, the Minnesota House of Representatives is expected to ratify state employee contracts. Approximately 50,000 state employees are covered under these contracts, and the contracts are currently in effect.

“Our state employees provide essential services for the people of Minnesota — including critical work on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said House Speaker Melissa Hortman. “The Legislature should ratify these contracts, which were negotiated in good faith and that have been in place for months. The Legislature gets an up or down vote, and does not have a role in negotiating different terms. A no vote or a failure to act by the House and Senate means pay cuts and chaos for state employee health insurance benefits. There will be a time to deal with the state budget deficit in the future, and decisions may be made that impact future state employee contracts. State employees and the Administration have fairly negotiated these contracts, and they should be approved.”

“We owe it to those who keep our state running — including during a pandemic — to follow through on our promises to them and their families,” said House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler. “During this economic crisis, we should protect these essential services and the basic economic security of the people we’re asking to step in to serve all of us.” Continue reading “Minnesota House expected to ratify state employee contracts”

Rep. Michael Nelson (HD40A) Update: January 28, 2019

Neighbors,

All of Minnesota will face dangerously cold temperatures over the next few days. Put your “Minnesota Values” into action and check in on senior citizens, vulnerable people, and at-risk adults. You can find more safety information here.

Shutdown Ends
I’m hopeful that we can quickly provide relief to the public servants who have been used as political pawns over the last 35 days. Anxiety is still high among federal workers and their families. These hard-working Americans have families, mortgages and medical bills — we don’t know yet the full extent of the effect this shutdown will have but this must never happen again.

Legislation
I’m proud to have introduced legislation last week that would establish a secure retirement program for Minnesota families. The program would use a public-private partnership model to help workers save for retirement. For millions of Americans, secure retirement is not attainable. While nearly half of working-age households have no more than $40,000 in savings, research shows that offering workers a way to save through their job increases their ability to save for retirement dramatically. If signed into law, this will save Minnesotans more than $124 million over 10 years in Medicaid savings alone.

This Week
On Wednesday at 8:00 am my Help America Vote Act will receive a public hearing in the State Government committee. This bill, H.F. 14, will allow Minnesota to transfer and appropriate federal dollars that we werealready given, to help secure our elections. That’s right, we just have to put these federal dollars to use. All 49 other states have appropriated and put this money into use. The bill will do the following things:

  • Modernize our statewide voter registration system
  • Improve accessibility
  • Prepare training materials and training for local election officials
  • Implement security improvements for elections systems
  • Fund other activities to improve the security of elections

It’s time for Minnesota to take seriously the threats against our democracy and pass the Help America Vote Act.

Upcoming Event
Quick reminder: on February 2nd I am hosting a town hall with Rep. Samantha Vang and Senator Chris Eaton to hear from our community. All are welcome – I hope you’ll join us and share your thoughts on how I can better serve you. More information here.

What: Town Hall Meeting
Who: Representative Mike Nelson, Representative Samantha Vang and Senator Chris Eaton
When: February 2, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Where: Brooklyn Center Community Center, Cohen Room, 6301 Single Creek Parkway, Brooklyn Center

As always, You can reach me by phone at (651) 296-3751, by email at rep.michael.nelson@house.mn, or by sending mail to my office: 585 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155.

Michael Nelson
State Representative
District 40A