Minneapolis City Council changes course on Labor Standards Board, sustaining Frey’s veto

When the Minneapolis City Council passed its resolution to create a city Labor Standards Board, the motion passed in a 9-3 vote, a council supermajority. When Mayor Jacob Frey vetoed this resolution, proponents of the board as currently outlined in the council-passed resolution needed this supermajority to hold in an override vote.  

But at the council’s regular meeting this week, council members Jamal Osman and Andrea Jenkins changed course, sustaining the mayor’s veto. These council members joined Michael Rainville, LaTrisha Vetaw and Linea Palmisano in their opposition to the resolution. 

Shortly after the council vote that sustained the mayor’s veto, Osman released a statement about his changed vote. 

“While I initially voted for the Labor Standards Board, I expressed concern over the limited opportunities for residents of Ward 6 and the East African community to engage in the process and learn about what was proposed,” Osman wrote. 

The lack of a formal public comment period for the final Labor Standards Board resolution was a major point of contention leading up to the council’s initial vote on creating the board. 

“By sustaining the veto, I’m not only amplifying community voices; I am both pro-worker and pro-small business,” Osman wrote. “In the pursuit of a fair and balanced Labor Standards Board, I am supporting a public comment for community members to come and let us know how you want to be reflected in this resolution. I invite my colleagues to open your minds and open your hearts.”

Jenkins could not be reached for comment Friday morning, but her staff said she would address her changed vote in her weekly email newsletter later in the day.

The veto by Frey was not an outright “no” to a city Labor Standards Board. But the mayor also wants the makeup of the board to differ from the language passed by the council in its now-vetoed resolution. Rather than the council appointing 12 board members and the mayor appointing three, the mayor wanted to see 50/50 split between appointments. He has also said he would like to see a 50/50 split between employees and employers and require a supermajority consensus before bringing recommendations to council. He also has urged the council to hold a public hearing on the issue. 

In a statement made after his veto was sustained, which was read during the meeting by council member Linea Palmisano, the mayor said he looked forward to revisiting the issue in January.  

“The conversation does not end here. As I’ve said from the beginning, I support a balanced proposal, and I see a clear opportunity to get back to the table to bring both business and labor together and to get this done right,” Frey said in his statement. “We have a great opportunity for unity in this workgroup, and I suggest we take it.”

But council member Aurin Chowdhury said she is worried workers who saw council’s Thursday action will feel “demoralized” after years of conversation about labor standards, stating she could see them no longer wanting to participate in what the board could become. 

“I have looked at what the mayor has proposed, and I want to state that giving 50% of the seats to the business representative group and 50% of the seats to worker representatives and workers – then to say a two-thirds majority is required in order for a recommendation to move forward – is a veto essentially given to business representatives,” Chowdhury said. “Worker voices, I am afraid to say, will be stomped out and there will not be a recommendation to come before this body after robust conversations.”

Winter Keefer

Winter Keefer is MinnPost’s Metro reporter. Follow her on Twitter or email her at wkeefer@minnpost.com.

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