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Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
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Minnesota's workers are gaining. Trump and his henchmen could take it all away.
Construction workers in Minneapolis. Union construction workers earn higher wages, and most have health and retirement benefits. They also complete years of apprenticeship training to learn their craft with the highest standards of safety and productivity. Photo by Max Nesterak/Minnesota Reformer. I've been a Minnesota sports fan my whole life, so I know false hope. Every year, at least one of our teams shows signs of championship form, only to see that promise wiped out in some new, heartbreaking fashion. (Thank goodness for the Frost and Lynx.) Unfortunately, I worry Minnesota workers are now in a similarly tenuous position — on the brink of meaningful progress, but susceptible to a sudden loss. That's the conclusion reached in the latest State of Working Minnesota, an annual look at the status of working people in the North Star State. Over the past year, working families have made significant strides, including record-high job numbers and a record-low uninsured rate. But like a Minnesota team on the precipice of glory, there are reasons to worry. Federal policies advanced by the Trump administration, Elon Musk and congressional Republicans could undo years of growth for working Minnesotans. Let's start with the good news. In 2024, Minnesota added more than 40,000 jobs, outpacing gains from the previous year. Construction, education, health services and government jobs led the way —sectors that are vital to both our economy and our communities. The state's unemployment rate remained low, while labor force participation rates stayed high, indicating a relatively large portion of the state is trying to work and finding work. Gains have been particularly strong for certain groups. In a dramatic turnaround, Minnesota now boasts the lowest Black unemployment rate in the Midwest after having the region's highest rate during the Great Recession. Among prime working-age adults (25 to 54), Minnesota has the second-highest labor force participation rate in the nation. At the same time, the North Star State made real headway in tackling economic inequality. In 2024, the gap between high and low earners fell to a 25-year low. We've enjoyed a 56% decline in the share of Minnesota workers earning poverty-level wages over the past ten years. More than half of Latino workers took home wages that put them below the poverty line in 2014, whereas today it is just 16%. One explanation for these gains: Organized labor is showing signs of resurgence in Minnesota. Countering a decades-long decline, union membership jumped nearly 7% in 2024. Women led the way, with unionization among female workers rising 20%. The state's workers are also demonstrating an increased interest in unions. The past two years saw the most union elections in nearly two decades, and these elections had a higher success rate than at any point since 2000. These wins are more than symbolic: Union workers in Minnesota now earn a median wage 20% higher than their non-union peers. Minnesotans are finding family-sustaining jobs, and they are safer while working. In 2024, Minnesota posted the lowest rate of workplace fatalities in the Midwest. Outside of the workplace, our uninsured rate hit a historic low of 4%, the fourth lowest in the nation, and a 52% decline since 2013. A big part of this drop can be attributed to the rising number of Minnesotans getting health coverage through Medical Assistance, which is what we call our Medicaid program. Contrary to the stereotype of this care going to people who are not working, working families have come to increasingly rely on Medical Assistance. To be sure, there are plenty of areas where more work is needed. Minnesota's gender wage gap grew in 2024, with Minnesota women making approximately 81 cents on the male dollar. While the state can claim one of the highest rates of employer-provided health coverage in the country, we also suffer the nation's largest level of racial inequality in this coverage. Ultimately, the gains made for Minnesota's workers indicate a state moving in the right direction, as well as the need for further investments to address these outstanding issues. By contrast, federal policy changes portend a full-scale reversal to benefit the rich at the expense of working Minnesotans. Republican plans to cut Medicaid to partially pay for tax cuts for the wealthy would decimate health care for working people, with particularly strong impacts in communities of color and rural areas. Federal cuts promoted by the richest man in the history of the world have targeted key areas of job growth in Minnesota: education, health, and construction jobs to build a green future. And, the Trump administration has made no secret of its desire to weaken unions, undermining one of the most effective tools workers have for raising wages and protecting benefits. As Minnesota sports fans, we're used to heartbreak we don't control. We can't make the kick go through the uprights or hit the game-winning three. But when it comes to public policy, we're not just spectators. Lawmakers — and the public who hold them accountable — have a real say in what happens next. The progress made by Minnesota workers in 2024 didn't happen by chance; it was the result of deliberate policy choices, robust public investments, and strong labor protections. We may not be able to change the score on the field, but we can still fight for a future where that kind of progress isn't easily undone.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
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Unionized doctors picket outside Allina clinics in first for Minnesota
Unionized physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners picketed in rain and smokey air outside Allina's Coon Rapids clinic on June 3, 2025 in a first for Minnesota. (Photo by Max Nesterak/Minnesota Reformer) Newly unionized doctors, nurse practitioners and physician assistants walked picket lines for the first time in Minnesota outside four Allina clinics on Tuesday, voicing frustration with what they called the 'factory style' of modern medicine. The clinicians voted by a wide margin to unionize with Doctors Council SEIU in October 2023, forming the nation's largest private-sector doctors union with more than 600 members across 60 Allina clinics in Minnesota and Wisconsin. But since then, union leaders say they've made little progress toward finalizing a first labor contract covering wages, benefits and working conditions despite meeting with hospital leaders nearly 40 times. 'We're not seeing Allina come to the table with meaningful proposals,' said Dr. Chris Antolak, a family physician, outside Allina's clinic in Coon Rapids. 'We're here today to picket because we need to prove to Allina that we're standing in strength and solidarity.' The union also organized picket lines, which are not strikes, outside Allina clinics in Maplewood, West St. Paul and Bloomington. The striking image of physicians picketing underscores the turbulent state of American health care, which leaves many patients and now even doctors demanding change. Physicians, as the white collars on their lab coats convey, have not historically seen themselves as workers in need of a union. The consolidation of health care and productivity demands set by faraway bosses, however, has made many feel more like workers pushed to churn through patients on an assembly line rather than masters of their own practices. 'I'm a union kid. My parents were teachers … I never thought I would be union until I realized the power that we have as a single voice,' said Dr. Kara Larson, who's worked as a pediatrician at the Coon Rapids clinic since 1999. 'The union brought us together to advocate for change for our patients.' The clinicians say Allina has proposed cutting compensation by reducing their base salary from the median wage for health care providers nationally to the 25th percentile. They also say the health system, one of the largest in the Upper Midwest with $5.8 billion in revenue in 2024, refused to budge in negotiations over reducing work loads and increasing support staff and sick leave. Addressing safety concerns also remains a sticking point — health care workers are among the most likely to be physically assaulted on the job, which is also animating separate union nurses' negotiations with more than a dozen hospitals including Allina. In a statement, Allina Health said it is negotiating in good faith with the union to seek 'responsible agreements.' 'Allina Health and the union were fully aware they would be charting new territory in creating these first contracts, and it is important to get it right,' the statement said. The two sides have come to tentative agreements over the control of their schedules, creation of a mentorship program and labor management committee, and protections against unfair discipline. Braving rain and willdfire-induced bad air, the physicians at times seemed unfamiliar with picket line practices: A SEIU staff member shouted out instructions on picketing — where to start walking and where to pivot back — before they started. More than once the group seemed to forget to keep moving and came to a standstill, while two people led competing chants at different paces, muddying what's typically a clear call-and-response. But nevertheless, they got their point across. Physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants are sure to become more practiced in blue collar labor demonstrations in the years to come as unionization increases. Just this year, resident physicians at Hennepin Healthcare and the University of Minnesota unionized with SEIU's Committee of Interns and Residents, one of the fastest growing health care unions in the country. More than 130 Allina doctors at Mercy and Unity hospitals voted to unionize in 2023, and last year, more than 400 nurse practitioners, physician assistants and other advanced nursing staff voted to unionize across nine Essentia hospitals and 60 clinics spanning northern Minnesota and Wisconsin. Chris Rubesch, president of the Minnesota Nurses Association, joined the picket line in support of the doctors on Tuesday, signaling a growing alliance between two classes of health care workers not infrequently at odds with each other. 'We have a broken health care system that prioritizes profits … and we need to refocus on our patients,' Rubesch said. 'We are standing with you shoulder to shoulder.'
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
St. Paul walks back rent control
Renters and activists urged the St. Paul City Council not to exempt affordable housing from the city's rent control policy during a public hearing on Aug. 24, 2022. Photo by Max Nesterak/Minnesota Reformer. New — and new-ish — rental properties in St. Paul will no longer be subject to the city's 3% cap on yearly rent increases. The St. Paul City Council, at the behest of Mayor Melvin Carter, voted 4-3 Wednesday to permanently exempt new construction and rentals built after 2004 from the rent control ordinance, which voters approved by ballot measure in 2021. While increased interest rates and slower growth in rents reduced homebuilding across the country in recent years, local developers have pointed the finger at St. Paul's rent control ordinance as a major factor in their reluctance to build in the city. Since the council first implemented the ordinance in 2022, construction has dropped off a cliff in the city; In 2024, 80% fewer housing units were built in St. Paul compared to the previous three-year average, according to a MinnPost analysis. (In Minneapolis, voters gave the city council power to enact rent control in 2021, but the council has not passed a rent control ordinance. Minneapolis had an even steeper falloff in construction in 2024 than St. Paul.) St. Paul's rollback of the ordinance is a bad sign for rent control advocates in Minneapolis, who have pushed the council to implement rent stabilization in recent years. Prior to Wednesday's vote, the St. Paul City Council weakened the rent control ordinance in other ways: In 2022, the council permanently exempted affordable housing developments; gave new construction a 20-year exemption, and instituted 'vacancy decontrol,' which allows landlords to raise rents by more than 3% when a tenant moves out. Landlords could also request permission from the city to raise rents by more than 3% if their expenses rose significantly; St. Paul approved the vast majority of those requests. Minnesota is one of the only Midwestern states without a statewide ban on local rent control ordinances.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
House housing budget includes incentives for zoning reforms
The Minnesota Capitol. Photo by Max Nesterak/Minnesota Reformer. A budget bill passed by the state House housing committee Wednesday would prioritize funding for communities whose rules allow for multifamily housing construction, and don't require certain size, parking or aesthetic requirements for new developments. The bill (HF2445, as amended) instructs the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency to 'prioritize applications for projects located in jurisdictions that have policies conducive to developing residential properties' in its competitive grant and loan programs. The agency would prioritize cities and counties that: Allow multifamily housing in at least 75% of the area zoned for commercial use. Allow duplexes, townhomes or detached apartments in at least 75% of the area zoned for single-family housing, and allowing developers to get permits for those buildings using the same process and standards as single-family homes. Do not require more than one parking stall per unit of housing. Do not require lots to be bigger than one-eighth of an acre. Do not require certain aesthetics, materials or garage sizes. 'This is providing a carrot — not a mandate, but a carrot — to cities to update their own policies in a way that will make it easier to build more homes,' said Rep. Michael Howard, DFL-Richfield, who is co-chair of the House Housing Finance and Policy Committee. The policies prioritized in the budget bill are similar to those backed by housing leaders in both parties, plus religious groups, labor unions and housing developers. Those policy bills passed in both housing committees, but have not yet received hearings in the state and local government committees, where similar legislation died last year after intense opposition from city leaders. Big-picture budget negotiations between the DFL-led Senate and tied House are still ongoing, but both chambers indicated they would like to give the state housing agency a small funding boost, while looking for large cuts elsewhere. The budget bill passed by the housing committee would allocate: $500,000 in one-time funding for a statewide hotline to educate and advise renters. $150,000 to establish a new task force on accessible housing. $20 million in one-time funding — more than double the funding in the current budget — for grants to greater Minnesota cities for the cost of extending sewer, water, streets and other infrastructure. A $30 million one-time boost for the Family Homeless Prevention and Assistance Program, in addition to the program's $10.7 million in ongoing funding. Ongoing funding for existing programs that finance the development of workforce housing, affordable rental housing, manufactured home infrastructure and housing rehabilitation; and programs that provide rental assistance, homeowner education and support to homebuyers.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
St. Paul needs to reform its rent stabilization policy to revive development
An apartment building under construction in St. Paul in February 2020. Photo by Max Nesterak/Minnesota Reformer. In St. Paul, a debate has been brewing about whether the city should update its rent stabilization policies. The city first implemented a strict rent stabilization policy after a 2021 ballot initiative. A year later, the City Council rewrote the ordinance, exempting new buildings for the first 20 years and allowing landlords to raise rents by more than the 3% limit after a tenant leaves. After seeing a large decline in housing production — rent in St. Paul has actually grown slightly faster than in Minneapolis since 2021 — the mayor and some councilmembers are looking to rewrite the ordinance by exempting all buildings built after 2005. Although the explanations behind St. Paul's current economic development struggles are multiple, this is a step in the right direction for the city. There's no denying St. Paul's development downturn over the past few years. Housing markets are complex systems, and this slowdown has multiple causes. Though opinions may vary on which is the biggest factor, there is broad consensus that high interest rates, high construction costs, and rent stabilization are all major contributors to our housing production slowdown. Interest rates are elevated, raising the borrowing costs for developers. COVID-related supply chain shocks led to two years of rapidly rising construction costs. As I've recently argued elsewhere, low rent growth in Minneapolis and St. Paul — which is in many ways a positive outcome — has likely also reduced development in the Twin Cities, because developers want to build in markets with rising rents. Although construction has slowed throughout the Twin Cities metro recently, the municipal and county-level permitting numbers tell a more complicated story. Consider the figure below, which shows multifamily housing permits — specifically, buildings with 5 or more units — in St. Paul, Minneapolis, and the rest of Hennepin and Ramsey Counties. Although development has cooled off from a hot post-COVID period everywhere, development in St. Paul fell faster and earlier than its neighbors, starting just before rent stabilization was passed. Only in 2023 did Minneapolis's development really start to slow. St. Paul City Council candidate Cole Hanson has argued that homelessness and public health challenges are the primary factor discouraging local housing development, citing problems near Allianz Field, where new development has stalled. No doubt, these are important barriers to development, and Hanson is right to focus on humanely assisting St. Paulites forced to sleep on our streets. But can this really explain why housing development has slowed down so much across the city, with developments struggling in Highland Bridge and the West Seventh neighborhood? Hanson also pointed to zoning and permitting. There's no doubt that St. Paul could stand to further improve its zoning laws to encourage more housing and streamline administrative processes for new development. However, this can't explain why there has been a particular slowdown in development recently — especially considering that St. Paul's zoning and land use policies have become increasingly supportive of new housing in recent years, as the city has legalized fourplexes citywide and eliminated minimum parking requirements (I recently covered some anecdotal cases of new development responding to these reforms). Still, for the sake of argument, let's say St. Paul is burdened by red tape and that developers are passing on St. Paul and hopping over to Bloomington or Minneapolis to build more easily. If you buy that argument, then surely rent stabilization is also disadvantaging St. Paul relative to its neighbors, none of whom have rent stabilization. The world is messy, and we will likely never have a study that can precisely isolate the impacts of St. Paul's series of rent stabilization policies. But a consideration of various factors suggests that rent stabilization — particularly in its strongest form — has meaningfully contributed to St. Paul's decline in housing development. A corollary of all this complexity is that making a modest change to rent stabilization will hardly transform the near-term state of housing development. Indeed, it's likely that there will continue to be some development disappointments even if the city permanently exempts new housing from rent stabilization. By their very nature, however, macroeconomic conditions are not forever — while local policymakers cannot change interest rates themselves, they can count on interest rates to change eventually. St. Paul seemed to miss out on much of the last housing development boom. When interest rates eventually fall and developers start building again, will St. Paul miss out again? Fundamentally, cities must balance multiple precarious and often-contradictory goals. These include providing renters with stability, increasing the supply of subsidized affordable housing, building more overall housing supply to keep market pressures in check, and growing the city's tax base to support city services. That's a tough challenge for any city, and it's especially tough for a place like St. Paul as it reels from a host of challenges in recent years. While it's possible for a well-designed rent stabilization policy to be a part of this mix, the current policy has almost certainly certainly depressed development and tax revenue. Proposed reforms of the policy will hardly fix all of St. Paul's challenges, but it's a worthwhile first step. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
