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A spirited crowd of nearly 200 AFSCME members who work for Hennepin County rallied and marched at the Hennepin County Government Center Thursday, calling for fair wages, respect on the job, and an increase in staffing levels. Six AFSCME locals are currently in contract negotiations with Hennepin County.
AFSCME members rallied outdoors on the Hennepin County Government Center plaza, where several speakers highlighted the issues facing county workers on the job and outlined the issues in the current contract negotiations.
“The county knows that respect and dignity in the workplace is a problem,” said Sam Gutierrez, a clerical worker and member of AFSCME Local 2822 who works at the Hennepin County Government Center. He added: “We’re tired of bad bosses… Bad bosses have got to go.”
One issue in contract negotiations: the six AFSCME locals bargaining with Hennepin County have a proposal calling for a $15 per hour minimum wage for all county workers.
“There are 10 job classifications in Local 2822 currently making less than $15 per hour,” reported Lynn Stetler, president of AFSCME Local 2822. “Can you imagine your starting wage at $12.82? That isn’t a living wage — not even close.”
The county’s three-year proposal includes a wage increase of one percent for workers at the top of the pay scale and .75 percent for workers not in the top scale.
AFSCME is seeking a two-year agreement with a five percent increase each year, to make up for wage freezes in recent years. Compared to surrounding counties, “Hennepin County is the lowest paid in the metro area for a majority of our job classes,” said Jean Diederich, president of AFSCME Local 34.
AFSCME also wants the county to better serve the public by increasing staffing levels. “We cannot serve the clients if we’re overstretched,” said Brittany Bullock, an AFSCME Local 34 member who works as a human services representative at the Hennepin County’s North Hub. “Our caseloads are unattainable.”
Bullock said of county administration: “They need to show us we are important… just like our clients — we help and build them — they need to help and build us.”
Eliot Seide, executive director of AFSCME Council 5, addressed the rally. “Everyone we represent does important work that serves the county,” he said. “They’ve got the money — it’s time they pay us.”
“This notion that we can do more with less is baloney,” Seide said, calling on the county to increase staffing levels.
One of the Hennepin County workers attending the rally was Basra Issa, a member of AFSCME Local 34. Issa, Maple Grove, works in child support. “I’m only making $20 per hour after almost 10 years,” she said, adding that she is a single mom with a son and “a mortgage and everything to pay.”
Following the rally, AFSCME members marched around the two blocks of the Hennepin County Government Center, then entered the building. They briefly circled the fountain inside the Hennepin County Government Center, while their chanting echoed loudly in the atrium: “One percent, won’t pay the rent!”
View more photos of the rally on the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation’s Facebook page.