49ers, Other Labor and Progressive Coalition Call on Pawlenty

Politcal Director Adam Duininck

Local 49 and a coalition of labor and progressive voices are urging Governor Pawlenty to stop being so stubborn and start working with elected officials in the opposite party to develop the best possible solution for Minnesota’s budget short fall.

“Governor Pawlenty needs to put away his veto pen, consider some of the ideas already on the table, and help legislators write a better future for Minnesota,” said Local 49 Operating Engineer Dustin Loosbrock.

Loosbrock has been a key voice featured in an ongoing series of ads during the governor’s radio show aimed at telling a broader story of what’s happening at the Capitol to create jobs, provide health care, strengthen public schools and invest in our future.

“In my job and with my family and friends, I’ve learned that you need to work with people to get stuff done, a skill Governor Pawlenty just doesn’t seem to grasp,” said Laborers Union member Frank Loeffler, this week’s middle-class Minnesotan featured in the ad series.

“The governor just doesn’t get it. He refuses to even work on many of the proposals made by elected officials in the opposing party to close the budget gap.”

The International Union of Operating Engineers Local 49, SEIU Minnesota State Council, the Laborers District Council of Minnesota and North Dakota, and Alliance for a Better Minnesota are sharing the costs of the 30-second radio ads which run during the governor’s hour-long Friday show on WCCO. Each ad features middle-class Minnesotans talking about the way the governor’s policies affect them and their families. Listeners are urged to contact Governor Pawlenty with questions and comments about his policies.

Longer podcasts and more information about the issues raised in the ads will be found at  allianceminnesota.org. You can learn more about the other organizations in the coalition at the following websites: SEIU http://www.seiumn.org/ and Laborers Union http://www.minnesotalaborers.org/.