The ABCs of Sowing Distrust

The Minneapolis City Council continues to demonstrate the kind of arrogance that has pushed the entire country to the right

On November 6^th, the long-awaited details for a Minneapolis Labor Standards Board were passed by the Public Health & Safety Committee. Aye votes came from Council Members (CMs) Jason Chavez, Robin Wonsley, Elliot Payne, and Jeremiah Ellison. Nay votes included Michael Rainville and Linea Palmisano. Non-voting supporters in attendance were Katie Cashman, Aisha Chughtai and Aurin Chowdhury.

If you haven’t heard of this board, it isn’t surprising. Despite claims of extensive community feedback, the details of the resolution were only disclosed during the committee meeting. It appears their red pens were busy until the night before, as the original proposal was amended prior to the meeting. The plan is to pass this new layer of regulatory oversight this year, possibly as soon as the November 14 city council meeting. The rush to secure approval is notable, given how long the resolution has been in development. It seems likely that council members hope this move will garner support from the Democratic Socialist of America (DSA), union endorsements, and assistance from various nonprofits for their re-election campaigns.

In summary, the board—often called a “table” —is intended to bring together workers, employers, and community stakeholders from specific sectors, such as construction, childcare, or restaurants, to discuss grievances in a safe, collaborative environment and ultimately present policy recommendations to the city council. Funding for this initiative was not specified, but it will be under the Civil Rights department. The resolution mentioned only a single full-time employee with a salary of $1 as the budget impact.

The Political Bureaucracy

A follow-up story will delve into the specifics of this board. We are also working to organize a roundtable discussion with impacted business owners. If successful, we will record the discussion as a podcast and share it with our mailing list.

This story focuses on the political maneuvering used to pass the resolution and how it undermines trust in government. The committee decided that public feedback was not required. An analogy can help illustrate why this approach is problematic:

Imagine you buy a new shirt and leave it in a drawer for three weeks. When you finally try it on, you realize it doesn’t fit. You take it back to the store.

“I’d like to return this shirt,” you tell the clerk.

“I’m sorry, our return policy is 14 days, and you bought this shirt 21 days ago,” the clerk replies.

“But I haven’t worn it,” you insist.

“That’s unfortunate, but our policy is 14 days,” they respond.

“Can I speak to a manager? This policy shouldn’t apply,” you ask.

The manager comes to the counter, and you explain your case. The manager smiles and says, “There’s really nothing I can do. The policy is 14 days. You’re welcome to fill out a comment card and drop it in the comment box.”

That’s essentially what CM Palmisano was told when she requested a delay to the proposal to allow for community feedback. The Appointed Boards and Commissions (ABC) policy, written by the council, states that public comment is not required to create a new board. If this were an ordinance proposal, public feedback would be mandatory; however, since this board is being established as part of a resolution, it is not required.

There is, however, inconsistency in how this policy is applied. When the proposal is something they believe the community will support and it aligns with their views, they allow feedback, as seen with the HERC incinerator resolution. More recently, they made time for those calling for the resignation of Police Chief O’Hara. On the other hand, when community feedback contradicts their desired course of action—as with the proposal to use 3000 Minnehaha as an Election Voter Services center—they question how the survey was conducted and attempt to discredit the data.

We have observed this pattern with numerous proposals. The homeless respite centers are another example where community feedback and questions from other council members were disregarded. To help residents set expectations when providing feedback to the council, we created the chart below.

This chart illustrates the weight different groups are given by the current council members, who proudly promote their DSA and union endorsements.

Comment Box

You may agree with this weighting. Perhaps the priorities of these groups align with your own. Regardless, this is how the council operates. They set policies and follow them when it is politically expedient for their goals.

Council President Payne explained this process at 1 hour and 56 minutes into the meeting:

“I mean, right now, the current status quo is a room full of people with red shirts and blue shirts can come in, and whoever has the most shirts, the most voice, or the most money, can get the most time with the council member and lobby to get their policy prioritized, and we can give notice. That’s our legislative process. That’s how government works. You can come, and you can lobby us, and we can think your ideas are wonderful and run with them. You can donate to our campaigns, and we can still think your ideas are wonderful and run with them.”

The City of Minneapolis will establish a Labor Standards Board. Council members will choose the sectors in which to involve themselves, guided by a set of rules that only certain members understand or know. As with many of their decisions, this move will alienate a significant portion of residents. They will push it through by the end of the year, and whether the mayor vetoes it or small business owners protest, they have the votes to get it done. In essence, don’t bother trying to return that shirt—the comment you leave in the box is wasted ink.