At its April meeting, the MGEC board voted to appoint me as the Executive Director for the organization, having served in an interim capacity for the last 12 months.
For those who don’t know me, I’ve been involved with public sector union representation since 2013. In my last role I was a business manager for a union that represents about 1000 public works employees throughout the metro area; those members worked for nine different public employers under eleven different contracts. Prior to that, I worked in the Minneapolis Parks system for a decade. The common thread of each of my roles is serving people – especially those who are working in or benefitting from the intersection of the built and natural environments. In other words, public infrastructure!
We have challenges ahead. The cost-of-living increases in our last contract have again fallen short of inflation. Healthcare promises to dominate next year’s bargaining because the market fundamentals continue to move in the wrong direction –healthcare usage has increased more than assumed, costs of every area of care are spiking far more than expected, and access to care is complicated by clinic closures and acquisitions. Aside from healthcare, funding streams from our federal partners are unpredictable for certain agencies. We also face challenges in the day-to-day execution of our contract with state agencies that constantly test our willingness to defend what we already bargained for. And we will have a different governor next bargaining cycle – but we will advocate for our membership no matter who sits across from us at the bargaining table.
But, working together, we will continue to defend our contract and our organization. We will continue to use data to press the employer to do more, and we will work in collaboration with other bargaining units to advance our interests and not let the state drive wedges between our groups.
I am deeply impressed by the people of MGEC. The passion our members have for improving the public infrastructure that Minnesotans rely on is inspiring. That demand for excellence carries to our Board of Directors who expect an accountable and effective organization. To our dues-paying members, THANK YOU for your continued support. Let’s answer the challenges and keep our success going!