MGEC Board Minutes 8.31.26

Attendees:

	Present		Present
President Benton Campbell	X	Director Mitch Kiecker	X
Vice President Corey Mathisen		Director Blake Nelson	X
Past President Forrest Hasty		Director Brandon JB Nelson	X
Treasurer Wes Leksell	X	Director Luke Schuette
Secretary Mike Rude	X	Director Mark Trogstad-Isaacson	X
Director Erik Brenna	X	Director Hunter Vraa
Director John Dalton		Executive Director Tony Kelly	X
Director Jared DeMaster	X	Membership Director Donna Blackwell	X
Director Brian Giauque	X

Others in attendance:

• John Loven, MnDOT

Call to Order (Benton C.)

1. Meeting called to order at 3:33pm.
2. Motion to approve agenda (Mark T-I / Brandon N.)
   • Motion carried.

Secretary’s Report (Mike R.)

1. Motion to approve July Board meeting minutes (Brandon N. / Erik B.)
   • Motion carried.

President’s Report (Benton C.)

1. Thank you to Blake Nelson for his many years of service to MGEC, including 2 terms as President.
2. Noted that the Annual Meeting in September will take the place of the monthly Board meeting.

Executive Director’s Report (Tony K.)

1. Provided an update on 3 MnDOT employees that are on paid administrative leave; 1 since February and 2 since July.
   • Incidents have been investigated and we are working to move MnDOT forward and get the employees back to work.
2. Provided an update on ongoing grievances. There are many recent incidents of MMB re-interpreting contract language regarding hours worked in relation to overtime payment.
3. MMB is reviewing I9 forms for state employees (over 1,000 total).
4. Requested approval to attend a September arbitration conference at a cost of approximately $550. Motion to approve (Mike R. / Mark T-I).
   • Motion carried.
5. Reported on leave balances for Tony and Donna.

Finance Committee (Tony K. & Wes L.)

1. Presented and reviewed present account balances.
2. Presented and discussed profit and loss statement for July.

Insurance Update (Blake N.)

1. Tony and Blake attended insurance coalition meetings last week. Reported that:
   • Health insurance premiums are expected to increase about 13.4% next year.
   • Provider participation in the dental plan is declining due to reimbursement rates.
   • Dental insurance premiums are expected to increase about 3.4% next year.

Membership Committee (Mike R.)

1. Requested that sponsorship opportunities for the upcoming golf tournament are still available.
2. Committee is working to contact all new employees to provide information and encouragement relative to MGEC membership. Encouraged Board members to make contact with new employees in their areas whenever possible.

Membership Director’s Report (Donna B.)

1. Presented and discussed latest membership data.
2. Presented recent additions to membership.
3. Presented breakdown of membership by class.
4. Noted a trend among employees who have previously been in a union being more likely to join MGEC vs. those that have not previously been union members.

Vice President’s Report (Corey M.)

1. Not in attendance. 

Adjournment

1. Motion to adjourn at 4:47 pm (Blake N. / Mark T-I)
   • Motion carried.