Downey: 'We Don't Have Any Interest in Taking on Unions'

In the wake of the recent kerfuffle regarding collective bargaining rights in Wisconsin, one Edina legislator says he doesn't foresee anything similar happening in Minnesota.

State Rep. Keith Downey (R-Edina) admits that Minnesota is actually worse-off in financial terms—Wisconsin has a $3 billion deficit to plug, while Minnesota has $5 billion—but said he doesn't get the sense anyone in the Legislature has an interest in "taking on unions."

While the financial woes might be similar, the political landscape is quite different. With Gov. Mark Dayton (DFL) in office, Downey said there is no way something similar could take place in Minnesota.

"Let's be honest, we have a Democratic Governor who was largely elected through the funding of unions," Downey said. "Gov. Dayton is simply not going to be receptive to something like that."

Downey said Republican legislators are instead focused on closing the budget gap by making changes to pension, healthcare and benefits at the state level to address "the huge disconnect between public and private sector jobs."

By equalizing public sector jobs with those in the private sector, Downey said they should be able to put the state on a sustainable cost structure for the future without punishing anybody.

"I think there's still a legitimate discussion to be had about the role of unions in the public sector," Downey said. "For me personally, this is all about just structuring that we're doing at the state to be successful in the future."

Downey said he does not anticipate the sort of "huge political battle" taking place across the Mississippi, but at the same time acknowledged some of the things Republican legislators are proposing are causing a tensions in their own right.

"We've encountered some serious blowback from people who are committed to the status quo or have benefitted from it in the past," he said. "I think we have a really easy-to-document case, where average people will look at it and say these are the moves we have to make."

Here’s a rundown of other bills authored or co-authored by your legislators this past week:

Rep. Keith Downey (R-Edina):

• Authored a bill empowering parents to request that a school district intervene in a persistently low performing school. HF1053, introduced March 14.

• Authored a bill creating education boards and allowing school boards to reorganize as education boards. HF1069, introduced March 14.

• Co-authored a bill requiring the commissioner of human services to issue a request for proposals for a public assistance fraud detection and business intelligence contract. HF1116, introduced March 14.

• Co-authored a bill repealing sales and use tax on ring tones. HF1120, introduced March 14.

• Authored a bill modifying resale ticket purchase provisions. HF1169, introduced March 16.

Sen. Geoff Michel (R-Edina): 

• Co-authored a bill appropriating $2,470,250 in fiscal year 2012 and $2,175,050 in fiscal year 2013 from the arts and cultural heritage fund to the Minnesota Zoological Board for programs and projects that preserve or promote Minnesota's history and cultural heritage. SF0763, introduced March 14.

• Authored a bill modifying state budget forecast delivery dates. SF0819, introduced March 16.

• Co-authored a bill expanding the types of documents upon which a donor can make an anatomical gift. SF0830, introduced March 16.

• Co-authored a bill establishing a work group to study sustainable programs to increase organ donation. SF0831, introduced March 16.

• Authored a bill appropriating money for jobs, economic development and housing. SF0887, introduced March 17.

• Co-authored a bill providing for the coordination of early childhood services and programs to achieve full kindergarten readiness for all Minnesota children by 2020. SF0901, introduced March 17.

Rep. Pat Mazorol (R-Bloomington):

• Co-authored a bill providing a new law governing student record and data use related to higher education. HF1130, introduced March 14.