Platform

Public sector unions across the country are facing unprecedented attacks. Union membership rates in the US are lower than ever, despite all-time high approval ratings. MAPE itself has not authorized a strike in over two decades. “Strikes are the labor movement's muscle, and when unions don't strike, that muscle atrophies.” 

Our lack of organization has translated into weakness at the bargaining table, as we compete for scraps from the state budget. Our employer is funneling our tax dollars into office space in downtown St. Paul, money that could be used to raise our pay and avert layoffs. Meanwhile, wealthy Minnesotans and corporations receive tax cuts as they finance the campaigns of many politicians in both parties.

A new statewide Secretary for MAPE cannot reverse these disastrous trends alone. What we need is a movement of workers across Minnesota to build power in our state and in our workplaces. If elected statewide Secretary, I promise to do everything I can to empower every member of MAPE to take action and make life-altering improvements for themselves and their coworkers. We need a union for all of us, together.

The heart of our union's democracy is the Delegate Assembly (DA), the highest governing body of MAPE. Any rank-and-file MAPE member may run to become Delegate, and can propose policies to improve our union. Under MAPE's bylaws, the statewide Secretary is the person most responsible for seeing to it that resolutions from DA are followed through and implemented, a role I take seriously. 

 I am proud to have helped lead several organizing efforts to pass resolutions at DA over the past two years, including resolutions which: 

• guarantee MAPE's support and protection of our immigrant members;

• support moving our pension contributions and dues away from financial assets that violate human rights and international law; and,

• expand the calendar window for members to submit resolutions to DA.

I oppose any and all policies and rules which deny MAPE members their right to have their resolutions considered at DA. I will work with local leaders to build a robust local presence at DA each year. I will urge the re-institution of a DA planning committee to shift work away from the already overburdened Executive Committee. I will support improved trainings and templates to help members run to become a Delegate and write resolutions. I will publish the "Book of Resolutions" for which the statewide Secretary is responsible. My goal in running for Secretary is not to see my own views enforced on our union, but to make space for every MAPE member to have their voice heard.

I have the honor of serving MAPE as a Leader of the Contract Action Team (LCAT) for region 4. In this capacity, I built the largest team of CAT volunteers among any local in the state. I was also proud that local 401 had the highest turnout among locals for Lobby Day in March. This is not a coincidence, but a reflection of the intentional efforts my fellow organizers and I took to build leadership capacity. We led trainings on "structured organizing conversations" and strike trainings to teach our members how to talk to their co-workers about the contract campaign. Region 4's CAT also spearheaded efforts to turn out for our work-in at the Stassen building, where our members confronted the Revenue commissioner and organized over 100 strike commitments in a single day. These successes averted the worst potential outcomes from our Employer's efforts to impose an austerity contract on MAPE. 

Despite this work, we did not do enough. MAPE's contract organizing has lacked a compelling vision of a better life for state workers. If our union were sufficiently organized and militant, we could win real advancements like an automatic cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), fully-staffed state agencies, affordable child care, or even a 32-hour workweek. But we can't win these policies without action from every corner of MAPE.

If elected, I will lead efforts to supply CAT organizers with the training, resources and support they need to create the kind of fighting union that we all need. I will work with existing local leaders to build capacity and bring more people into the process. I will improve coordination in agencies which are currently divided across multiple locals and regions. I will work with locals and the burgeoning mutual aid movement in MAPE to build systems of care which provide every state worker the confidence they need to commit to strike when necessary. I can commit to these promises because I have the experience and dedication to see them realized.

MAPE Local 401 members at the 2025 Push Week rally to save our healthcare.

MAPE workers do not live or work in a vacuum. We are all impacted by the decisions of policy-makers in Minnesota and nationally. State and federal budget cuts flow down to us, as vital positions are left vacant, state workers are asked to do more with less, and layoffs jeopardize our careers. Our goals cannot be limited to triage when disaster unfolds. We need to be proactive: organizing our members to effect political change at all levels and developing alliances with other labor unions and community groups. I am proud to have representated MAPE at the first-ever public worker summit in Minnesota, alongside members from AFSCME and MMA. 

I am pleased to see the initiation of a statewide Civic Engagement Officer project, and I support recruiting our members to attend party caucuses in February. But this will not be enough. We must do intentional work to see that member engagement does not begin on caucus day and end on Lobby Day. This means using these campaigns to develop lasting leadership structures in every legislative district and community in Minnesota. It also means strategically analyzing which politicians oppose our legislative priorities, driving engagement in those districts specifically, and recruiting credible challengers to replace anti-labor politicians with pro-worker leaders.

MAPE has also too frequently abdicated the fight against draconian federal policies, preferring to support our members facing layoffs only after the worst of the damage is already done. I have been disappointed to see MAPE leadership fail to name and challenge the "Big Beautiful Bill," which cut Medicaid, the single largest source of federal funds in Minnesota's budget. Unless drastic action is taken, a truly colossal number of state jobs will face elimination over the next two years. We need leaders who have the vision to make sure our union exercises its strength both at the bargaining table and the ballot box. 

MAPE rallies at the Minneapolis Federation of Educators info picket on October 28.