MINNEAPOLIS — A week after the Minneapolis City Council passed a measure that sought to create a board to give workers more of a voice in crafting policies, the city's mayor has vetoed the resolution, saying the council needs to go back and "pass a board that is balanced."
The Labor Standards Board would include members of labor unions, businesses, and consumer groups, who would have been tasked with crafting policy proposals that would need to be approved by the city council before becoming law.
The city council vote came after two years of discussions with constituents and stakeholders, Council Member Aisha Chughtai told KARE 11. Chughtai said it would allow the city to not just believe in economic justice "in theory, but we also fight for it in practice."
The council passed the proposal on a 9 to 3 vote, with one member absent. That is considered a veto-proof majority if all nine members stick to their current stances.
The proposal was opposed by the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce, Minneapolis Downtown Council, and Hospitality Minnesota. Additionally, nearly 400 business owners sent a letter to the mayor opposing the proposed board.
"We’re not feeling very comfortable that this is truly going to be a balanced board, to pass it without so much of hearing from the businesses this will impact, does not give us a lot of hope that we’re going to have a fair seat at that table," Angie Whitcomb of Hospitality Minnesota told reporters last week.
On Thursday Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey vetoed the measure, saying in a press release the proposed board was not "fair and balanced" and that it needed to be more equitable to "benefit both workers and employees."
“If we want this Labor Standards Board to work, business participation isn’t just important, it’s essential. Under the Council’s proposal, business participation is negligible– and everyone knows that’s not going to work,” said Mayor Jacob Frey in a statement. “Council must pass a board that is balanced and inspires collaboration from both labor and business.”
Frey sent a letter to the city council suggesting a 50/50 split between employees and employers on the board, balanced appointments by the mayor and city council, and a requirement that there must be a supermajority consensus on recommendations before they are presented to the city council.
