Torrey Westrom

This week Governor Dayton's demand for an election to unionize in-home child care providers met legal resistance by the courts. Ramsey County Judge Lindman agreed with the plaintiffs, the child care providers, that this is an issue for the legislature, and that those elected to make laws in this state should be the ones to decide if this is to move forward. The court sided with the plaintiff's and granted a temporary restraining order - stopping the upcoming election this December that was being rammed through.

There is little to suggest that forming a union for child care providers will increase the quality or supply of child care, but there is significant evidence suggesting it will greatly increase costs for providers and parents. Child care providers are already represented by the Minnesota Licensed Family Child Care Association. Forming a union through SEIU or AFSCME may be an expensive and unpopular way to solve a non-existent problem.

Small businesses drive the Minnesota economy. There are far too many unanswered questions from the unions who are pushing this effort to support it. At three legislative hearings, the unions were unable or simply refused to provide details on how the union would work, and what impact it would have on childcare providers and the parents who entrust them to care for their children. This lack of explanation may explain why, in a recent KSTP poll, 80% of respondents agreed that unionizing providers is a bad idea.

Additional hearings will take place, including one on January 16th. More details will come then. In the meantime we will continue to focus on our small businesses and giving our job creators the tools they need to be successful.

Sincerely,

Torrey Westrom