Happy Independence Day!

Dear Neighbors,

The summer is flying by, and it’s hard to believe we are already in the month of July! I wish you and your family a very festive (and safe!) Independence Day holiday weekend.

In this edition:

1)    Keeping Childcare Costs Down: Good News for Hardworking Parents, Childcare Providers

2)    Helpful Road Construction Links

3)    New Laws Take Effect July 1

4)    Don’t Forget! Maple Grove Days, July 9-13

1) Keeping Childcare Costs Down: Good News for Hardworking Parents, Childcare Providers

The forced unionization of childcare providers may not become a reality thanks to a Supreme Court ruling this week.

As you may be well aware, childcare providers have been fighting to maintain their status as independent, small business owners ever since Gov. Dayton entered office in 2011.

First, the governor tried to unionize these childcare owners by executive order. In short, he wanted to make them public/government employees required to pay so-called “fair share” dues to a union. Fair share payments are union dues paid by employees which supposedly cover that portion of the union’s cost in negotiating a union contract for a group of workers. In the Minnesota case, childcare owners filed a legal suit, and Dayton’s order was struck down in court.

In 2013, he used the newly-elected DFL majorities to push childcare unionization through the Legislature. The author of the bill in the House admitted the hugely unpopular bill was passed as political payback to the unions who helped both chambers attain DFL majorities.

One day after the governor signed the new law, childcare owner Jennifer Parrish filed suit against him. (In response to her lawsuit, Gov. Dayton said she and other childcare owners were “throwing their little fits”.)

The case Parrish v. Dayton is still in court, and the ruling hinges largely on precedence set at the federal level in a case that was decided this week, Harris v. Quinn.

In Harris, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that homecare workers in Illinois are not public employees and therefore cannot be compelled to join a public employee union—much like what is happening to childcare owners in our own state. With it now decided, it is very likely the federal courts in Minnesota will rule Minnesota’s unionization law unconstitutional in the case of Parrish v. Dayton.

An overwhelming majority of childcare providers—regardless of political affiliation—disagree with this type of unionization. Many providers from our district contacted me with their opposition. They are not public employees and do not want to be considered as such. Moreover, unionization would force them to raise daycare costs to cover union dues or turn away children in need of care because their parents receive public assistance.

With the annual costs of childcare exceeding the average cost of in-state college tuition and fees, Minnesota families simply cannot afford the additional strain that unionization of daycare providers would impose on their budgets.

This is a win for childcare providers and working parents across the state.

2) Helpful Road Construction Links

The road construction season is ramping up. Below I have listed some helpful links to make sure your summer travels are as safe and quick as possible.

·       Construction listings by highway can be located at www.dot.state.mn.us/roadwork/current.html.

·       MnDOT publishes www.511mn.org with full-feature interactive travel maps, including links compatible with smartphones.

·       Follow @mndottraffic on Twitter for by-the-minute traffic updates.

·       For road closure listings due to recent flooding, visit www.dot.state.mn.us/flood.        

3) New Laws Take Effect July 1

On July 1, many new laws went into effect that were passed during the 2014 legislative session. They are both budget- and policy-related.

Summaries of all laws are available online from non-partisan House Public Information Services. You can access them by clicking here. Another round of laws will take effect August 1.

4) Don’t Forget! Maple Grove Days, July 9-13

After celebrating the Fourth of July, don’t forget to attend Maple Grove Days for a fun-filled weekend. It runs July 9-13 (click here for a listing of events). I’ll be participating in the annual Pierre Bottineau Maple Grove Days Parade. Hope to see you there!

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My door is always open to the needs and priorities of Rogers, Dayton, and Maple Grove. Please feel free to let me know if I can be of assistance to you and your family. I am here to serve you!

Have a wonderful holiday weekend,

Joyce

**Encourage your neighbors and friends to sign up for my email updates at www.house.mn/34A