Press releases

Statement of Jim Monroe,
Executive Director of the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees
On the February Budget Forecast

For more coverage of the budget forecast, please go here:

For Immediate Release                              Contact: Leslie Sandberg (651) 746-9767

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

MAPE’s Executive Director Jim Monroe's Statement on Governor Dayton’s State of the State Address

“Governor Dayton’s State of the State Address reminds all of us what Minnesotans really want – good paying jobs, an excellent education system, and a government that efficiently provides important state services to its citizens. 

State Sen. Dave Thompson (upper right photo) and Rep. Steve Drazkowski (lower right photo) held a press conference Thursday to publicize an anti-middle class amendment that would force union workers to pay for their non-union co-workers’ representation. MAPE's statement is below.

The Minnesota AFL-CIO's statement is here: Anti-Middle Class “Right to Work” Amendment Bad for Working Minnesotans, Bad for Business (PDF)

For Immediate Release                   Contact: Leslie Sandberg (651) 746-9767

Monday, August 22, 2011  

The Minnesota Association of Professional Employees will Oppose Constitutional Marriage Amendment

On Friday, August 19, 2011, the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees’ (MAPE) Board of Directors unanimously voted to oppose the 2010 constitutional amendment banning marriage equality.  The vote formalizes MAPE’s long standing support of equal rights for the LGBT community. 

Statement of Jim Monroe
Executive Director of
The Minnesota Association of Professional Employees
On Getting State Employees Back to Work

“As the shutdown ends, we are pleased that laid-off state employees will return to work.  Our members take great pride in working for Minnesota and we are relieved that they will once again work for this great state.  During the shutdown, Minnesotans saw the harmful effects of cutting state services and realized the important place government services, performed by public employees, have in creating a good quality of life for the people of this state.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 29, 2011                                                    

CONTACTS: Jennifer Munt, 651-357-8544 / Leslie Sandberg, 651-746-9767

STATE EMPLOYEES APPROVE SHUTDOWN AGREEMENT

Below is a letter sent from MAPE Executive Director Jim  Monroe to Representative Tom Hackbarth in response to an email to a MAPE member. In the email Hackbarth insinuated that unions are akin to Adolph Hitler and Fidel Castro.

June 13, 2011

Representative Tom Hackbarth
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, Minnesota  55155

Dear Representative Hackbarth,

I received a copy of an email that you sent to one of my members, Robin Seifert, in regards to her membership in the union I represent.  While I appreciate your willingness to respond to your constituents, I am deeply troubled about what you wrote and ask you to shed light onto linking a public employee union with the rise of Adolph Hitler and murderous armies of Fidel Castro.

I would appreciate you clarifying your statement to our member on June 9, 2011, at 10:14 pm:

Switching the state’s pension system from a defined benefit plan to a defined contribution plan (401K) is a bad idea. A new study (“Retirement Design Study”) released Friday, April 1, confirms that. 

“This pension study confirms what we already knew,” said MAPE Executive Director Jim Monroe. “We already have a sound pension system.”

Monroe pointed out, “There is no need for state employees to risk their pensions on the greed of Wall Street by converting to a defined contribution plan. Our state pension system is healthy, and it provides a much better future for our retirees and at a much lower cost to the taxpayers than other options. Any other option is a risky venture our retirees and the taxpayers of this state cannot afford."

On Wednesday, state Senator David Hann introduced a bill that would shift all of the costs for healthcare coverage onto the backs of public employee. This is a harsh financial burden during tough economic times, a burden that might very well push our members - hard-working, dedicated middle class Minnesotans - into bankruptcy.

Click here to contact your legislators about this bill right now! http://action.teammape.org/stop805

Below is MAPE's statement to the media:

MAPE: Hann Attack on Public Employee Healthcare Compensation will
Push Public Employees toward Bankruptcy
 

Governor Mark Dayton released a budget on Tuesday that is "a fair, responsible budget to fix the 'horrendous fiscal mess' left by the Pawlenty Administration," said MAPE Executive Director Jim Monroe. "Governor Dayton’s budget is a fair and evenhanded approach that protects vital services and moves Minnesota toward thoughtful reform."

To read the rest of MAPE's statement and the press release from Governor Dayton's office, please see below: