After reading the headline for the Strib's frontpage profile of Mazeppa House New Republican Steve Drazkowski, Minnesota lawmaker goes from GOP backbencher to leading critic of U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, we thought the topic of Draz might come up in a post.
Sure enough, a kind reader sent us a link to a YouTube created from audio of Monday's Steve Drazkowski and Barb Haley Town Hall at the Red Wing American Legion, sponsored by the local Toastmasters' chapter. It's a remarkable, target-rich environment, but our favorite moment comes when Haley and the Draz condemn new wage theft legislation.
Here's what Drazkowski had to say about that
DRAZKOWSKI: Okay. So I have never heard of the term “wage theft” until this session started. I've been in the legislature 12 years. I was like “well, what changed?” Well, the Democrats that control the House, they were coming in on a very strong socialist movement. The core metro of Minneapolis and St. Paul controlled their caucus last session, the session before, but now this session they have many of those same members and they supersized it and those people came in with an agenda and a vengeance to enact their agenda.
Which, this whole item came...this is a union demand and I agree with exactly what Representative Haley said. If there are places and times when people are being mistreated or maltreated, we need to have, you know, we need to have recourse for them, but this was actually a grab for them and then it was another step.
Remember, socialism is when the state controls the land, the labor, and the capital. This is another step in controlling the labor and dictating to businesses what they have to do. I run a small business in Winona and I can imagine. I do the taxes. I do the ordering. I do the inventory. I do everything. In terms of the books, I can't imagine some of the things they brought and my three part-time employees I have in trying to require all these things and I don't remember all the details, all I remember is this is government taking over Minnesota small businesses and a big fat red. Thank you. . . .
We read Farmington Republican Pat Garofalo's praise for Draz in the Strib (" 'He’s a hard worker, and that gets you a lot of the way there,' he said of his colleague.") doesn't seem to apply on this issue, which began to be subject of bills, beginning in 2015, according to the searchable database of such matters the Office of Revisor of Statutes keeps. Three bills turn up for the 89th session (2015-2016), when the Democrats were in the minority.
In 2015, Iron Ranger Carly Melin, DFL-Hibbing, introduced HF1225, "Wage Theft Protection Act enacted, labor standards modified, data classified, penalties modified, new crime created, and money appropriated."
In 2016, HF1093, introduced by then Minority Leader Paul Thissen, appeared with the following short description: "Working Parents Act established; wage theft protection, paid family leave, and earned sick and safe time provided; fair scheduling required; penalties imposed; reports required; rulemaking authorized; and money appropriated."
Finally, Minneapolis representative Karen Clark introduced HF3846, "Wage theft provisions modified."
The bills died in committee, but searching the database for the 90th Session reveals that the phrase "wage theft" occurring in ten bills.Thissen reintroduced the Working Parents Act, while Tim Mahoney, DFL-St. Paul, picked up the Melin bill.
Obviously, concerns about wage theft weren't a reaction by the DFL to gaining the majority. We think a 2017 post on the Minnesota Department of Human Rights's blog, Rally Against Wage Theft Highlights Workers' Rights, demonstrates that the phrase wasn't confined to proposed bills:
Lt. Governor Tina Smith, joined by several hundred Minnesota workers, spoke at a Rally Against Wage Theft in the State Capitol Rotunda Feb. 15. The rally brought awareness to the issue of wage theft and highlighted the Dayton-Smith Administration’s proposal to strengthen workers’ rights and crack down on non-abiding employers.
“Wage theft is stealing. It’s not how we do business in Minnesota. Yet, it’s all too common — costing Minnesota workers nearly $12 million a year,” said Lt. Governor Tina Smith.
Labor and Industry Commissioner Ken Peterson said the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) takes wage theft very seriously and has worked to recover $4.8 million in back wages for Minnesota workers over the last five years. DLI estimates that last year wage theft impacted more than 39,000 Minnesotans.
This session, Governor Mark Dayton, Lt. Gov. Smith, Sen. Champion, Rep. Mahoney, the Wage Theft Coalition, and others have proposed a series of investments and reforms to ensure Minnesotans are paid for their hard work.
“Minnesotans deserve respect and fair treatment from their employers; if that trust is violated, there must be a course of action to punish them,” said Rep. Tim Mahoney (DFL- Saint Paul). “This legislation will not only protect workers and give them tools to know if they’re victims of wage theft, it will empower our state government to fully investigate these crimes.” . . .
Take Action Minnesota noted in an announcement of the event:
CTUL is leading a coalition of organizations who have collaborated with the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry to present a Wage Theft Initiative in the state legislature. Governor Mark Dayton is also getting behind this initiative after meeting with community and labor groups. The Wage Theft Initiative proposes policy changes to give the Department more enforcement tools and an increased budget to hire four additional wage and hour investigators to do proactive outreach across the state.
Perhaps Draz missed the rally in the rotunda. Perhaps he doesn't follow action in the Senate and missed the Wage Theft Prevention Act Informational Hearing in April.
Perhaps he thinks anything unions do--like trying to make sure workers are paid wages owed to them--is part of some socialist conspiracy. We see this rather differently. In our theological education, Bluestem's editor learned that from Deuteronomy to the Book of James, God don't like ugly when it comes to wage theft. Malachi is just as frowny about it as Karl Marx and other dirty hippies (and oh the company to which those wage thieves are consigned).
We wonder if those in the Wage Theft Coalition tried to contact Drazkowski about the Wage Theft Initiative. Do those emails and phone records still exist?
Here's the Youtube of the moment in Red Wing:
Photo: Steve Drazkowski talking to a bunch of chairs about Congresswoman Omar at a recent Redwood County Republican BPOU fundraiser in Wabasso. Via Facebook.
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