2025 Delegate Assembly features six new breakouts, five passed resolutions

At Delegate Assembly last weekend, MAPE members voted on a new budget, legislative priorities and five resolutions. They also learned from fellow members during six breakout sessions and cheered others honored with MAPE’s annual awards. 

More than 150 delegates and alternates spent the last weekend of summer at Delegate Assembly (DA) 2025 doing the work of our union. “Even if we didn’t all agree on everything, we ended up making the decisions we needed to make with respect for each other,” said Statewide Vice President Angie Halseth, who chaired the DA meeting.  

Since the 2024 Delegate Assembly, MAPE has further stabilized its financial situation and is positioned to continue building our union power. We know our power lies in our people, resources and ideas. Therefore, we must continue to grow our collective solidarity, member leader skills and tools. The 2026 budget will continue to invest in strengthening locals, membership recruitment and engagement, strategic training for member leaders, information technology modernization, collaboration with other community partners and labor organizations, and reinvesting regularly in the Crisis Fund so we will be more strike ready for our next contract negotiations in 2027.

MAPE is also building a mutual aid network as a voluntary system where MAPE members can build reciprocal relationships and practice contributing and requesting supports, including skills, resources, and services. Mutual aid networks empower people and prioritize solidarity over charity to address social, economic, and political challenges. “The more relationships you have with others, the more strength you have to support each other in times of crisis. We will be more poised for a more powerful strike, a longer strike if we are connected to each other. Mutual aid is reciprocity – our relationships with other people and unions is priceless,” Region 10 Director Jackie Blagsvedt, also a member of the Finance Workgroup, said. 

The time and attention we put into 2026 will directly impact our stance as we prepare for the 2027 negotiations. 2026 is an important election year for the Minnesota Senate, House and key constitutional and municipal elections.  

Delegates also voted to approve the 2026 legislative priorities developed by the Political Council. The priorities support respectful treatment and sustainable resources for all state employees, as well as a working-class, people-centered agenda, ensuring equal opportunities for all. The Political Council is also asking all members to attend caucuses, regardless of party, to share the importance of a working-people’s agenda and supporting state workers. This includes strengthening PELRA, fully funding state agencies, opposing privatization and supporting paid leave for all and progressive taxation on the wealthy and corporations. A full summary of the Legislative Agenda is available on the Political Council webpage. 

Delegates debated, amended and voted on four resolutions originally scheduled for the assembly:   

Individual and Group Meals Allowed for Hybrid Lunch  

• This resolution would allow members to claim a reimbursement for an individual meal, if approved by the relevant governing entity, even if they are attending a meeting remotely and their in-person colleagues participate in a group order. 

Locals Providing Out of State Travel   

• This resolution would allow locals to pay for out-of-state travel for members, which is currently not allowed in MAPE’s financial policies.  

Stipends Increased and Expanded  

• This resolution would 1) increase the maximum stipend cap and 2) expand stipends to those beyond local officers.  

Fixing the Date of Delegate Assembly Submissions.  

• This resolution adjusts the deadline for resolutions and proposals to be submitted for consideration for Delegate Assembly.  

Delegates also voted to add a fifth resolution, In Defense of Immigrant Rights. 

• This resolution would call upon MAPE to protect the well-being of immigrants in our workplace and communities.  

When the resolutions have been updated, they may be found here. 

On Sept. 19, delegates were able to participate in two of six training opportunities so members would be able to leave with new skills, knowledge and energy. The breakout sessions included:     

• Revenue Education by Eric Harris Bernstein, We Make Minnesota  

• Caucus Training by John Ferrara and Nicole Juan, Political Council Chair  

• Restructure by Michael Diedrich  

• Labor History by Russell Raczkowski  

• Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST) by Maureen Dunaway  

• Union Power Project by Andrew Ulasich  

Materials from the breakout sessions will be available here by the end of the week. 

Local 2001’s John Ferrara and James Dirth led one of the Caucus Training sessions. “Minnesota is pretty unique in that we still have a caucus structure – most other states are straight up primaries. Minnesota’s caucus structure allows MAPE to punch up outside its weight,” Ferrara said.  

Ferrara said the Political Council has tried to launch similar programs in the past. “Leading into the 2024 elections, members weren’t that interested in caucusing because they weren’t that excited about the candidates. We want to give our members a chance of having a say in getting candidates on the ballot they’re excited about. We want to reverse the power dynamic so that candidates have to support our issues to get our support,” Ferrara said.  

The Political Council, of which Ferrara is a member and former chair, has a goal of getting 3,000 MAPE members to caucuses. “Caucusing gives us real power. We’ve got some good teams built for Lobby Day and we want to build on that energy. We are relaunching the Civic Engagement Officer (CEO) program to help coordinate this at the local level.  We don’t want anyone to feel unsupported,” he added.  

The make-up training for Civic Engagement Officers will be Sept. 30. 

Any MAPE member interested in helping to help build local political power by organizing participation in precinct caucuses, party conventions and advancing a Working People’s Agenda that reflects our shared goals should contact Political Council Chair Nicole Juan at njuan@mape.org. Minnesota’s next political caucus is Feb. 3, 2026.  

Delegates learned about other exciting new projects also underway at MAPE. 

On Oct. 10, MAPE’s Union Power Project is launching the MAPE Leadership Academy, an organizing infrastructure and training program to equip members to build power in our locals. Register here. 

In the next newsletter, we’ll introduce you to the MAPE members who were awarded the union’s annual awards at Delegate Assembly, and you’ll learn which locals were honored by the Organizing and Political Councils.