Human Rights Department members reform Meet and Confer Committee Seven MDHR employees to begin meeting formally for the first time in over six years

After more than six years without an active committee, MAPE members at the Minnesota Department of Human Rights (MDHR) are rebuilding an important avenue for workplace advocacy.

The MDHR Meet and Confer Committee has been reformed, bringing together seven members who will work to strengthen communication between employees and department leadership while giving MAPE members a stronger voice in workplace issues. The reformed committee includes Speaker Brielle Bernardy, Elise Chambers, Kate Ingersoll, Em Pechous, Christine Patino, Carlos Peralta-Diaz and Elizabeth Lacy.

The committee last met in July 2020. Its return comes at an important time as MAPE members across state agencies prepare for the next round of contract negotiations with the state.

Meet and Confers play an important role in that process. They give members at individual agencies an opportunity to identify workplace concerns, discuss issues affecting their agency and build relationships with management. Just as importantly, they create a structure for members to work together and elevate issues that could inform broader discussions during contract negotiations.

At MDHR, the newly reformed committee is taking that collaborative approach a step further by working alongside AFSCME members at the agency.

“Our organization is approaching Meet and Confer slightly different than most,” Bernardy said. “We as an organization have decided to approach it as a Joint Labor Management team where we bring MAPE and AFSCME together at the table with leadership to discuss what is affecting our agency as a whole. We all are integral parts to the work, and everything interplays with one another. We want to make sure no one is left behind.”

The joint approach recognizes that workplace issues often cross bargaining-unit lines. What affects MAPE members can also affect AFSCME members, and working together can give employees a stronger, more unified voice when addressing concerns with leadership.

“Many things that we as MAPE members experience also affect AFSCME members, and if we can stand together in solidarity with our fellow laborers, it sends a better unified message,” Bernardy said. “Our current leadership is very welcoming to this and supports us being a joint force.”

For Bernardy, a compliance analyst at MDHR and member of MAPE Local 1101, being involved in the union is personal.

“I am passionate about advocating for others,” Bernardy said. “I have worked at an agency previously as an unclassified employee, which meant I did not get the protection of the union. I ultimately needed the protection of a union and was unable to tap into that resource. When I came to the state, I knew that I wanted to help usher union labor forward so that others don’t end up in a similar situation.”

The newly reformed committee will focus on building a productive relationship with department leadership, particularly as MDHR prepares for a transition.

“We hope to have a continued working relationship with leadership in our department,” Bernardy said. “As a transition is about to occur, we want to make sure our processes are codified and that we continue to have an all-inclusive environment for all staff in our office.”

That relationship can also help members prepare for next year’s contract negotiations. Strong Meet and Confer committees give members a place to identify common concerns and communicate what matters most to employees in their agency. Those conversations can help MAPE negotiators better understand the issues members are facing and build a stronger, more informed case at the bargaining table.

The joint MAPE-AFSCME approach at MDHR can make that process even more effective by bringing multiple perspectives to the conversation and identifying issues that affect employees across the agency. By building solidarity before bargaining begins, members can help ensure the concerns raised at the negotiating table reflect the experiences of workers throughout state government.

For Bernardy, that collective voice is one of the most important benefits of union involvement.

“Being involved in the union is important so that workers have protections from the overall cog, that is the system,” Bernardy said. “Sometimes it can feel like individuals get lost in the overall organization and knowing that there are others that stand with us is very beneficial in making sure that we keep the right balance for our staff in terms of work-life balance and fair and equitable wages.”

As the committee gets to work, its members are helping strengthen MAPE’s workplace presence at MDHR while building a broader labor partnership within the agency. By organizing around shared priorities, working collaboratively with AFSCME members, building relationships with leadership and making sure employees have a voice, the committee can help turn agency-level concerns into collective power.