Local 1902 President Participates in We Make Minnesota Rally in Mankato

Last Friday, Local 1902 President Chandra Petersen participated in a rally and round-table discussion in Mankato hosted by We Make Minnesota, a labor-grassroots coalition that unites workers, unions and community organizations to fight for a fair, equitable and caring Minnesota where all Minnesotans can thrive. AFSCME and SEIU also participated in the events. 

Petersen is a career counselor with Vocational Rehabilitation Services (VRS) at the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). She provides employment counseling to people with disabilities, specifically those who are deaf or hard of hearing, in southern Minnesota.  

Last year, VRS served nearly 14,000 people across the state. But at the beginning of 2025, VRS was facing a significant budget shortfall that resulted in laying off 80 employees, nearly a quarter of the staff. This means that thousands more Minnesotans with disabilities will not get the services they need. There is now a wait list, and services offered are much more limited.  

Petersen has a solution to ease this burden: fully fund state agency budgets:  

“But just imagine how many more people in southern Minnesota, and across the state, could we help if we had fully funded state agencies? Right now, it feels like we are all fighting each other for the same small pot of money…there wasn’t enough funding to go around,” she said. 

Petersen, and MAPE, support We Make Minnesota’s mission to fight for the public revenues and investments that create a strong and prosperous Minnesota where communities can thrive, and everyone is given the opportunity to live a safe, healthy and dignified life.  

Petersen emphasized that success is not one-size-fits-all but instead varies for each of the hundreds of clients she has supported over the past decade – from a dentist to a young professional entering the workforce to a teacher inspiring future generations.  

According to We Make Minnesota’s Organizing Director Andrew Ulasich, “The funding cuts really impact all of us. Many of the essential public services the state workers provide strengthen Minnesota. It was apparent that I might not be a recipient of these services, but they strengthen our economy and our community, and I ultimately benefit when we invest in them.” 

Ulasich, a former chair of MAPE’s Union Power Project, recently accepted the Organizing Director position with We Make Minnesota. He was part of getting MAPE members more involved in building political power through reinitiating the civic engagement officer program. “Let’s restart this position and caucuses will be our first action. I saw the impact of having 60 members at the DFL State Convention,” he said. “I wondered what if we could do that across a bunch of unions all collaborating through We Make Minnesota. Ultimately, I really believe in the public sector and public servants. I am very excited about working fulltime to invite them to build more power for the public good.”  

As elected officials make decisions about the budget, Petersen said she wants them to choose care and fairness and budgets that fund our lives: "The solution is simple: make the pot bigger! It’s time for the wealthiest Minnesotans and large corporations to pay their fair share so we can fully fund the services that strengthen our communities. Because when we invest in the people, we all succeed – and that’s the Minnesota we should all be fighting for.” 

If you’d like to watch Petersen’s entire remarks, click here. 

We Make Minnesota is planning more rallies and round-table discussions across the state including: 

July 20:   Rochester 
Aug. 5:    Minneapolis 
Aug. 13:  Coon Rapids 
Aug. 22:  Bemidji 

(Plans are being finalized for events in St. Paul, Hibbing and St. Cloud)