State workers fight back and rally at the governor’s home

Chants of “Hey, hey, ho, ho, RTO has got to go” carried down Summit Avenue as hundreds of MAPE members met in front of the Governor’s residence to voice their displeasure at the governor’s telework Return to Office (RTO) order. Last week Gov. Tim Walz announced that state employees would be required to return to the office 50 percent of the time beginning June 1. 

As members marched in front of the stately home, they carried dozens of signs including “Work is what we do, not where we are,” “Telework saves taxpayers money,“ “Return to the office I’ve never worked at,” “Minnesota works because we do,” “MAPE: Unite for a fair contract“ and “Don’t want to strike but will if pushed.”  

Other signs used the governor’s own words against him: “Negotiations start with respect.” – Tim Walz at Lobby Day last month, “Don’t be weird, Tim,” and “We’re not going back.”  

MAPE President Megan Dayton told the crowd, “We often talk about the chaos coming out of Washington but lately it’s coming from our own state with Gov. Walz’s Return to Office order. You do not treat a ‘partner,’ which the governor claims we are, by giving them a unilateral RTO order with no heads-up, much less discussion, about the order.”  

“MAPE members have been proudly providing critical services to Minnesotans for 45 years. We worked throughout COVID, often at great risk to members and their families. Since the pandemic, we’ve been working from home with flexible schedules, and we’ve been doing our work more productively over the past five years,” she added.  

Dayton says giving workers two months to RTO is simply not enough time to re-order employees’ lives. “Employees made life decisions based on the telework policy we have followed for five years,” she added.  

Region 19 Negotiations Representative Jovae Priebe pointed out, “The State’s telework policy has allowed us to recruit and retain many quality workers. Many newer employees have joined state service because of this policy, and many of them were told it was a permanent policy.” Agency leaders have found that offering flexibility helped with recruitment in a tight labor market.  

“This will make a lot of people’s lives more complicated and stressful then they need to be. As a union, we want to be treated with respect and have a seat at the table for big decisions being made that are going to affect our lives on a day-to-day basis,” Local 401’s Joe Sullivan said.  

Larissa Bettendorf, a policy specialist with the Department of Human Services, is teleworking under some very challenging health issues; her husband Tim has cancer. She spoke at the March 29 rally, “I am a conscientious steward of the State’s time and resources. My family has back-up plans to ensure there is always childcare for our son, Colton, which is done by his four grandparents when Tim is too sick to care for him.  

“Teleworking has led me to being a more productive employee because I am able to take less sick time since I do not need to travel back and forth from St. Paul to our home in Lino Lakes for Tim’s medical appointments. Taking less sick time also means I can work more and do not need to have my work delegated to other team members who already have full plates,” Bettendorf said.  

“People are already working efficiently and productively at home. I ask the governor to explain how the RTO order will make me more productive when instead of being able to work more, I will be working less due to having to use more sick time to transport and care for Tim,” she added.  

Regardless of whether telework or other issues are your priorities, it is more important than ever to stick together now. “Get involved with your MAPE local, join your Contract Action Team, sign the Worker Rights Petition on the website and call the Governor and your legislators,” Region 3 Contract Negotiator Naveen Borojerdi advised. “We’re stronger together, and we will get through this together.”  

More pictures from the Rally at the Residence can be found here.