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| Date: | November 15, 2011 | | Contact Name: | Chris Van Guilder | | Contact Phone: | 651-296-1388 | | Contact Email: | christopher.vanguilder@senate.mn | | For Immediate Release | |
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| SENATORS HANN AND PARRY ON GOVERNOR’S DECISION TO AUTHORIZE A VOTE TO UNIONIZE DAY CARE PROVIDERS |
(ST. PAUL) -- Sen. David Hann (R-Eden Prairie), Chairman of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, and Sen. Mike Parry (R-Waseca), Chairman of the Senate State Government Innovation and Veterans Committee, issued the following statements in response to Gov. Dayton’s decision to issue an executive order to authorize a vote to unionize child day care providers.
Sen. Parry stated, “We are disappointed in and strongly disagree with Gov. Dayton’s controversial decision to issue an executive order directing the Bureau of Mediation Services (BMS) to organize an election to unionize private in-home child care providers. We do not believe the governor has the authority to authorize the BMS to hold this vote, and we will do everything in our power, including legal action, to make sure he is not able to proceed.
“As we previously stated numerous times, our reading of current law makes clear that private, home-based child care providers are not public employers or employees and therefore do not fall under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Mediation Services and are not subject to public employee labor relations law. We invited the governor, members of his administration, and the commissioner of the BMS to explain why they think otherwise. The governor declined our invitation to attend, and instructed state employees to refuse to meet with us or answer our questions.”
Sen. Hann concluded, “This decision by Gov. Dayton is yet another in a troubling pattern of ignoring the law, and when confronted with a governor who is not willing to follow the law we have no choice other than to go to the appropriate court to stop him from carrying on, as he is not warranted by law to proceed.”
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