Minnesota Shutdown’s Effect Felt at Families’ Dinner Tables
AFL-CIO Community Services Director Will Fischer sends this report on a food drive to help Minnesota families hurt by the Republican shutdown of the state government.
Minnesota’s millionaires aren’t likely feeling any impact of the Republican shutdown of the state government and vital state services. But after nearly two weeks, the shutdown is starting to be felt in households and around dinner tables in Minnesota.
The Emergency Community Help Organization (ECHO) is a food pantry that provides emergency assistance to people in Blue Earth County and North Mankato, Minn. ECHO normally serves an average of 55 families per day. But since the shutdown, more than twice as many families are showing up, each looking for help. The local union movement has stepped up with food and cash donations.
The Southeast Minnesota Area Labor Council in Rochester organized a food drive this week to help replenish ECHO’s shelves. Union members—many of them public employees who have been tossed of work because of the shutdown—and local lawmakers have raised enough money to provide 5,000 meals and collected nearly 250 pounds of food. Says council field organizer Audra Waylett:
The vast majority of the donations came from laid-off workers. While the GOP is protecting 7,700 of the richest Minnesotans from paying their fair share in taxes, we are out in our communities filling up food shelves to protect millions of people in Minnesota. Why? Because we are public servants.
The Republicans can shut down our government and take away our ability to work and proudly serve our community. But that does not mean that will stop serving. We are public servants. We are Minnesotans. And we want to work for Minnesota.
If you are a Minnesotan, click here to sign a petition by the Minnesota AFL-CIO urging Republican lawmakers to return to negotiations over the budget.
