Tim Walz: Champion of Working People

Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz will give his acceptance speech tonight at the Democratic National Convention.  In case you’re a working person who still can’t decide between Harris and Trump — or between Walz and Vance — (or who have friends or relatives who are undecided), don’t worry, we’re here to help.

Former OSHA head David Michaels and I have written an article for The American Prospect showing “How Tim Walz Saved Workers’ Lives and Limbs“.

Read it. It’s short and to the point. But if you don’t have time, here are some highlights.

Twenty-one states run their own OSHA programs which are required to be “at least as effective as” the federal OSHA program.

Minnesota runs one of the most effective state plans: The state ranks fifth-lowest in the rate of workplace fatalities, significantly lower than the federal workplace fatality rate.

As Minnesota Governor, Walz worked with the legislature

• To pass legislation that increased ergonomics protections for warehouse, food and other workers.
• To enact legislation that requires large warehouse distribution centers to establish safety committees that meet monthly to consider how to reduce injuries; Amazon and other large distribution firms to disclose to their employees the quotas or programs that the employer uses to monitor work speed.
• To increase funding for the state’s OSHA program above what federal OSHA requires
• To publicize inspection results, and
• To raise OSHA penalty levels

Minnesota OSHA also aggressively pursued worker protections against COVID-19, while federal OSHA, under Donald Trump failed to act.

Walz is a Labor Supporter

Veteran labor reporter Steve Greenhouse has also described why Walz is good for workers and working families in a Slate article that you can read here. Walz has earned the support of Minnesota labor.

“Tim Walz has been great,” said Bernie Burnham, president of the Minnesota AFL-CIO. “We’ve loved working with him. He thinks all the time about working people, thinks about families, thinks about children. We’re very excited to share him with everybody else.”

Greenhouse notes that Walz signed laws that

• Provide free breakfast and lunch to all public school students and
• Give working families one of the nation’s most generous child tax credits—an average credit of $1,244 per child to more than 400,000 children.
• Gave workers up to six paid “sick and safe” days a year that can be used to recover from an illness, go to counseling, or seek services for domestic abuse or sexual assault.
• Provide $2.6 billion for infrastructure,  the largest infrastructure bill Minnesota’s history.

Good for Labor and Business

Aaron Rosenthal, research director for North Star Policy Action, penned an article noting that total employment reached a historic high three million jobs in 2023, after declining sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic, and that Minnesota’s unemployment rate is more than a full point below the national average.

In addition, Minnesota boasts

the highest median wage in the Midwest, with inflation-adjusted wages growing by 8 percent since 2019. Gains have been even stronger for low-wage workers, who saw their real wages rise 13 percent in that time, outpacing the wage increases experienced by Minnesota’s wealthy. Perhaps most astonishingly, the share of workers earning poverty wages has declined by over 30 percent since Walz took office.

Workers know that a good job is not just about fair pay, but also solid benefits. Here again, the stats are strong. Minnesota holds the second-highest rate of employer-provided health care in the country, contributing to the nation’s third-best life expectancy.

Walz is also good for organizing. Rosenthal points out that “For the fourth consecutive year, Minnesota led the Midwest in union membership, with particularly pronounced gains in union membership among people of color.” And Walz has  banned “captive audience” meetings that are used to discourage workplace organizing, and outlawed noncompete agreements that keep workers stuck in jobs.

And despite the fear and loathing that Republicans and their business backers try to sow,

while some might claim that worker strength scares off would-be employers, the facts suggest otherwise. Minnesota was ranked the fifth-best state for business in 2023, reflecting the commonsense idea that satisfied workers create more successful companies.

So watch Walz’s speech tonight. Read these articles. Check out Walz’s record.

Then get excited, work and vote. Coming off the administration of the arguably most pro-labor President in American history, we can set up the country for four or eight more years of strong pro-labor policies.