|
Yesterday, ten City Council Members voted to override Mayor Frey’s veto and to sustain Council’s approval of the Rideshare Minimum Compensation Ordinance. I have been working with my co-authors, Council Members Chavez and Osman, on this policy for over a year. The policy will close the loophole in the city’s $15.57 minimum wage and ensure that Uber and Lyft drivers earn minimum wage equivalents, just like every other worker in Minneapolis.
Mayor Frey vetoed the ordinance, citing a number of reasons. His primary reasoning was that Uber and Lyft, two billion dollar companies, would leave the city if we subject them to the minimum wage.
Our local small businesses have been able to pay minimum wages and thrive and there is no reason we should make exceptions for corporate out of state tech companies.
Since late last year, several rideshare companies have reached out to council offices to voice support for minimum wages for drivers. These companies are located throughout the nation and are eager to move into the Minneapolis market now this ordinance has required all TNCs to pay the same minimum wage. Many of these rideshare companies have successfully created models that pay fair wages and affordable rides. My office as well as the co-authors are eager to provide support in order to get these rideshare companies prepared to operate when this ordinance takes effect on May 1st.
The Mayor also referenced the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) rideshare study as another basis of his opposition. The study was released on March 8th. It was authored by James Parrott and Michael Reich, the leading national economists on Transportation Network Company (TNC) compensation models. The work of these two experts was also the basis for the Minneapolis ordinance that Council approved.
Both the DLI study and Minneapolis study use the best available methodology, applied to different jurisdictions. The DLI compensation rates for the seven-county metro area includes urban, suburban, exurban, and rural geographies as far out as Forest Lake, Chaska, and Hastings, while the Minneapolis study was done by and for Minneapolis legislation. I am hopeful that state legislators will use all available data to create a strong statewide program, alongside the Minneapolis ordinance that guarantees Minneapolis minimum wage equivalents for all miles driven in Minneapolis.
Despite massive corporate lobbying and veto threats by the Mayor, I am proud that the council decided to stand with drivers by voting to override Mayor Frey’s veto, and reaffirming our support for this historic policy.
Key votes: On March 7th, nine Council Members voted to support the Fair Drives ordinance guaranteeing drivers minimum wage equivalents. On March 8th, Mayor Frey vetoed the ordinance. Council voted 10-3 to override Mayor Frey’s veto yesterday, March 14th. The ordinance will go into effect May 1st.
I introduced a proposal to amend the city charter to allow for ballot initiative and referendum . Ballot initiative and referendum means residents can collect signatures to put certain types of policies on the ballot for voters to decide on. Over 70 cities in Minnesota allow their citizens to exercise this democratic tool including St Paul and Duluth. We see everyday that Minneapolis residents are eager and excited to get involved in local politics and bring their ideas and solutions to the table. Ballot initiative is a great way to foster this civic engagement.
On March 4th, the Committee of the Whole held a public hearing for residents to share their thoughts on ballot initiative and referendum. Diverse testifiers shared the ways they believed that ballot initiative and referendum would strengthen our democracy.
After a few additional days of conversations with my colleagues, it seems that most support ballot initiative and referendum broadly, but that some Council Members want more time to become better informed in order to feel fully confident on this Charter Amendment. In order to accommodate this, I withdrew the proposal in order to give my colleagues that time.
I initiated the process around ballot initiative and referendum during the first Council meeting of this year, with the intention of having it appear on the ballot at the presidential election this November. Presidential elections have the highest voter turnout, which would mean the most residents involved in making this important decision.
That said, I respect my colleagues’ desire to do their due diligence and I understand that the legislative timeline for Charter Amendments can make that challenging. I look forward to my colleagues exploring these questions in Committee as we continue the public conversation on this topic to ensure that there is an option to advance this proposal on the ballot in 2025.
Key votes: No votes taken
The Administration and Enterprise Oversight Committee (AEO) heard a presentation about ShotSpotter. The city has had a contract with ShotSpotter since 2007.
Key points of the presentation included:
- ShotSpotter has not been found to reduce gun violence or gun crime victimizations
- ShotSpotter mistakes loud noises for gunshots, leading to more police encounters with civilians, sometimes resulting in injury, fatal outcomes, or false arrests
- ShotSpotter slows 911 response times for residents who call 911 for help
- ShotSpotter has not been found to improve case clearance
With cities like Chicago ending their contracts with ShotSpotter due to concerns around effectiveness and racial profiling, my office has been contacted by residents who also have concerns about the impacts of shotspotter in Minneapolis.
More locally, conversation about ShotSpotter in St. Paul should also give both Council and the city pause on the continued use of this tool. Understandably, the lack of independent verification that ShotSpotter is an effective tool resulted in St. Paul making financial investments in public safety that did not include a contract with this company.
One of the responsibilities of the AEO Committee is overseeing contract administration and ensuring that taxpayers dollars are being spent efficiently and in alignment with the intention of the contract. Additionally, we want to ensure that every service or program is meaningfully, equitably, and effectively contributing to our system of comprehensive public safety. There is an ongoing national conversation about how ShotSpotter relates to those goals, and I’m glad that Minneapolis is part of that conversation.
Key votes: No votes taken
I am authoring an ordinance to ensure that all Minneapolis renters have access to basic data about their rights, as well as the opportunity to review a property owner’s history before signing a lease. The ordinance was introduced and referred to the Business, Housing, and Zoning (BHZ) Committee, and my office is now working on policy development.
Key votes: Council voted unanimously to introduce and refer the Renters rights mandatory disclosure ordinance to committee.
Recruitment and retention of city staff is a top priority for my office as well as many of my colleagues. The city has recently struggled to recruit and retain employees from departments and divisions across the enterprise, and there have been several public incidents of workers discussing systemic racism or other toxic work conditions. I authored a legislative directive to identify what the city is doing to improve our workforce culture and ensure equitable, supportive, and productive work environments in the many diverse jobs here at the city.
Council Member Koski brought forward an amended version of the legislative directive to include more specific and rigorous data and a broader scope of work. I welcomed this amendment and thank Council Member Koski for her partnership on this work.
Key votes: Council voted unanimously to approve Council Member Koski and my legislative directive on workforce culture. Staff will present at the Administration and Enterprise Oversight (AEO) Committee on June 3rd.
Council Committees have been writing Work Plans to help structure and focus committee priorities for the 2024-2025 term. Council approved the Work Plans for Public Health and Safety (PHS) and the Administration and Enterprise Oversight (AEO) Committee has forwarded the AEO Work Plan to Council. These Work Plans were made with democratic input by all Council Members who chose to participate.
Key votes: Council approved the PHS Work Plan 12-1 on March 7th. Council Member Vetaw was the only opposition. The AEO Committee approved the AEO Work Plan on March 11th. The full Council will vote on the AEO Work Plan on March 21st.
At the last Council meeting I participated in celebrating Women’s History Month with an honorary resolution. Thank you to the Minneapolis Employee Resource Group WOMEN as well as my colleagues for your work on this resolution.
The Council also presented honorary resolutions for Multiple Sclerosis Awareness and for the start of Ramadan.
Public Works employees represented by LiUNA Local 363 reached a historic agreement with the city and signed a contract that will give many workers 30% raises over the next three years. Workers achieved this victory after voting to strike. These workers deserve competitive wages, dignified work conditions, and a voice on the job. I applaud them for organizing to demand the contract they deserve and not settle for less. This contract is very likely to improve employee recruitment and retention in Public Works.
Unidos MN, Sierra Club, SEIU Local 26, and ISAIAH MN hosted a Block-by-Block Healthy Homes event to uplift community priorities around green job training, clean energy investments, and other environmental justice initiatives. Ongoing community advocacy like this has been instrumental to the city allocating $10 million for sustainability work in the Climate Legacy Initiative, and will continue to lead our citywide investments.
I had the privilege of touring the University of Minnesota Medical Center Recovery Clinic. The tour was led by Dr. Dziwe Ntaba, a physician and researcher who is leading efforts to rapidly expand Medication for Addiction Treatment (MAT) to address Opioid Use Disorder (OUD). Dr. Ntaba’s is bringing his expertise in MAT to the Minneapolis Health Department to help the city’s opioid response methodology align with best practices.
Additionally, the clinic provides Naloxone (Narcan) free of charge and has a recovery clinic with walk-in hours for those seeking recovery support. We encourage residents to share this information with those that are suffering from an OUD and/or looking for recovery options.
I had the honor of speaking on a panel called Palestine as a Feminist Issue hosted by University of Minnesota Professor Sima Shakhsari. Thank you to Professor Shakhsari for inviting me to be part of this intersectional conversation.
Residents are organizing a “Vacancy Tour” to look at vacant properties that could be providing housing and economic opportunity, and discuss the urgent need for solutions to chronic vacancy. Resident organizing like this is what led me to initiate the expansion of vacancy abatement fees. I look forward to attending this tour and welcome residents to join as well.
 Vacancy Tour
Friday March 22nd, 4-5:30pm
Meet at Government Center: 300 6th St S
What is the difference between a Safety Center and a Police Station? How should it serve the community? Join community at this public engagement session on Wednesday, March 27th at 6pm at Powderhorn Park, 3400 15th Ave S. Hear from City staff and share your opinions about both the East Lake Street and Minnehaha Ave locations. Snacks provided! Hosted by Longfellow Community Council. Cosponsored by Lake Street Council and Seward Civic and Commerce Association.
 What is a Community Safety Center?
Wednesday March 27th 6-7:30pm
Powderhorn Park: 3400 15th Ave S
Live in the Cooper neighborhood? You have been redistricted into Ward 12 and are represented by Council Member Aurin Chowdhury. You can sign up for the Ward 12 Newsletter here.
The city website has more information about the 2022 redistricting and current ward maps.
Residents from all wards are welcome and encouraged to continue receiving the Ward 2 newsletter, regardless of where they live.
Landmark Construction MN, LLC will perform after-hours construction work at 521 15th Ave SE.
The work will be performed on:
Monday, March 18th from 6:00pm-11:30pm
Tuesday, March 19th from 6:00pm-11:30pm
Wednesday, March 20th from 6:00pm-11:30pm
Thursday, March 21st from 6:00pm-11:30pm
This work includes façade installation with truck traffic on 6th St SE, hoisting of façade panels, and securing of façade panels in place on the building. The work involves the use of a forklift and the tower crane.
If you have complaints about this work, contact Minneapolis 311 at 612-673-3000 or Minneapolis311@minneapolis.gov. You can also contact the project supervisor directly at scott.ruegemer@landmarkproperties.com or jake.bauer@landmarkproperties.com.
Additional project information and upcoming schedule information can be found at the following project information website.
There has been theft of copper wiring from a number of street lights along West River Parkway. The city is working to repair the lights and make the following improvements:
- Expanding the pilot of using aluminum wire instead of copper. Because aluminum has less value, the incentive to steal it would also be reduced.
- Some specific benefits of aluminum wire are:
- Cost of wire is about ¼ of copper wire which also translates into reduced scrap value
- Since aluminum wire is less common than copper, recycling centers have confirmed this would be an easier item to identify as suspicious and a City asset
- Aluminum wire needed to begin repairs is likely to arrive in early April.
- Electrical crews are being made available to start installation when materials arrive.
- There are multiple miles of wire to replace, so it is difficult to accurately predict a specific completion date for each location.
Thank you to Public Works for taking speedy and adaptive action to address these incidents of theft.
Contact Ward 2
Visit: minneapolismn.gov/ward2
Email: ward2@minneapolismn.gov
Phone: 612-673-2202
We've moved while work is being done in City Hall. Our office is in:
Room 100, Public Service Center
250 South 4th St.
Get directions
For reasonable accommodations or alternative format please contact 311. People who are deaf or hard of hearing can use a relay service to call 311 at 612-673-3000. TTY users call 612-263-6850. Para asistencia, llame al 311. Rau kev pab 311. Hadii aad Caawimaad u baahantahay 311. |
