Picking Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signals something big: Worker rights, and pro-worker policies, are back at the forefront of Democratic politics.
On Tuesday morning, Vice President Kamala Harris picked Walz as her running mate—arguably a progressive pick, given the laws Walz has signed as governor that have propelled Minnesota into an escape state for many of Iowa’s more liberal-minded folks.
And that includes pro-labor policies: Walz, a former teacher and union member, said as much in a speech to building trades unions:
“In my first campaign for Congress, in a debate, my opponent came at me and said, ‘Tim is in the pocket of organized labor,’” Walz said. “And I said, ‘That is a damn lie. I *am* the pocket.’”
Let’s fact check that: How pro-worker is Tim Walz?
Labor journalist Steven Greenhouse notes Walz helped enact “one of the most pro-worker packages of legislation that any US state has passed in decades.”
That legislation, which was signed into law last year, mandates paid sick days, bans noncompete agreements, boosts funding for workplace safety inspectors, and increases protections for workers in nursing homes, Amazon warehouses, meatpacking plants, construction sites, hospitals and public schools.
It has paid dividends for low-paid workers, like a $23.49/hour minimum wage by 2027 for nursing home workers. It also provided for a loan forgiveness program for nurses, and put strict rules on hospital mergers.
Walz signed an executive order banning bachelor’s degree requirements for the majority of state jobs. And he helped negotiate better pay for Uber and Lyft drivers, even despite those companies threatening to leave the state.
