Tim Walz Signed An Astounding Labor Protection Law In Minnesota

Wherein your faithful correspondent confesses he's been so busy paying attention to bad labor bills at the state level that he missed a few good ones.

No piglets were harmed in the taking of this photograph.

I find myself today in the awkward position of hawking a New Republic piece that says pretty much what everybody else is saying: Tim Walz is a great veep selection for labor and the working class generally. I will therefore concentrate here on something that American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten told me yesterday, in mild unacknowledged chastisement: The press (myself included) has been ignoring a renaissance in legislation protecting labor rights at the (blue) state level. Weingarten mentioned Minnesota, New Jersey, and Michigan, but it’s happening elsewhere, too. Since we journalists are easily distracted by bad news, I along with most of my colleagues have been paying more attention to Republican efforts to barbecue outdoor workers and bring back child labor in red states. (Though per usual, Steve Greenhouse was on the case.)

Preeminent among these labor-rights bills, arguably, is Minnesota’s SF 3035, which Walz signed in May 2023. It banned noncompete clauses and captive audience meetings; guaranteed six paid leave days per year; established minimum pay for nursing home workers; cracked down on the Russian-Doll-like subcontracting scam by which contractors escape responsibility for construction workers; and did many other excellent things. If J.D. Vance attacks it—and I hope he does—that will further demonstrate the fraudulence of Vance’s claim to being a working class advocate. Read all about it in my New Republic piece.