Former DFL lawmaker says '81 strike has lessons for today

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No new talks are scheduled on day two of the largest labor strike in state history. As many as 28-thousand workers walked off the job Monday over better pay and health insurance. Those workers include, among others, Capitol security guards, highway maintenaince workers, and probation officers. Their absence has remaining workers doing jobs they don't usually do. State troopers are fielding 911 calls, National Guard troops are changing bedpans, and senior officials are doing clerical work. This is the first such walkout in Minnesota since 1981. Former DFL lawmaker Wayne Simoneau chaired the Employee Relations Committee in the Minnesota House during the last strike. Two years ago he managed labor negotiations for Governor Ventura and before that for former Governor Arne Carlson. He says pressure on the state will continue to build each day of the strike-- and he says, a couple of things are already happening that do not bode well for the state.

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