Park & ​​Rec Board learns of collective bargaining, union continues strike

The Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board has called a special meeting for Monday evening, during which Parks and Recreation Board leadership is scheduled to present a summary of collective bargaining negotiations with workers represented by the Laborers’ International Union of North America Local 360. A summary of the Parks and Recreation Board’s financial outlook was also presented, with a particular focus on the tax levy, which the board will vote on Wednesday.

The Board itself does not participate in collective bargaining. A full list of the bargaining team can be found on page 6 of the bargaining summary presentation.

Parks and recreation workers represented by LIUNA Local 360, including park rangers and arborists, have been negotiating a contract with the administration since December. The two sides have been in mediation since February, meaning negotiations have taken place behind closed doors.

Union members voted to strike in June and when collective bargaining with Park & ​​Rec Board management failed on July 1, union members began striking on July 4. The union announced the strike would last a week. Members currently on strike are expected to return to work on Thursday.

Board Finance Director Juli Wiseman presented the differences between the management’s tax rates and the union’s collective bargaining agreement on Monday. The management’s proposal would require a 9.94% change in tax rates, resulting in a 1.74% increase in property taxes. The union’s proposal would require a 10.79% change, resulting in a 1.89% increase in property taxes, a difference of 0.15%. The board is expected to approve a 9.94% tax rate tomorrow.

Unlike the city budget, which has a more diverse source of funding, 79% of the board’s budget comes from property taxes. 72% of that budget goes to wages.

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“This is on us,” Commissioner Becka Thompson told striking workers after the financial presentation. “We didn’t want to go over 10%.” Thompson explained that if the board wanted to vote to raise taxes above 10%, it would have to “change the budget process.”

Commissioner Becky Alper said it was “not entirely within our discretion” to increase tax collections.

Watch the entire July 8 Park & ​​Rec Board meeting

“I think we need to think about cuts,” Alper later continued. “I think we shouldn’t set off fireworks next year… we could take a break on certain investment projects. I would rather pay our existing employees more and create fewer jobs.”

Alper was the only commissioner to propose alternatives to increasing the levy during the meeting.

According to Wiseman, the collective bargaining agreement, which management presents as a “last, best and final” offer, would cost $4.6 million over three years. The last collective bargaining agreement presented to management would cost $6.7 million. The cost includes wages, health insurance and the creation of new jobs.

Property taxes being tied to the collective bargaining agreement is nothing new. An April Star Tribune article quoted the Park & ​​Rec Board as citing lower property tax revenues as the reason for the tight budget. Union members have identified Bangoura’s 2024 pay raise and his home, the historic Thomas Wirth House, as areas where costs could be cut.

“There is money elsewhere,” said AJ Lange, executive director of LUNIA Local 360, during the meeting. “Guarantees, reserves.”

Many union members expressed frustration during the meeting that the financial focus was only on tax collection.

“The money is already there,” someone shouted from the crowd.

After the meeting, a striking worker took out his phone and tried to show me a commissioner’s LinkedIn profile, which featured a picture titled “Think outside the box” as a counterexample to what he had seen during the meeting. However, he couldn’t load the picture. Instead, he flew into the sky.

“There are so many other ways to accomplish this than raising taxes,” he said.