MN AFL-CIO Resolutions on Safe Communities
RESOLUTION PASSED BY MN AFL-CIO GENERAL BOARD, DECEMBER 13, 2022
SUBJECT: SAFE COMMUNITIES
SUBMITTED BY: MN AFL-CIO RACIAL AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE (REJ) COMMITTEE
WHEREAS: Safe communities have professional police departments that are accountable to the communities they serve. Many union occupations, such as educational and healthcare professionals, require licensure by a state board that upholds professional occupational standards to ensure accountability to the people they serve; and
WHEREAS: Safe communities have well-resourced police departments that build trust with the public by practicing transparency and accountability; investing in police-community relations and cultural competency; increasing diversity within their ranks through career pathways; implementing training on deescalation, racial profiling and implicit bias, and protecting freedom of speech; adopting programs that encourage officers to intervene with a fellow officer who is engaging in potential misconduct; and management practices that do not tolerate or turn a blind eye to misconduct. ; and
WHEREAS: Safe communities know they cannot arrest and incarcerate their way to safety but invest in evidence-based and innovative solutions to reduce violent crime; and
WHEREAS: Safe communities acknowledge the racial and economic inequalities that have existed threaten community wellbeing; and
WHEREAS: Safe communities seek to provide opportunities for good paying jobs for community members regardless of race that can support families; and
WHEREAS: Safe communities are well-funded and have access to affordable, quality, and culturally competent physical and mental healthcare; and
WHEREAS: Minnesota has seen reductions in access to care through the closing of hospitals and units in both rural and urban areas due to lack of profit while overall hospital systems and health insurance companies make record profits; and
WHEREAS: Safe communities are well-funded and have stable public schools that are fully and equitably funded, have the capacity to hire and retain high quality teachers and support staff that reflect our diverse communities, and meet students' social-emotional needs with adequate support; and
WHEREAS: Schools can be an indicator of the health and vibrancy of the community, a catalyst for racial justice, and a ladder for children to move out of poverty; and
WHEREAS: The physical structure of schools shows the disparities between wealthier school districts and rural or urban districts with fewer resources; and
WHEREAS: Safe communities have access to basic needs such as healthy and affordable food; and
WHEREAS: Many rural and urban communities experience food deserts due to a lack of grocery stores in their communities which creates hardships for those who lack transportation to purchase food; and
WHEREAS: Safe communities provide affordable and equitable housing; and
WHEREAS: If a person doesn’t have stable housing it negatively affects their ability to get an education, maintain employment, and to be physically and mentally healthy; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED: That MN AFL-CIO supports the efforts of the Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Board to exercise its rulemaking authority to establish and enforce statewide standards for peace officers and law enforcement agencies; and be it further
RESOLVED: The MN AFL-CIO supports investment in comprehensive, evidence-based public safety initiatives that address root causes of violent crime. These include: building relationships between the police and the communities they serve; investments in programs for youth, violence prevention, victim support, addiction, domestic violence, and mental health response; removing barriers for the formerly incarcerated to access housing, education, and employment; bail reform; and full funding for public defenders; and be it further
RESOLVED: That MN AFL-CIO supports policies and funding that ensure all communities have equitable, accessible, and affordable physical and mental healthcare and fight against systemic healthcare redlining and healthcare deserts that plague urban and rural communities in Minnesota; and be it further
RESOLVED: That MN AFL-CIO supports the dignity and respect of every worker, and it doesn't matter what they look like or where they come from; and be it further
RESOLVED: That MN AFL-CIO supports efforts and funding that create not only good paying jobs but also invest in critical infrastructure to keep our community resources and assets in good condition and able to be accessed by all; and be it further
RESOLVED: That MN AFL-CIO supports programs that are going to create pathways to good opportunities, especially in underrepresented communities. The MN AFL-CIO and the work of its members is strengthened by engagement with community groups that know the needs of the communities in which they serve; and be it further
RESOLVED: That MN AFL-CIO supports full and equitable funding of public schools statewide; adequate pay, benefits, and professional support/development to keep the union educator workforce strong and stable; mental health supports in schools; universal free school meals; increasing the number of teachers of color; and working diligently to end the school-to-prison pipeline by ending racially discriminatory discipline practices; and be it further
RESOLVED: That MN AFL-CIO supports full funding of food access programs, including the Hunger-Free Schools campaign to achieve universal school meals and fight for the elimination of food deserts by having local and accessible grocery stores and food pantries; and be it finally
RESOLVED: That MN AFL-CIO supports increased funding for affordable housing, financial literacy and home ownership programs and the dismantling of racial and ethnic redlining.