Action Alert! Please Act Now!

The Senate passed SF 778 on a vote of 35-32 after 16 hours of debate. This is a sad day for Minnesota child care providers, children and families as well as any independent small business owner. 

This bill will be debated and voted on in House tomorrow, Saturday, May 18th.  The House will be using the
Senate version of the bill, instead of their own HF 950, to make the process move along faster.  


Email and call NOW all the DFL Representatives. We still and a chance of voting it down in the House.

Below is a list that you can copy and paste from to contact each one. They need to hear from providers, families, and taxpayers. Everyone will feel the impact of this legislation. 

Contact them every day until they vote. 

Everyone should be contacting these representatives. Families will have higher child care costs, low income families will have fewer options and taxpayers will foot the bill which is estimated to cost the state millions of dollars over the next few years.

The Latest Version of the Bills

SF 778 passed the Senate Finance Committee without recommendation and has been sent to the floor for a full vote. 


Contact the Senate DFL members to ask them to vote no on this legislation.

sen.terri.bonoff@senate.mn; sen.jim.carlson@senate.mn; sen.bobby.champion@senate.mn; sen.greg.clausen@senate.mn; sen.kevin.dahle@senate.mn; sen.scott.dibble@senate.mn; sen.melisa.franzen@senate.mn; barbg@senate.mn; sen.kent.eken@senate.mn; sen.foung.hawj@senate.mn; sen.jeff.hayden@senate.mn; sen.john.hoffman@senate.mn; sen.vicki.jensen@senate.mn; sen.lyle.koenen@senate.mn; sen.tony.lourey@senate.mn; sen.jim.metzen@senate.mn; sen.roger.reinert@senate.mn; sen.bev.scalze@senate.mn; sen.matt.schmit@senate.mn; sen.kathy.sheran@senate.mn; sen.katie.sieben@senate.mn; sen.rod.skoe@senate.mn; sen.dan.sparks@senate.mn; sen.david.tomassoni@senate.mn; sen.chuck.wiger@senate.mn; sen.melissa.wiklund@senate.mn;


Email form links:
Senator Cohen
http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/members/member_emailform.php?mem_id=1008&ls=


Senator Dziedzic
http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/members/member_emailform.php?mem_id=1193&ls=

Senator Eaton
http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/members/member_emailform.php?mem_id=1192&ls=

Senator Johnson
http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/members/member_emailform.php?mem_id=1206&ls=

Senator Latz
http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/members/member_emailform.php?mem_id=1102&ls=

Senator Kent
http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/members/member_emailform.php?mem_id=1215&ls=

Senator Marty
http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/members/member_emailform.php?mem_id=1035&ls=

Senator Rest
http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/members/member_emailform.php?mem_id=1051&ls=

Senator Pappas
http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/members/member_emailform.php?mem_id=1046&ls=

Senator Saxhaug
http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/members/member_emailform.php?mem_id=1056&ls=

Senator Eaton
http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/members/member_emailform.php?mem_id=1063&ls=

Senator Torres Ray
http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/members/member_emailform.php?mem_id=1151&ls=

Senator Bakk
http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/members/member_emailform.php?mem_id=1003&ls=
HF 950 has passed the Ways and Means Committee and has been sent to the floor for a full vote. 



Contact the House DFL members  to ask them to vote no on this legislation.


rep.susan.allen@house.mn; rep.tom.anzelc@house.mn; rep.joe.atkins@house.mn; rep.john.benson@house.mn; rep.connie.bernardy@house.mn; rep.david.bly@house.mn; rep.kathy.brynaert@house.mn; rep.lyndon.carlson@house.mn; rep.karen.clark@house.mn; rep.jim.davnie@house.mn; rep.raymond.dehn@house.mn; rep.david.dill@house.mn; rep.zachary.dorholt@house.mn; rep.ron.erhardt@house.mn; rep.roger.erickson@house.mn; rep.andrew.falk@house.mn; rep.tim.faust@house.mn; rep.peter.fischer@house.mn; rep.mike.freiberg@house.mn; rep.patti.fritz@house.mn; rep.laurie.halverson@house.mn; rep.rick.hansen@house.mn; rep.alice.hausman@house.mn; rep.debra.hilstrom@house.mn; rep.frank.hornstein@house.mn; rep.melissa.hortman@house.mn; rep.jason.isaacson@house.mn; rep.thomas.huntley@house.mn; rep.clark.johnson@house.mn; rep.sheldon.johnson@house.mn; rep.phyllis.kahn@house.mn; rep.carolyn.laine@house.mn; rep.tina.liebling@house.mn; rep.ann.lenczewski@house.mn; rep.john.lesch@house.mn; rep.ben.lien@house.mn; rep.leon.lillie@house.mn; rep.diane.loeffler@house.mn; rep.tim.mahoney@house.mn; rep.carlos.mariani@house.mn; rep.paul.marquart@house.mn; rep.sandra.masin@house.mn; rep.jay.mcnamar@house.mn; rep.jason.metsa@house.mn; rep.carly.melin@house.mn; rep.rena.moran@house.mn; rep.will.morgan@house.mn; rep.joe.mullery@house.mn; rep.erin.murphy@house.mn; rep.mary.murphy@house.mn; rep.michael.nelson@house.mn; rep.kim.norton@house.mn; rep.michael.paymar@house.mn; rep.gene.pelowski@house.mn; rep.john.persell@house.mn; rep.jeanne.poppe@house.mn; rep.joe.radinovich@house.mn; rep.paul.rosenthal@house.mn; rep.shannon.savick@house.mn; rep.mary.sawatzky@house.mn; rep.dan.schoen@house.mn; rep.yvonne.selcer@house.mn; rep.erik.simonson@house.mn; rep.linda.slocum@house.mn; rep.steve.simon@house.mn; rep.mike.sundin@house.mn; rep.paul.thissen@house.mn; rep.jean.wagenius@house.mn; rep.joann.ward@house.mn; rep.john.ward@house.mn; rep.ryan.winkler@house.mn; rep.barb.yarusso@house.mn; 

Basic Facts on the Child Care Union Legislation

  • These bills create a bargaining unit of licensed and unlicensed providers who have a child receiving child care assistance. If this passes and the union wins a vote, anytime one of your families uses child care assistance, you will be exclusively represented by AFSCME/CCPT. 
  • Anyone caring for a child on CCAP will be required to pay dues or fair share fees. These fees are deducted out of CCAP payments before payments are mailed to the provider.
  • If this legislation passes, the union only needs to show 10% support through signed cards or petitions before an election will be ordered. This goes against state labor law which requires a union to show 30% support prior to an election.
  • While only about half the licensed providers are eligible to vote, thousands of unlicensed caregivers will get a ballot, including about 75% of whom are no longer providing care.
  • The only way to avoid paying dues and fees is to turn away families using the child care assistance program. This will significantly limit options for low-income families.
  • Dues right now are set at $300 per year, but even the union states that this may increase. Dues in other states for child care unions are as high as $900 per year. In New York, providers pay up to $700 per year in dues and the union was not even able to negotiate a raise in child care assistance reimbursement rates. 
  • The majority of child care providers paying dues and fees has not received any tangible benefits in return. Only a tiny percent have received heath insurance.
  • This union, which will be comprised of predominantly unlicensed caregivers, will be able to negotiate exclusively with the state on issues that impact ALL licensed family child care providers.
  • According to AFSCME Council 5 constitution and bylaws, around $21 per month out of the dues and fee money paid to the local union must be sent to the state affiliate. Some of this will be sent out of state and not used for child care in Minnesota. 

Results of the Minnesota Licensed Family Child Care Association Survey showing an overwhelming majority of licensed family child care providers is opposed to unionization.  Many will raise rates if this legislation passes.  ...click here for the full survey.

Our Mission

This site is brought to you by licensed family child care professionals who are opposed to the unionization of our independent small businesses. Our mission is to provide information and educate the public, legislators, and child care providers.