No one went to the recent DFL state convention in Duluth expecting surprises. Senator Amy Klobuchar accepted the party’s nomination and speakers delivered a clear message centered around party unity and support for Democratic candidates. When people reported the party, they were met with elegant comments about a great party and assurances that they had been seen and heard.
In other words, business as usual.
But there was one issue that the DFL Party leadership had little desire to see or hear.
On the ballot was a resolution to hold hearings on the Prove It First bill. This bill states that before a copper-nickel sulfide mine can operate in Minnesota, there must be independent evidence that sulfide mining has occurred in other parts of the country without causing pollution.
Despite popular support among elected officials and the DFL base, the DFL leadership, which has long sought to appease mining interests, opposes the bill. This became abundantly clear when, earlier this year, DFL Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy canceled a hearing on the Prove It First bill.
In response to this attempt to silence debate on the issue, clean water advocates held an open public hearing at the Capitol, with testimony from indigenous representatives, mining experts, and witnesses to the impact of mining disasters.
The DFL is the workers’ party. It is also the festival of the environment. What most Democrats don’t want is to be the party of big business.
At the convention, the AFL-CIO marshalled its considerable resources to fight the resolution to hold a hearing on Prove It First. It was not simply a matter of resuming an old fight based on that worn-out dichotomy between environment and employment.
Instead, workers had become an unlikely ally of the giant mining corporations.
This is strange. One of the fundamental functions of unions is to control corporate power. In doing so, unions gave us the 40-hour work week, built the middle class, brought dignity to work, and fought for health care and other benefits that have improved the lives of untold millions of people.
By taking such an extreme stance of opposing even a hearing on Prove It First, the AFL-CIO was working in tandem with some of the most corrupt corporations on the planet. The United Steelworkers rated Glencore – a Swiss-based mining giant seeking to open a copper sulfide mine in Minnesota – as the second-worst company in the world to work for, and wrote a comprehensive report, “Glencore’s Story of Broken Promises.” ”.
Now the AFL-CIO is acting as the political arm of this corrupt corporation?
At the convention, the debate around the Try It First resolution was overwhelming. In any debate involving so many voices, there were plenty of straw men, red herrings, mischaracterizations, and, of course, an amendment to weaken the resolution.
Labor tabled an amendment to subtly change the resolution from a hearing on Prove It First to a hearing on copper and nickel mining more generally. Labor called this the “unity” amendment. The tactic was to remove the Try It First bill from the resolution so there would be no tangible legislation to debate.
In the end, the amendment was adopted by only six votes, out of more than 600 votes cast. This amended resolution was approved with 62% of the votes. Supports the “Legislature holding hearings on copper and nickel mining and supports withholding all permits for copper and nickel mines in Minnesota until it can be demonstrated that such mines can be operated safely in our water-rich environment and not violate state, federal and tribal laws. water quality standards.
It’s not perfect, but the party’s platform now calls for the first legislative hearings on copper-nickel mining in 14 years. We look forward to the next session, when we can have this long-awaited debate.
The DFL talks about being a big tent. For too long, the components of clean water have been left out of that store. This may be based on a calculation by DFL party leaders who think this is good for their political future, but it hasn’t been good for the water, Minnesotans, or the environment.
Keynote USA
For the Latest Local News, Follow Keynote USA Local on Twitter.