u/Minnesota_Empathy

The Nicole endorsement was unanimous among members of the MAPE Solidarity Caucus, and 97 percent of Solidarity Caucus members endorsed Maureen. This was after the candidates participated in a Solidarity Caucus candidate forum, where they each were asked tough questions concerning negotiations, the contract, striking, and other issues our members deeply care about.

Candidate forums are happening as we speak across many of the locals/regions, including some statewide forums. Check here for a list of forums.

And, of course, if you're not yet a MAPE member, you need to sign up by the 22nd to have the power to vote!

Hey folks! I'll start off by saying I'm an active MAPE member and volunteer, but I'm not an official member of the campaign I'll be promoting in this post. I wasn't asked by the campaign to share my thoughts, and I'm doing so purely because I want to spread the good word. I'll also mention that the views in this post are my own and don't reflect MAPE as an organization.

With those disclaimers out of the way, I want to share my thoughts on the upcoming MAPE elections. It's going to be an absolutely crucial one, where we'll be electing a new statewide President, statewide VP, negotiators, and many other local positions throughout the union. If you are represented by MAPE but are not a member (someone who pays dues), you only have about a week remaining to sign up in order to be eligible to vote. Sign up here!

The next few years are going to be absolutely brutal; it's been bad enough with Walz's disastrous RTO order and bad faith bargaining during the 2025 negotiations cycle, and I'm confident that, regardless if Klobuchar or a Republican become our next governor, negotiations in 2027 will be even more challenging than 2025. I have zero faith that the top DFL or Republican candidates would be willing to negotiate with us in good faith, so we need to prepare, and one of the best ways to do so is by filling positions with those with the leadership, temperament, and dedication to fight for our rights and help us finally come out on top. Moreover, the President serves as the head negotiator for MAPE, so it's imperative we get the right leader in office so we can stand the best chance during and beyond negotiations.

With that in mind, I'm enthusiastically recommending that members consider voting Nicole Juan for President.

Nicole has been relentlessly working to build MAPE's political and labor power as the Chair of the Political Council, and I've witnessed firsthand the positive impact that she has brought to our union, especially as it relates to increased civic participation among MAPE members, whether that be through getting members connected with their state legislators on bills that matter to them (and ones which would be harmful to us), organizing turnouts to MAPE's Lobby Day at the state capitol, and helping to organize our first big push toward getting members to participate in the DFL and GOP caucus and convention processes.

We've heard from state legislative leaders and candidates that they've noticed and felt our presence at conventions, and by showing up to let our elected leaders and candidates know we mean business, our odds at pushing politicians to be a bit more labor friendly will only grow, which will only help us during contract negotiations. Nicole has been an instrumental force in these efforts, helping fellow MAPE colleagues realize that our workplace conditions are intrinsically tied to the political process, a process that needs involvement from state workers. The legislature has ignored state workers for far too long, and quite frankly, that's now changing thanks, in part, to Nicole's strategic leadership.

Through my conversations with Nicole, I'm confident that she'd be an effective President, leading our union through the tough headwinds of a brutal round of contract negotiations and the myriad of other challenges we face: from federal budget cuts which impact a good chunk of state workers, to unfounded attacks from the far right who want to slash our jobs as punishment for "fraud, waste, and abuse" that is perpetrated by third-parties, to the Freedom Foundation-funded campaigns to brainwash members into dropping their membership, hoping to slowly drain our resources so unions lose their collective bargaining power, only benefiting the oligarchy.

In speaking with fellow MAPE colleagues from across the state who've had the pleasure of working with Nicole, I've only heard positive stories regarding their interactions, and as someone who is helping to organize MAPE's showing at the upcoming DFL convention in Rochester, I can honestly say that she's been among the most accommodating and collaborative folks in our union. I know that she'll fight to not just preserve our healthcare, but to also help us achieve MEANINGFUL pay increases, Work from Home protections, and many other victories that we absolutely need, and if we do go on strike, I have complete confidence that she'll lead the picket lines with the strength and tenacity of an effective union leader so that we can come out of it in a much better position than where we started.

As we approach this upcoming election, I would encourage everyone to support Nicole. She is incredibly responsive to inquiries, and if you have questions for her, you can find her email address and social media accounts here. On her website, you can also find the huge list of endorsements she earned from various MAPE local, regional, and statewide leaders.

Of course, I'd also love to see you all research all the candidates and reach out to them with questions. MAPE's upcoming candidate forums will be an excellent opportunity for you to listen to and compare each of the candidates and make up your own minds. You can find a list of forums here.

Thanks for giving this post a read, and I hope you consider casting your vote for Nicole!

 Edit - The comments here do more justice for Nicole than I ever could, so please give those a read too!