VIDEO: MN Senate Panel Votes 'Right to Work' Amendment

Update (3 p.m. Monday): Here is video of Sen. Barb Goodwin (DFL-50) at the hearing for the "Right to Work" bill on Monday at the Minnesota Senate Judiciary Committee. (See the archived video from the UpTake above). Goodwin represents a large part of western and southern Fridley.

"It really basically takes away rights," Goodwin said of the bill, which she termed an "ill conceived notion."

See Goodwin at the beginning of the video, as well as at the 37:30 and 1:32:50 marks.

Look for a separate post with Goodwin's comments from an interview after the hearing.

Update (1 p.m. Monday): The Right to Work bill passed the Senate Judiciary Committee by a vote of 7-6.

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Original post (10 a.m. Monday): State Sen. Barb Goodwin (DFL-50), who represents Fridley, is on the Minnesota Senate Judiciary Committee that is holding a hearing on putting a proposed "Right to Work" Constitutional amendment on the ballot in November. The amendment would make paying union dues optional.

Goodwin spoke about her family's union background—her grandfather participated in the 1934 Minneapolis Teamsters' strike. Among her comments:

The clear mission of this bill is to weaken the unions and to prevent employees from organizing. ...

What we're saying with this bill is that we're ready to decrease the spending power and quality of life for employees and allow employers to pay a lot less money. ...

The purpose of this bill is plain and simple: attracting low-wage workers. [Employers'] next move is to Third World countries where they can get even lower wages. ...

We will just be a state that has a whole lot fewer people in the middle class.

Read the Senate bill that would put a "Right to Work" on the ballot.