Welfare Rights Committee is continuing to fight for poor and working Minnesotans at the Capitol. As it stands now, we need your immediate help to tell the politicians the time is now to ACT!

Unfortunately, the poor of Minnesota are at risk of being sold out
yet again by politicians.  We are asking everyone to call on the two politicians
below.

Senator Berglin has the power to undo the all the devastating welfare cuts from 2003 and raise the
welfare grants.

Representative Jim Davnie has the power to hear a bill that will prohibit workfare in Minnesota. This willstop the use of slave labor in the workplace. The bill, HF 924 will prohibit workfare in Minnesota's
Employment Law.

Please call NOW:

Contact Senator Linda Berglin:

Tell Senator Berglin to not sell out poor Minnesotans. Tell the Senator to undo ALL the cuts to welfare and raise the grants. Tell Senator Berglin that her omnibus bill should undo the devastating welfare cuts of 2003 and give a cost of living increase to welfare
for the first time in 21 years!

Senator Linda Berglin
Phone #: 651-296-4261

-and-

Contact Representative Jim Davnie:

Tell Representative Davnie to give HF924 a hearing in his Labor and Consumer Protection Division Committee. HF 924 is the workfare bill that will prohibit forcing of welfare recipients to work for free in order get their welfare grants. HF 924 prohibits workfare in Minnesota's labor law, because
this is a labor issue! It must be heard quickly to meet deadline.  No private, or public, for-profit or non-profit business should be using welfare recipients and thepoor as free laborers. If there is a job out there to be done make it a real job with a living wage and benefits

Representative Jim Davnie
Phone #: 651-296-0173

Summary of the items to mention in the 2 bills.

--Undo the cuts of 2003. These include the $125 MFIP cut to disabled families, the $50 MFIP cut to families in subsidized housing, the family cap, restrictions on education and the increased
co-pays for poor families' childcare and basic medical.

--Raise the MFIP (welfare) grants. The welfare grant has not been increased in 21 years, yet the cost of living has risen by 84%.

--$50 Cut to Families in Subsidized Housing:

Families who receive MFIP and live in subsidized housing, Section 8, or public housing are having their monthly cash grant cut by $50 a month. When you are living 60% below the poverty line, $50 is a
very serious amount of money. This affects 11,000 Minnesota families, or an approximate 33,000 children and their caregivers.

--Outlaw workfare/slave labor in MN. Pawlenty is trying to bring back workfare. Workfare forces MFIP parents to work for nopay in order to get the grant. We say, if there is a job to be done, make
it a real job with real wages and benefits! If workfare is allowed to happen, it will serve to hurt all working people, as real jobs are replaced by free-labor jobs.

Please forward to anyone who can call.

Thank you for your continued support,