DFL Gov. Mark Dayton on Tuesday said he will not appeal a judge's April decision to overturn his order for an election among in child care workers on whether to form a union.

"Although I strongly disagree with the Court's decision, I will not appeal it," Dayton said in a statement.

Two months ago, Ramsey County Judge Dale Lindman ruled that Dayton executive order for a union election among 4,300 child care workers "improperly superseded the Legislature's authority and violated the separation of powers clause as set forth in the Minnesota Constitution."

Republican lawmakers and conservative groups upbraided the governor for unilaterally ordering the election for child care workers who get subsidizes from the state.

Dayton, who had union support for his election, said he is willing to let the issue lay until after the November elections, a political point he made explicit in his official statement Tuesday.

"I will work toward electing a new legislature, which will support the right of working people to decide for themselves whether or not they want to join a union," Dayton said.

House Speaker Kurt Zellers, R-Maple Grove, too, has explicitly appealed to those who oppose child care worker unionization as a reason to re-elect a Republican Legislature. Last week, when he led about four dozen GOP candidates to file their candidacies, he mentioned it as a prime reason for support Republicans.

"It has come up more than the [Vikings] stadium," Zellers said of the child care unionization issue.

Since the April order, the issue has publicly lay fallow but Dayton and Zellers statements will keep it alive before voters going to the polls this fall.