A classic balance-of-powers argument is shaping up in Ramsey County District Court.
Gov. Mark Dayton, a DFLer, is defending his order that set a union election for certain in-home child care providers as within his power and authority. The Minnesota Senate, controlled by Republicans, argues that he has no such authority and the election should be canceled.
The Senate's friend-of-the-court brief called Dayton's executive order "unprecedented and lawless, exceeding his scope of constitutional and statutory authority and usurping legislative power.''
Dayton's argument, made by the Office of the Attorney General, is that his order, if it leads to union representation, will merely "enable a dialogue" between state agencies and unions, and any changes that come out of those discussions must be approved by the Legislature.
On Nov. 15, Dayton issued an executive order that set an election to determine whether certain providers want to be represented by a union. A mail-in vote is scheduled to begin on Wednesday. A group of providers opposed to unionization filed the suit to block the election. Arguments are to be heard Monday before Ramsey County District Judge Dale Lindman.
