News Release! NFL Gun Lawsuit – Court Rules in Favor of MN Police in Lawsuit Against National Football League.

Published on: Oct 12, 2014

The Federation has endorsed Bev Benson for Judge. Bev has an excellent track record as being a strong prosecutor. Please assist with her campaign.

BEV BENSON FOR HENNEPIN COUNTY JUDGE, SEAT 53
Bev Benson is running for Hennepin County Judge (Seat 53) in the November 4th election. Ms. Benson has been a prosecutor for 28 years, 25 years in Hennepin County, and 3 years in Stearns County. She has specialized in the prosecution of domestic abuse, child abuse, sexual assault and homicides. Bev Benson graduated from William Mitchell College of Law (1985), completed Graduate Coursework at Luther Seminary (1982) and graduated from Augsburg College (B.A. Political Science 1981)

Bev has been an AFSCME member for 25 years. She is a member of Local 2938 and previously served on the Executive Board.

She has been a presenter and trainer at the National and State levels. She has also been a member of training teams funded by the US State Department who trained Judges, Prosecutors, Battered Women Advocates, Defense Attorneys and Police on best practices for investigating and prosecuting domestic violence cases in Russia. In 1999, Bev Benson received the “Exceptional Contribution to the Community” award from Hennepin County Commissioners recognizing her work on domestic violence in Russia and locally.

Bev has 15 years of experience moderating League of Women Voter Candidate Forums for Legislative, County, City and School Board Elections, and served as President of her local Wayzata/Plymouth League of Women Voters. Other personal volunteer service activities include: presenting trainings on domestic violence at the Minnesota Indian Women’s Center and the Rape and Sexual Assault Center. She has volunteered as a reader to second graders at the Nellie Stone Johnson Elementary School and volunteered at the Oak View Elementary School and Cedar Island Elementary School, the later two in the Osseo-Maple Grove School District. She is a Sunday School teacher and a Girl Scout Mom.

If your organization can let its membership know about Bev Benson for Judge by emailing your membership and/or providing information in your mailings and/or website, this would be greatly appreciated.

www.bevbensonforjudge.com
bevbensonforjudge.@gmail.com
Facebook: Bev Benson For Hennepin County Judge
Cell: 612-209-1738

Prepared and paid for by Bev Benson for Judge Committee. Helen Bassett, Chair. Emily Anne Staples Tuttle, Honorary Co-Chair

October 12, 2014

Minneapolis – Today, the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis (the “Police Federation”) announced their endorsement of Governor Mark Dayton and Tina Smith. The endorsement by the Police Federation was unanimous.

John Delmonico, President of the Police Federation, cited Governor Dayton’s advocacy on behalf of police officers and public safety in general. Delmonico cited the Governor’s support of Local Government Aid, which has helped cities across the whole state retain and hire police officers and provide needed equipment for police departments. Governor Dayton and the DFL legislature increased state aid to cities by $130 million after a decade of cuts.

“The Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis endorses people, not parties,” said Delmonico. “Mark Dayton has a long history of public service and most important to us, he understands the job of a police officer and the risks we face every day. One of the first bills Governor Dayton signed was to grant special protection to our police dogs who are really extensions of ourselves.”

“Mark Dayton gets what peace officers need to do our jobs. Governor Dayton is the person that police officers trust most to protect the public’s safety,” Delmonico said.

The Police Federation endorsed Tim Pawlenty for Governor in 2002 and 2006.

“I’m very honored to have the endorsement of the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis.” Dayton said. “I have great respect for the work that our officers perform for the people of this state, putting their own lives in danger. Whatever I could do to be supportive over the last four years I’m proud to have done, including funding for Local Government Aid to provide more resources to improve police and fire protection, and I will continue to work with our law enforcement and look forward to doing so.”

The Police Federation is the single largest organization directly representing police in the state with over 800 officers.

It’s been said that the devil is in the details. That was certainly true for the September Jobs Report. Read on to learn why.

On the surface, the September Jobs Report was a positive sign for the labor sector, as 248,000 new jobs were created, more than the 210,000 expected. In addition, there were upward revisions to both July and August, adding 69,000 jobs to what had been previously reported. And the unemployment rate decreased to an astonishing 5.9 percent, handily beneath the 6.1 percent expected and the lowest level in six years.

However, digging further into the report, Hourly Earnings came in unchanged. This means that wages aren’t growing—and without meaningful wage growth, it will be hard for our economy to improve any faster. Plus, the Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) fell to 62.7 percent, reaching its lowest level since 1978. The LFPR measures the proportion of working-age Americans who have a job or are looking for one, and it should be moving higher in a recovery. Overall, while this was a positive report, there is still some notable slack in the labor markets.

In housing news, the S&P/Case Shiller Index of property values showed that home prices increased by 6.7 percent for the year ending in July. This was below expectations and the slowest pace since late 2012, as home price appreciation continues to come back down to more normal levels.

And there’s an important headline to watch as we head further into the fall. The Fed’s big Bond buying program, which has helped keep home loan rates low in recent years, will be coming to an end later this month. But the Fed has vowed to keep home loan rates at low levels for some time through another existing program. This will be a key story to monitor in the coming months.

The bottom line is that home loan rates remain near some of their best levels of the year, and now is a great time to consider a home purchase or refinance

Published on: Sep 29, 2014

Hi Members:

With the passing of summer, we head into a new season – not back to school – but rather open
enrollment for insurance.

The good news for next year is that there are no changes to the health plan. We are retaining
coverage through Medica with the same plan options, deductibles and out-of-pocket levels. The even
better news is that rates actually are down from last year. Depending on your plan, the employee’s
portion of the monthly premium cost will go down by $1 to $5.

Over the summer, the City, in conjunction with our representatives on the Benefits Labor Management
Committee (“BLMC”), sent out a request for proposals for providers to submit bids for both a fully
insured plan and administration of a self-insured plan. Surprisingly, Medica proposed a fully-insured
plan for 2015 with lower premiums than what they charged in 2014. As a result, the BLMC determined
that best course was to retain the fully insured plan for 2015 and look to move to self-insured in 2016.
The one thing that will change is the wellness program. Over the summer, Medica announced that it
entered into a business partnership with RedBrick – a recognized leader in wellness programming –
to run Medica’s wellness platform. Our wellness program will keep the same basic format (multiple
options with a 300-point threshold for completion), but you will notice new options to meet the
wellness requirements.

Be on the lookout for open enrollment information in the mail, on City Talk and on the Medica website.
As always, there will also be a series of informational meetings. Remember, even if you intend to select
the same plan as last year, you should take the time to go through the open enrollment process to
ensure the accuracy of your information and to make your Minneflex elections. The Tax Code requires
that flexible spending account elections be made each year. Thus, there is no automatic renewal of any
tax-saving options that you might have selected in the past.

Finally, we are in the process of finalizing a “transparency” pilot program with Medica that will allow
you to make price comparisons for certain procedures and prescription drugs so that you can save
money on your out of pocket costs. The pilot program will include financial rewards for selecting low-
cost providers for medical procedures. The details of the pilot program are not yet finalized, but the
intention is for the program to be implemented on January 1, 2015 and run throughout the calendar
year. Stay tuned for more details on this important cost-saving program.

Sincerely,
Lt. John Delmonico
President, POFM

Consumers opened their wallets in August, as Retail Sales rose by 0.6 percent, buoyed by a surge in auto sales and partially offset by a decline in gas prices. Sales for July were also revised higher. The Consumer Sentiment Index for September also came in above expectations. Meanwhile, Initial Jobless Claims rose in the latest week, but remain relatively close to the 300,000 level they’ve been averaging recently.

In housing news, RealtyTrac reported that foreclosure filings in August, which included default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions, declined 9 percent from a year earlier, to nearly 117,000.

What does all of this mean for home loan rates? Positive economic news often causes money to flow out of Bonds and into Stocks, as investors hope to take advantage of gains. However, uncertainty trumped this principle last week, as both Stocks and Bonds worsened ahead of the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee meeting.

Investors are nervous about what the Fed may say regarding the end of their massive Bond-buying program, which is expected to end in late October. The program has helped boost the housing industry since its most recent inception in late 2012. However, despite the recent volatility in the markets, home loan rates still remain near 12-month lows.

The bottom line is that now is a great time to consider a home purchase or refinance. Let me know if I can answer any questions at all for you or your clients.

Published on: Jul 31, 2014

Dear Members:

I am writing regarding yesterday’s announcement by Mayor Hodges and Chief Harteau that they are seeking an “independent” investigation regarding the recent arrest of Al Flowers. At this point, it is not clear as to who will be conducting the investigation, whether the purpose of the investigation is to review Flowers’ conduct or the conduct of the officers, or whether the investigation is for the purpose of considering criminal or disciplinary action.

What is clear is that this decision demonstrates poor leadership by departing from standard policies and procedures in a frightened reaction to the publicity that Mr. Flowers and his supporters have generated based solely on his version of the events. Minneapolis Police Officers and taxpayers deserve better. Changes in policy should be made based on well-reasoned, deliberate conclusions driven by necessity and fact rather than by the reflex of self-preservation that seeks to deflect onto another person or agency the criticism that will be no doubt be leveled when the officers are exonerated.

In addition to the dubious motivation for the decision, it is illogical and fundamentally flawed in three respects:

1) It falsely is premised upon the presumption that Internal Affairs or OPCR cannot or will not conduct a fair and thorough investigation;

2) It is grounded on the wishful thinking, however unrealistic, that those who are protesting (and who probably have already made up their mind about what happened based on Flowers’ accusations) will ever accept any conclusion other one that finds the officers guilty of intentional criminal conduct; and

3) It sends the message that, if you want your allegations against the MPD to get special treatment, all you need to do is hold a press conference.

Rest assured that if, as anticipated, the Officers who arrested Flowers are the subject of the investigation, they are guaranteed a variety of due process and legal protections by the Constitution, State Statutes and our Labor Agreement. The Federation will not allow these rights to be violated or compromised in any respect either during or after any investigation regardless of who conducts it.

We will keep you posted as events develop.

John Delmonico