Reassurances were reported by Strib that AFSME specific bargaining rights were recognized and touted by each candidate. Whether other issues; e.g., the fifteen buck minimum wage for other workers - mostly unorganized young workers - if discussed at all was not reported by Strib.
Healthcare, extreme wealth and income imbalances, and money corrupting politics, if discussed, went unreported.
If any straw polling was involved, none was reported. If Kumbaya was sung as part of the solidarity showing, beyond the tee shirts, it was unreported.
Liebling remains a favored candidate here, but the entire batch seems to be a selection of qualified and ambitious individuals. Whichever ends up being the DFL general election candidate, he or she will be head and shoulders better than the likes of Kurt Daudt or Keith Downey, or Matt Dean. Opinions can differ.
Who knows, the Minnesota GOP could end up standing Tim Miller as their candidate for Governor.
NOTE: Republican Glen Taylor owns Strib. That should be borne in mind, in terms of possible slanting of the story.
__________UPDATE___________
One among several Strib gallery photos from its DFL-AFSME report:
That "People Power" banner inspires hope that AFSME membership and leadership will become very vocal on the fifteen buck minimum wage, with those laboring under sub-standard pay being people, some even voters, and if only focused on its ox not getting gored AFSME is missing a golden opportunity to show Minnesota-wide community solidarity - all workers being important - with such solidarity working to the benefit of all beyond low-wage exploitative employers. A long sentence, perhaps, hopefully, preaching to the choir.
_________FURTHER UPDATE____________
A websearch.
Good politics are shown on the national union's page, linking here.
Local "News" page; search=fifteen getting no hits.
This page. If AFSME is not vocally in front ranks on the fifteen dollar minimum wage issue, why the hell not? Worker issues transcend bargaining unit or national organized affiliation - all workers need the help of all other workers, and those laboring full working weeks for inadequate pay to live on need the help of others most. If nothing else, organizing minimum wage workers to get out and vote for candidates enunciating their plight as an election platform issue simply makes sense and it remains a big mystery why AFSME is less on the dime than SEIU in recognizing and advocating for meeting pay needs among the lower pay rungs of the national workforce.
__________FINAL UPDATE____________
Luckily finding a link before some reader emails calling me a dunce, this link:
http://afscmemn.org/story/victory-minimum-wage
It is GOOD to see that. Declaring a "victory" before no worker is being paid a current wage of less than fifteen dollars per hour, today, now, is arguably premature.
Yet the issue is recognized. Publicizing such matters remains to be done statewide in an effective way; with Republican ownership of news outlets being an obvious impediment to overcome.
__________Actually another UPDATE____________
Again, myopia; this link. A broader appeal to labor outside of teachers and public sector employees is needed. SIEU cannot carry all of it alone. Young people being disadvantaged on wages; older people having lost a better job working 40 or more hours a week and unable to meet expenses - these are people a Bernie Our Revolution agenda can energize, there was that pattern of Bernie massive turnouts being ignored by owned media; and everyone including AFSME needs to transcend myopia. Minimum wage abuse is a fine starting point. Broaden the persepctive or get Scott Walkered. It's not too complicated to comprehend, so where is the movement's movement? HINT: It is not Nancy Pelosi, any more than the Clinton spouses, Saban in Hollywood, and Podesta campaign management carried much. DWS was poison. Tom Perez is inadequate to save AFSME's bacon. Go talk to Ellison, and beg forgiveness for the Perez-DWS-DNC debacle pattern in all its ongoing glowing glory.
_______________FURTHER_____________
A websearch. Single Payer is not a difficult thing to understand, and once understood, advocating vigorously for it follows. Usually. Among good people, which AFSME seems to have.