Last Wednesday, more than 50 members of the Minnesota National Guard were kicked out of the St. Paul Labor Center, despite having permission to be stationed there. Guard Members peacefully left the building as union members taunted and jeered at them.

Today Senator Jeff Howe (R-Rockville) presented a resolution that commends the National Guard for their actions, and also calls upon the unions to act decisively and fire their members and leadership that forced the Guard Members to leave without notice and allowed the Guard Members to be harassed as they exited the premise. 

“The National Guard had explicit permission to use the Labor Center for a staging area, and they used the space respectfully, caused no damage, and left when requested to do so,” Sen. Howe said. “Yet even after they were booted out with no place to go, union members taunted them with disgusting remarks. The folks responsible for allowing these reprehensible actions to happen must be held accountable for their actions. It’s unconscionable that union leaders not only ordered the Guard Members to leave, but then also allowed the harassment of these members as they left peacefully. These men and women were called to duty to respond to the needs of fellow Minnesotans in their time of need and have only ever acted with professionalism. The union leaders’ actions were appalling, and this resolution simply calls for them to be held accountable.”

Howe is one of several veterans, including service in the Minnesota National Guard, in the Senate. He began his military career in the United States Navy as an avionics technician aboard the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk. Over the course of his career, Senator Howe was deployed to Iran during the Iranian Hostage Crisis and served two decorated tours in Iraq. In 2017, after 38 years of service, Howe retired from the Minnesota Army National Guard as a lieutenant colonel and deputy commander of the 175th Regiment Regional Training Institute.