The rejection of the new collective bargaining agreement for nearly 28,000 state workers by a House-Senate subcommittee on Thursday is the latest example of the divide between Republicans and DFLers over how to make the state an attractive employer.

The past year has seen polarizing, multimillion-dollar battles over the role and rights of labor unions across the country.

It was just a month ago that Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak got a call from the political director at the Democratic National Committee, who wanted to know he if was interested in serving as one of five vice chairs of the group.

The scene was a new one for the governor, at least since the state entered a historic government shutdown two weeks ago. While Dayton made an additional offer to the GOP majorities and appeared at two St. Paul news conferences in the week after the July 1 shutdown, few have seen the state’s chief executive outside of the confines of the now-locked down state Capitol.

With the entire state watching to see whether Rep. Morrie Lanning can pass a bill to fund a stadium for the Minnesota Vikings, one would assume he has little room on his legislative agenda for other matters.

The leaders of Minnesota’s two largest public employees unions today announced they’re spending $300,000 on statewide advertising in support of Gov. Mark Dayton’s proposed budget.

Despite a legislative setback, the state's recycling services will be outsourced to a private firm starting next Tuesday.

This year’s gubernatorial contest is the main event for Minnesota interest groups of all political stripes. But that doesn’t mean business, labor and a variety of other public policy concerns are overlooking the 201 legislative seats that are also on the November ballot.

The MAPE public employees union is pushing back against GOP criticism with a new radio ad buy that highlights the work of public employees.

R.T. Rybak earned his first labor union endorsement in the 2010 gubernatorial contest before even entering the race.