Idled Minn. public employees hold on

Associated Press

ST. PAUL, Minn.

Kent Mechels spent the last three Christmases away from his family plowing snow off Minnesota roads so people could drive safely. It was a hardship he accepted as part of the job, he said.

But Mechels’ latest sacrifice — getting laid off during a state government shutdown now entering its second week — has him thinking about quitting.

“I’m looking at other state agencies in different states right now. I’ve lived in Minnesota my entire life. I may be leaving,” said Mechels, a single father from Rochester. “When the state government treats their employees like this, I don’t need to be part of it.”

Many of the 22,000 public employees out of work in Minnesota’s budget impasse say they will get through the extended layoff by tapping into personal savings, relying on a spouse’s income or unemployment checks, and making household spending cuts.

But others are looking for new jobs, creating the potential for a brain drain that would be one more negative from the nation’s longest state government shutdown in a decade.

Erik Pakieser, an emergency planner for the state transportation department, took to Twitter soon after the shutdown to shop his services for what he hopes could be a better-paying job in the private sector. The state stands to lose an employee it spent a lot of money training, the St. Anthony Village man said.

Not everyone is job hunting.

Brent Anderson, who manages Whitewater State Park in southeastern Minnesota, has a wife who works and said he simply plans to cut back on expenses. Anderson is spending more time volunteering at the Goodview Fire Department.

Jim Ullmer, of Crystal, a commercial vehicle inspector for the Department of Public Safety, has been babysitting his 18-month-old granddaughter, who he took to an anti-shutdown union rally at the Capitol last week.

“We’ve cut back and skipped a lot of things just in preparation,” Ullmer said. “Right now I’m just babysitting little Anna. ... She’s a full-time job and I love doing it, but I’d much rather be out doing my job.”

Ullmer also has been spending time on the phone. He’s the chief steward statewide for members in his agency who belong to the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

The workers’ money woes contrast sharply with the position of state lawmakers, who are still eligible for their salaries during the shutdown — although some have chosen not to take them. And while their unions are a traditional power base for Democrats and support for Dayton remains strong, it’s not universal.

Brian Lindholt, of Minneapolis, says Republicans could end the shutdown simply by meeting the Democratic governor halfway.

“This is real. This is not a joke,” said Lindholt, a father of three who works for the Department of Transportation. “This is real life and we’re without a job right now because ... they are holding the majority as legislators so they think they can strong-arm the governor.”

Some, such as Mechels, say both parties deserve blame.