Affording Your Life with Attorney General Keith Ellison

Utility Players: How We Cut Energy Costs Oct 25, 2024

We do a lot at the Minnesota Attorney General's Office to help folks afford their lives, including fighting to keep your utility bill fair. When your power company is looking to raise rates, we're often on the other side of the table, advocating for individual and small business ratepayers. On this episode, we tell the story of that important work, and share how you can get involved.

For more on our advocacy for ratepayers, see this post on our Substack: https://affordingyourlife.substack.com/p/utility-players

Working for Workers in Minnesota Sep 27, 2024

Workers are up against a lot right now. Wage theft affects tens of thousands of Minnesota workers every year. Non-compete agreements are stifling competition and suppressing wages. And sometimes employers reach into your paycheck and take money they shouldn't. Fortunately, my Office is committed to standing up for working people and holding bad actors who take advantage of workers accountable.

We cover all these issues and so much more on this episode of Affording Your Life. Please be sure to rate, review, and share with friends and family!

You can read the Attorney General's full Working for Workers report here: https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Reports/LaborReport_2024.pdf

To submit a complaint to the Minnesota Attorney General's Office, visit this link: https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Complaint.asp

The Economics of Abortion Access ft. Senator Tina Smith Jun 26, 2024

Attorney General Keith Ellison is joined by Senator Tina Smith to discuss the economic impact that access to reproductive healthcare, or the lack thereof, can have on people across the country.

How to Catch a Scammer Jun 03, 2024

On this week's episode, Attorney General Ellison takes listeners behind the scenes of an investigation. AG Ellison, alongside an attorney, an investigator, and a mediator from the Office, discusses how his team found out that a used car dealership was scamming Minnesotans and what the Office is doing to stop it.

Fighting Employer Misclassification Fraud May 06, 2024

Attorney General Ellison joins state Representative Emma Greenman, state Senator Clare Oumou Verbeten, and AGO Senior Policy Advisor Carin Mrotz, for a conversation on what employer misclassification fraud is, how it harms all of us, and a new law that will help prevent it.

The Minnesota Debt Fairness Act, Explained Apr 01, 2024

State Senator Liz Boldon and State Representative Liz Reyer join the podcast this week to discuss the Minnesota Debt Fairness Act with Attorney General Ellison. This is a bill that would help folks struggling with debt live with dignity and afford their lives while they work to pay what they owe.

Give it a listen and, if you think this bill would make people's lives better, reach out to your state lawmakers and urge them to support the Minnesota Debt Fairness Act.

The 2023 Lighting Round Recap Jan 26, 2024

Attorney General Keith Ellison walks listeners through some highlights of his office's recent work in an unconventional format.

S4E1: All about inflation, price gouging, and the banking crisis May 17, 2023

Welcome back to Affording Your Life! We are kicking off Season 4 by talking all about inflation, price gouging, and what the recent bank failures mean for everyday people.

My guest today is Dr. Lindsay Owens is the Executive Director of the Groundwork Collaborative. Widely known for her ability to communicate pressing economic concepts and arguments, Lindsay has been credited with changing the way we understand inflation, by leading the charge to expose—and articulate—the role of firm pricing power and corporate profiteering in price increases.

Follow Lindsay on Twitter: @owenslindsay1 / Learn more about Groundwork Collaborative: groundworkcollaborative.org.

Contact the Minnesota Attorney General's office at 651-296-3353 or visit ag.state.mn.us.

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S3E10: All about the Fairview/Sanford Merger - Part 2 Mar 29, 2023

For the season three finale, we're continuing last week's conversation about the Fairview and Sanford Health merger. Carrie and Elizabeth are back to talk more about the Fairview and Sanford Health merger. Carrie is the Manager of the AGO’s Charities Division and Elizabeth is an Assistant Attorney General in the Civil, Wage Theft, and Antitrust Division.

Affording Your Life will be back for Season 4 on April 12.

Contact the Minnesota Attorney General's office at 651-296-3353 or visit ag.state.mn.us.

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S3E9: All about the Fairview/Sanford Merger - Part 1 Mar 22, 2023

In November 2022, Fairview and Sanford Health announced their intention to merge their organizations. As part of that process, our office is conducting a review of the transaction. Here to help us understand the merger and what it means for Minnesotans, I have Carrie Washington and Elizabeth Odette. Carrie is the Manager of the AGO’s Charities Division and Elizabeth is an Assistant Attorney General in the Civil, Wage Theft, and Antitrust Division.

Today's episode is the first episode of our series on the merger. Tune in next week for part two!

Contact the Minnesota Attorney General's office at 651-296-3353 or visit ag.state.mn.us.

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S3E8: Advocating for residential utility customers w/Joe Meyer Mar 15, 2023

Today’s guest is Joe Meyer, the Manager of the Residential Utilities Division here in the Minnesota AG’s office. Joe and his team advocate for residential and small business consumers when they have issues with their utility services and take action against utility companies when they violate the law and hurt Minnesotans.

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S3E7: Protecting consumers w/Parker Maertz Mar 08, 2023

The mission of my office is to help Minnesotans afford their lives with dignity and justice, and our Consumer Action Division is critical to advancing this mission. Today’s guest is Parker Maertz, the Manager of our office’s Consumer Action Division. We are going to talk about the function of the Consumer Action Division and how our office can help you.

To file a complaint, visit ag.state.mn.us or call our office at 651-296-3353.

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S3E6: Fighting worker misclassification w/Burt Johnson Mar 01, 2023

In 2021, a study from the Midwest Economic Policy Institute found that nearly 25% of construction workers in the Minnesota experienced some form of wage theft, costing taxpayers more than $135 million. I called Burt Johnson, my friend and the General Counsel for the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters to discuss the problem of misclassifying workers, how it hurts workers, and what the Carpenters Union is doing to protect their members.

Contact the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters

If you are a victim of wage theft: Call our office at 651-296-3353 or visit ag.state.mn.us to file a complaint.

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S3E5: Organizing with workers against wage theft w/Claudia Lainez (COPAL) Feb 22, 2023

This week on Affording Your Life, I am joined by Claudia Lainez, to talk about her experience growing up in El Salvador and her work as an organizer, fighting against the injustices faced by workers, including wage theft. Claudia is the Worker's Center Coordinator at COPAL, a grassroots organization that seeks to impact the quality of life for Latinos in MN.

To learn more about COPAL or get in touch with the Worker's Center, visit copalmn.org or call 612-427-2011 and follow COPAL on Facebook.

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S3E4: The importance of enforcing wage theft w/Terri Gerstein Feb 14, 2023

For the first episode of 2023, I called my friend, Terri Gerstein to discuss the issue of wage theft, the importance of prosecuting employers who steal from their workers, and the next frontier for worker protections.

Terri Gerstein is the Director of the State and Local Enforcement Project at the Harvard Law School Labor and Worklife Program, and also a Fellow in the Program. She recently completed an Open Society Foundations Leadership in Government fellowship. Previously, she worked for over 17 years enforcing labor laws in New York State, including as the Labor Bureau Chief for the New York State Attorney General’s Office, and as a Deputy Commissioner in the New York State Department of Labor. Before her government service, Terri was a nonprofit lawyer in Miami, Florida, where she represented immigrant workers and also co-hosted a Spanish language radio show on workers’ rights.
Her work has appeared in publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Nation, The Guardian, and The Hill, among others; a complete listing can be found here. She has also appeared on Democracy Now, Univision and Telemundo. She’s a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School.

Follow Terri on Twitter: @TerriGerstein

Visit Terri's website: https://www.terrigerstein.com

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S3 E3: The Fight for Fair Housing: Manufactured Home Communities Sep 08, 2022

Manufactured home communities provide a great source of affordable housing that can be modern and well-maintained, nothing like their outdated public perception. However, keeping housing conditions healthy and thriving requires vigilance and a willingness to challenge ownership and management companies that don't keep their end of the deal. Assistant Attorney General Katherine Kelly and Investigator Nina Grove lead our office's Special Outreach and Protection Unit, which has protected the rights of hundreds of renters in the past year.

We visited the residents of Viking Terrace in Northfield, Minnesota to hear about how they stood up to shoddy management— and won. Katherine and Nina also discuss how our office can help anyone finding themselves in a similar situation.

Special thanks to the community members that shared their experiences with us: Jorge and George Zuccolotto, Dawn DeLacruz, Nathaly Sanchez Hernandez, Mar Valdecantos, and Pastor Abe Johnson of Emmaus Baptist Church.

To file a complaint with the Attorney General's Office, visit our website or give us a call at (651) 296-3353 (Twin Cities Calling Area) or (800) 657-3787 (Outside the Twin Cities), Monday through Friday. Referenced in the episode are our publications on what to expect when the rules of manufactured home parks change, the rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants, and the manufactured home parks handbook. These publications and more can be found on our website, several in different languages.

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S3 E2: Reproductive Rights and the ERA Jul 25, 2022

The recent Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization overturned 50 years of precedent established by Roe v Wade, creating fear, chaos, and confusion across the country. To dig deeper into what it all means, and how it is re-igniting the fight for equal rights, I chat with Sarah Stoesz, Sharon Lau, and Betty Folliard.

Sarah Stoesz is President and CEO of Planned Parenthood North Central States. Over twenty years of leadership, she has built PPNCS into one of the largest Planned Parenthood affiliates in the country, starting with Minnesota and South Dakota and then adding North Dakota, Iowa, and Nebraska, providing health care to more than 100,000 patients each year.

Follow PPNCS on Twitter: @ppnorthcentral

Sharon Lau is the Midwest Advocacy Director of Whole Woman’s Health Alliance. She is a committed and passionate women’s rights advocate with 21 years of experience working with non-profit health care providers and advocacy organizations.

Follow Whole Woman's Health Alliance on Twitter: @WWHAlliance

Betty Folliard is the founder of ERA Minnesota. She is a nationally known speaker, thought leader, political strategist, and policy maker at the local and state levels.

Follow Betty on Twitter: @Bfolly

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Protecting Family Farmers by Breaking Up Monopolies (Recast from 2020) Jun 21, 2022

Protecting Minnesota family farmers is a top priority of the Minnesota Attorney General's Office. This episode is a recast from 2020 when I sat down with Assistant Attorney General Joe Meyer to talk about market consolidation in Agriculture and what we can do to create a more fair economy.

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S3 E1: What's Really Going on with Inflation Jun 14, 2022

For the Season 3 kick-off, I chat with Richard Painter and Lindsay Owens about what's really going on with inflation. Spoiler alert: corporate greed.

Richard Painter is a professor at the University of Minnesota Law School. From February 2005 to July 2007, he was associate counsel to the president in the White House Counsel’s office, serving as the chief ethics lawyer for the president.

Follow Richard on Twitter: @RWPUSA

Lindsay Owens is the Executive Director of the Groundwork Collaborative. Lindsay has worked in academia, government, and the non-profit sector for nearly 15 years. Most recently, she served as a senior economic policy adviser to Senator Elizabeth Warren and as deputy chief of staff and legislative director to Reps. Keith Ellison and Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal.

Follow Lindsay on Twitter: @owenslindsay1

Read Lindsay's latest article in the New York Times.

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S2 E3: Combating the Spike in Hate Crimes Against the AAPI Community May 25, 2020

This week, we chat with Bo Thao-Urabe, Executive Director of the Coalition of Asian American Leaders and State Senator Foung Hawj, District 67 about the spike in hate crimes against the AAPI community during the COVID-19 pandemic and what we can do to combat hate crimes.

We also ask Bo and Senator Hawj to reflect on the importance of Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

As always, please subscribe, rate, and share the show.

SPECIAL SERIES: Episode 1: The Trial of Max Mason May 21, 2020

Max Mason was one of several black circus workers accused of sexually assaulting a white woman in 1920. Three were lynched -- Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson, and Isaac McGhie -- from a light pole as 10,000 residents of Duluth watched.

Two went to trial, and Mason, was the only one convicted in a case that has been mired in controversy ever since.

Three days before the 100-year anniversary, a posthumous pardon petition for Max Mason will be heard on June 12, 2020 before the Minnesota Pardon Board. This special podcast series will cover the story leading up to the Pardon Board hearing.

The pardon depends on a unanimous decision from the Governor, the Chief Justice fo the Minnesota Supreme Court, and me.

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S2 E2: Preventing Evictions May 18, 2020

This week we are talking about how to Prevent Evictions, with two Assistant Attorneys General, Katherine Kelly and Mike Goodwin, on the front-lines defending tenants.

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S2 E1: Affording Your Life in a Pandemic May 11, 2020

The Season 2 launch is here. Attorney General Ellison kicks off Season 2: How to Afford Your Life in a Pandemic by giving an update on the work the Attorney General's Office has done to protect tenants, prevent price-gouging, and how to stay socially connected while we are physically apart.

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#11 A Special Black History Month Interview with 9-Year-Old Student Raela Feb 18, 2020

9-year-old student Raela asks Attorney General Keith Ellison about growing up Black in Detroit, his favorite music, and how he uses his position to open up doors for others.

#10 Affording Elder Care with Executive Director and Founder of Elder Voice Feb 05, 2020

Attorney General Keith Ellison talks to Executive Director Kris Sundberg and Founder and Legal Counsel Suzanne Scheller of Elder Voice to discuss elder abuse and advocacy.

#9 Reflecting on Martin Luther King Jr. Day Jan 20, 2020

Attorney General Keith Ellison reflects on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the current fight for economic equality and racial justice.

#8 What You Need to Know About Our Settlement with Comcast/Xfinity Jan 15, 2020

Attorney General Keith Ellison talks to Assistant Attorney General, Katherine Kelly about a recent settlement with Comcast/Xfinity.

#7 What You Need to Know About Our Settlement with CenturyLink Jan 08, 2020

Attorney General Keith Ellison talks to Assistant Attorney General, Alex Baldwin about a recent settlement with CenturyLink, the third-largest telecom company is America that was fraudulently overcharging Minnesota customers. For More Information Visit: https://www.ag.state.mn.us

#6 What is Wage Theft? w/ Workers’ Rights Advocate Terri Gerstein Dec 09, 2019

Attorney General Keith Ellison discusses wage theft with Terri Gerstein, the Director of the State and Local Enforcement Project at the Harvard Law School Labor and Worklife Program. Terri has worked for over 17 years enforcing labor laws in New York State. Over the course of her career Terri has represented immigrant workers and has been an advocate against wage theft.

#5 Hate Crimes Listening Session w/ Peace Advocate and Former Violent Extremist Christian Picciolini Nov 04, 2019

During a live community listening session on hate crimes in St. Cloud, Minnesota, Attorney General Ellison was joined by faith leaders of a variety of different traditions, State Representative Dan Wolgamott, Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Rights Rebecca Lucero, and Christian Picciolini, an author, television producer, peace advocate, and former violent extremist. Christian Picciolini’s involvement in and exit from the early American white-supremacist skinhead movement is chronicled in his memoir White American Youth. He now leads the Free Radicals Project, a global extremism prevention and disengagement network, and has helped over 300 individuals leave hate behind. His work is spotlighted in his MSNBC documentary series “Breaking Hate.” Picciolini’s forthcoming book, Breaking Hate: Confronting the New Culture of Extremism, will be published early next year. Music By Parker Maertz Produced By Shanell McCoy

#4 Affording Housing: Youth and Family Homelessness Oct 21, 2019

Attorney General Keith Ellison discusses the issue of youth and family homelessness with a mother and daughter, Nadia and Nazarria McKinley currently facing homelessness, educator, Joe Nathan, St. Paul Councilmember, Jane Prince, and McKinney Vento Liaison, Anne McInerney. Music By Parker Maertz Produced By Shanell McCoy

#3 Affording Wages with Lead Attorney Jonathan Moler and Lead Wage Theft Investigator Ana Vergara Oct 07, 2019

Attorney General Keith Ellison defines wage theft with Lead Attorney Jonathan Moler and Lead Wage Theft Investigator Ana Vergara of the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office Wage Theft Unit. Music By Parker Maertz Produced By Shanell McCoy

#2 Affording Drug Prices with Nurse Consultant Shirlynn LaChapelle Sep 23, 2019

Attorney General Keith Ellison discusses inequities in the healthcare system with Shirlynn LaChapelle, nurse consultant and member of the Minnesota Attorney General’s Task Force on Lowering Pharmaceutical Drug Prices. Learn more at.state.mn.us. Music by Parker Maertz. Produced by Shanell McCoy.

#1 Affording Insulin with Nicole Smith-Holt Aug 19, 2019

Attorney General Keith Ellison discusses the rising prices of insulin with Nicole Smith-Holt, Charity Ambassador of T1 International and co-chair of the Minnesota Attorney General's Task Force on Lowering Pharmaceutical Drug Prices. Learn more at ag.state.mn.us Music by Parker Maertz. Produced by Shanell McCoy

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