December 4, 2025
To the Leadership and Members of:
- AFSCME Council 5
- Education Minnesota
- MAPE (Minnesota Association of Professional Employees)
- SEIU Healthcare Minnesota & Iowa
- Minnesota Nurses Association
- All other public-sector unions representing employees of the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS), Department of Education, and related agencies
Dear Union Leaders and Members,
Americans for Fair Treatment is a national non-profit that stands with public employees who face retaliation for speaking up about waste, fraud, abuse, and threats to public safety. Today we are writing publicly because multiple Minnesota state employees, your dues-paying members, have allegedly come forward as whistleblowers exposing massive fraud in Minnesota’s social services programs and systematic retaliation, including silencing and intimidation, for trying to stop it.
As you know, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) launched a formal congressional investigation into more than $350 million in documented fraud in Minnesota programs under Governor Tim Walz’s watch, including:
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$240+ million stolen from the Federal Child Nutrition Program
- $104 million in fraudulent housing-stabilization claims
- $14 million in fake autism-treatment billing
- Credible allegations that some stolen funds were wired overseas to terrorist organizations including Al-Shabaab and ISIS
Even more disturbing are the repeated claims from DHS insiders, your members, that the Walz administration and Ellison administrations knew about the fraud early, chose not to stop it (reportedly for fear of political backlash), and then retaliated against employees who tried to sound the alarm. Whistleblowers have told congressional investigators and the media that DHS management deleted data, withheld records, and punished employees who reported the theft of taxpayer money.
These whistleblowers are your members. They pay dues every paycheck expecting that their union will defend them when they expose corruption and protect the public.
That is why Americans for Fair Treatment is publicly asking you, on behalf of these courageous employees and the Minnesota taxpayers you serve, the following direct questions:
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When did DHS employees inform you that they were being silenced and retaliated against for reporting the Feeding Our Future and related fraud schemes. What, if anything, did your union do to defend them at that time?
- Were you aware that state managers were allegedly deleting evidence and withholding records to cover up the fraud? If not, why not?
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Did your members tell you they were being punished for blowing the whistle and did your union file grievances, demand investigations, or take any public stance in their defense?
- Isn’t it the fundamental duty of a public-sector union to protect members who expose waste, fraud, and abuse even when the wrongdoing implicates high-ranking political officials?
- Will you now, today, publicly commit to defending any current or future whistleblowers who come forward with evidence in the ongoing congressional investigation?
The taxpayers of Minnesota and the nation deserve to know whether the unions that collect mandatory dues or fees from DHS and Department of Education employees actually stood up for those employees when they tried to stop hundreds of millions of dollars from being stolen and possibly funneled to terrorist organizations.
Your members risked their careers to do the right thing. Where were you?
We request a public response to these questions within 10 business days. The whistleblowers you represent, and the citizens who pay your salaries, deserve nothing less.
Sincerely,
Chip Rogers
President & CEO Americans for Fair Treatment
President & CEO Americans for Fair Treatment