The Minneapolis City Council will vote on whether to create a Labor Standards Board by the end of the year.

If passed, the board would give recommendations to the council and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey regarding proposing new or updated labor regulations.

The board would comprise five employers, five employees and five community stakeholders, Council Vice President Aisha Chughtai (Ward 10) said in a statement emailed to the Minnesota Daily.

“There are clearly defined parameters for each seat ensuring that there are small and large employers, unionized and non-unionized employees, and community stakeholders such as consumer advocates or economic experts so that no one group or one interest can dictate policy recommendations,” Chughtai said in the statement.

Additionally, at least one representative of employees, employers and community stakeholders must support any recommendation that goes through the board before it goes before the council, Chughtai said in the statement.

Former city Council Member Elizabeth Glidden (Ward 8) supported the proposed board in an op-ed article in the Minnesota Star Tribune in August.

“This would be a place where you have that unique construction of bringing together the worker perspective with an employer perspective and a community perspective, which I just see is really valuable,” Glidden said.

Outside of being a useful tool, the proposed board is also an issue the frequently divided council and Frey can align on, Glidden said.

“This is something that could help continue to show that there are ways that, even where we kinda see sometimes this mayor and council are on different paths, that they’re off the same path (on this issue),” Glidden said.

Chughtai said in the statement she is hopeful the board will pass it as it is an easy way to improve the lives of working people.

However, misconceptions regarding what the proposed board would actually do have pitted small business owners and working-class people against each other, Chughtai said in the statement.

“Disinformation and fear-mongering about a Labor Standards Board — which is simply an advisory body to the Council — seems strange unless the special interests groups simply object to the equal presence of workers,” Chughtai said. “They’ve made it clear that it’s in their interest for policymakers to never hear from everyday Minneapolitans that make up the workforce.”

The board would not have the independent power to pass laws or change labor regulations.

Part of the board’s purpose is to facilitate conversation between business owners and working-class people, Chughtai said in the statement.

“The Labor Standards Board would be able to increase employer/employee engagement and do so on the basis of specific sectors, avoiding policy recommendations that take a one-size-fits-all approach,” Chughtai said in the statement.

Glidden said cities weighing in on workplace protections is not uncommon and the board is an opportunity to address labor issues within the city.

“I think (the board) is a unique opportunity for there to be sort of more of a formalization to conversation about what may be a rising issue,” Glidden said.