Minneapolis educators strike
After nearly three weeks (and 15 days of canceled classes), Minneapolis Public Schools and the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers have come to an agreement that will end its first strike in over 50 years. Students will return to classes Tuesday, March 29, with teachers and staff coming back Monday for a transition day.
Members of MFT voted Sunday evening to approve a new contract, with around 76 percent of teachers and 80 percent of ESPs (education support professionals) voting in favor.
Throughout the strike, educators have been fighting for higher wages, including for ESPs (who offer classroom aid, behavioral support, work one-on-one with students requiring extra help, communicate with families, help with before- and after-school programs, amid other responsibilities), mental health support systems for students, contract-enforced class size caps, increased recruitment and retention of educators of color, among their demands. (See our guide for further details.)
“This has been a life-changing experience for all of us,” a statement from MPS superintendent Ed Graff reads. “Through it all, we have seen the power and passion of our community, the commitment of our staff and the intense need to focus on our students. I believe MPS and MFT have arrived at a fair and equitable agreement that honors the requests and needs of our staff.”
According to the MPS website, high school graduation dates won’t be affected by the strike, but spring break has shifted to start Monday, April 4 instead of this Friday, April 1. School will now end for the summer on June 24—two weeks later than originally planned—and 42 minutes will be added onto each school day starting April 11 to make up for lost time. (MFT says teachers will be paid for 15 days and ESPs 16—they weren’t paid during the strike).
“These historic agreements contain important wins for our students and the safe and stable schools they deserve,” MFT stated in a press release. “We walked out united to change the trajectory of MPS and ensure that educators have a greater say in how we do our work. This too has been achieved and will have impacts that improve our district for years to come.”
The district has said it cannot afford the terms sought by the union as it faces a $22 million budget deficit in the coming year even with $75 million in one-time COVID relief funding, according to a Start Tribune report. Even before the contract was negotiated, district leaders said the budget shortfall will likely mean future layoffs and school closures.
According to MFT ESP chapter president Shaun Laden, the new contract will provide a starting pay increase of $4+ per hour for ESPs, as well as more working days and hours, getting starting pay closer to $35,000/year. Every ESP will receive a minimum $2/hour raise. ESPs will also receive bonuses of $6–$7,000, depending on how many years they have worked for MPS.
MPS teachers will receive a 2 percent salary increase the first year of the new contract (plus a $4,000 bonus), then 3 percent the following year—though this is still lower than inflation and in comparison to other nearby districts, Bring Me The News notes.
MFT also saw gains in the requests for more mental health support for students, they say: At minimum, one social worker will be onsite in each MPS building, and the number of elementary schools with a school counselor will double. Ratios of school psychologists to students will decrease from 1:1,000 to 1:850.
Class sizes will be capped (at 20 for pre-K all the way up to 40–44 for high school), with social worker caseloads limited as well.
The new contract also includes language protecting educators of color from seniority driven layoffs (“if excessing a teacher who is a member of a population underrepresented among licensed teachers in the site, the District shall excess the next least senior teacher, who is not a member of an underrepresented population,” the contract reads), and will add mentors to support educators of color in the district.
“Students need educators who look like them and who they can relate to,” a statement from MFT reads. “This language gives us the ability to identify and address issues that contribute to disproportionately high turnover of educators of color.”
“We know that we would not have been here without doing what we had to do,” MFT president Greta Callahan said in a press conference Friday. “And that’s also a reality that is unfortunate—that we had to do this in order to get some critical supports for our students. And so we are so happy, so grateful to be here our with community, with our families, with each other, and to get kids back in school. This is a historic day. This is a historic fight.”
