Minneapolis educators vote on whether or not to strike after talks with district stall
Minneapolis Public School educators will vote on whether to authorize a strike starting Thursday, after another failed round of discussions with the district.
The union that represents educators say members are frustrated after months of talks with no serious proposals. On Tuesday, the two sides participated in a 15-hour mediation session with no progress.
Some of the top issues educators are passionate about include smaller class sizes, better pay and more support for students and staff.
WCCO reached out to Minneapolis Public Schools Thursday for an interview and were told no one was available to speak with us.
The district said in a statement online they are committed to quickly reaching an agreement with the union and say their proposals have addressed many union priorities including class size, caseloads and increased pay for adult educators.
The district wrote they want to reach an agreement that "works within available resources and prepares the district to navigate anticipated revenue reductions in the coming years. The school board has been closely involved and has already authorized resources above what had been originally allocated, with a focus on our top shared priority of class size."
The Minneapolis Federation of Teachers represents more than 4,000 educators. Union leaders are urging members to vote to authorize a strike.
On Thursday Marcia Howard, president of the teacher's chapter of the union, said nearly half of their members had already turned in a ballot.
"I believe that our members are the fist inside the glove and that's the power that we have in negotiations for the best contract that we can get, for the best schools that we can make," Howard said.
The federation says their top priorities are limited class sizes and better wages for adult educators and support professionals.
"All of us are worthy of a living wage and I don't think that its too much to ask that we sit together and look at the budget and determine how we can use the money that we have to come up with a solution," Howard said, adding she's disappointed in the response from the district so far.
Howard says their contract expired over the summer and they've been meeting with the district for months. She said Thursday the two sides are "so far apart right now."
The next mediation session is scheduled for Oct. 30. Howard believes there's still time to come to an agreement.
If the strike is authorized, the union would need to notify the district of their intent to strike ten days in advance.
The school district is already encouraging families to prepare for the potential impacts of a strike.
"We encourage families to start planning now on how they will manage child care and other family logistics if a strike happens," the district wrote online. "In the event that a strike happens, MPS will attempt to provide limited child supervision for students in grades PK-5 at a few school locations."