MINNEAPOLIS (Washington Insider Magazine) – Teachers in Minneapolis struck a tentative deal early on Friday to conclude an over 2-week protest over pay and other concerns that kept 29,000 students and 4,500 teachers and staff out of school in one of Minnesota’s biggest school districts.
The teachers and support staff union claimed it got what it wanted when its members went on strike March 8 after being unable to reach an agreement with district management on a contract. The district said it is looking forward to welcoming employees and children back to school on Monday, and that ratification votes are expected during the weekend.
However, a teachers strike in Sacramento, California, approached its third day on Friday, with unions comprising 2,800 educators and 1,800 school staff walking the picket lines over compensation and workforce shortages. According to ABC NEWS, the Sacramento City Unified School District has canceled classes at all 76 of its campuses, affecting 43,000 children.
Unions are taking the opportunity presented by tight labor markets around the country to reclaim some of the influence they believe they have lost in past decades. As the nation recovers from the pandemic, analysts predict greater labor unrest. The administration of President Joe Biden is proposing measures that would make it simpler for government employees and contractors to form unions.
Families who had already been through the most turbulent times of the coronavirus outbreak were worried about missed academic progress and racing to find child care after the Minneapolis walkout.
Throughout the negotiations, Minneapolis Public Schools administration and school board members claimed that they did not have money to satisfy teachers’ requests, particularly for big permanent pay raises.
The day before the Minneapolis educators walked out, teachers in nearby St. Paul signed a tentative agreement, securing a package that was comparable to what their Minneapolis colleagues were seeking. Union leaders pointed to this as proof that Minneapolis officials, too, were willing to compromise.
Ben Polk, a special education aide, expressed relief over the agreement but said he needed to examine the conditions before commenting further. Polk had previously stated that staff shortages meant that aides such as him were expected to attend several higher-need kids at the same time, making things much more difficult for both instructors and students.