ST PAUL, Minn. — For the second time in just a few years, the St. Paul teachers union is voting whether to go on strike.
The Federation of Educators includes about 3,600 members who are teachers and education assistants. They narrowly avoided a strike in 2022, but some of the same sticking points remain, including higher wages, smaller class sizes and mental health support.
Union members were able to vote until 8 p.m. on Thursday, but even if they agree to authorize a strike, union leaders need to approve it and give the district a 10-day notice before the first day of a strike.
“Here we are having to fight for crumbs, quite frankly again, and that just seems ridiculous in this year of plenty for education,” said St. Paul Federation of Educators President Leah VanDassor.
The union and the district are quite far apart in wages, including in the second year that’s nearly 6% higher than what the district is proposing.
“People are expecting and demanding their employers honor and respect the work they’re doing,” said VanDassor. “There are so many more emotional needs that are not being met by society right now that falls on the school to take care of that.”
The district says nearly half of its teachers already make more than $90,000 year, but VanDassor says a third of its members are new and make much less. She says a better salary will help retain more teachers as staffing shortages continue.
Add in millions of dollars in funding gaps that the district says still exist, despite historic legislative funding from last year, and budget woes will likely persist.
“I’ve been in the district for 28 years, I just hit $90,000,” said VanDassor. “There’s a lot of teachers who are newer and they’re not the experienced folks, so we want to keep them around. They’re younger, more innovative, all those things.”
The union members did go on strike in 2020 and almost again two years later, narrowly avoiding it by settling with the district. Overall, negotiations are lagging for hundreds of districts, including Minneapolis, making it the slowest pace of settlements in two decades.
“I’m never confident about mediation,” said VanDassor. “It’s not enough days, not enough time with a lot still on the table.”
In a statement, the district calls the last two days of mediation productive and says it has scheduled two more meetings scheduled for Feb. 23 and March 1.
The union expects to release results of the vote to authorize a strike Friday at 8 a.m.
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