St. Paul educators vote to authorize strike: ‘It’s time for us to stop being disrespected’

Over 2,000 SPFE members voted on a potential strike yesterday at the Carpenters hall in St. Paul.

Over two-thirds of the Saint Paul Federation of Educators’ members filed into the Carpenters union hall yesterday to take a strike vote, and an overwhelming 92% voted “yes.”

Union leaders said they hope the resounding support educators showed for their bargaining team will push the St. Paul Public Schools to improve its financial proposals in mediation sessions scheduled the next two Fridays. Otherwise, the union’s 3,689 members – teachers, education assistants and school professionals – could go on strike next month.

“When the district sits and refuses to talk to our bargaining team about the things that we need, they are not just refusing that small group of people,” SPFE Treasurer Robyn Asher, a teacher on special assignment, said. “There are thousands of us, and this (vote) is a show of support.

“We’re showing that we’re ready, and we’re hoping that they take us seriously.”

That means offering educators more than the most recent wage proposal, which would raise most union members’ pay by 3.75% over the two-year contract. Educators also want some relief in their health insurance costs.

“We just had insurance increases, and our paychecks have all gone down,” Rene Myers, an intervention specialist at Hazel Park Preparatory Academy, said. “The district wants to add to the cost.”

SPFE members said they expect the district to do better after state lawmakers passed a record $2.3 billion increase in funding for public schools last May – and after the district raised administrators’ pay by 6% last August.

“It’s about priorities,” Asher said. “With what our members are seeing the Legislature give to education this time and for what we know that we need to retain educators, [the district’s offer] is not good enough.”

SPFE members went on strike for a week in 2020, and they came within minutes of a strike deadline in 2022 before reaching a deal with the district. Those talks resulted in historic contract language that commits the district to investing in the services that educators say their students need, like class-size limits, school nurses and mental-health supports.

This time around, union negotiators are looking to preserve and expand on those gains, while also gaining ground in compensation, arguing it is critical to the district’s ability to recruit and retain staff during a statewide teacher shortage. Myers said 75% of her colleagues at Hazel Park have told her “they’re leaving or they’re thinking about leaving.”

In a statement released after the votes were tallied, SPFE President Leah VanDassor said educators don’t want to strike, but have shown they are committed to doing what’s necessary “to give our students the schools they deserve and keep our educators in the profession for years to come.”

“Over the past decade, our union has come together with our community to win improvements to our schools like class size limits and student mental health supports,” she added. “Now is the time to build on that progress while also helping our educators afford their lives and stay in this district.”

SPFE must give the district notice at least 10 days before beginning a potential strike.

“Nobody wants to go on strike,” Myers said. “This is not what we set out to do. It’s an inconvenience and a pay loss for a lot of us. But it’s time for us to stop being disrespected.”