Day of action unites working people in St. Paul, nationwide

February 24, 2018 by

Hundreds rally at the Capitol in support of worker freedom and economic fairness, joining a nationwide Working People’s Day of Action.

Working people filled the Capitol rotunda in St. Paul today, celebrating their freedom to join together for a voice on the job and pledging to fight corporate attacks with urgency and solidarity.

“Unions are here for the common good,” former St. Paul teacher Mary Cathryn Ricker, now vice president of the American Federation of Teachers, told hundreds of people gathered for the Working People’s Day of Action. “And we are here for good.”

The rally in St. Paul was one of more than two dozen across the country highlighting the benefits of collective bargaining and the critical role union members play in their communities.

Anne Bipes, who works as a secretary in a west-metro school district, attended the rally with members of her union, Service Employees Local 284. She said strong unions mean more than “just pay and benefits” for workers like her.

“It’s about equity and justice within our society, about equality for working people,” Bipes explained.

 

The day of action comes two days before the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in a lawsuit, bankrolled by corporate special interests, challenging the ability of Local 284 and other public sector employee unions to collect fair-share fees from workers they are legally required to represent.

The court’s conservative majority is likely to side with the plaintiff in Janus v. AFSCME Council 31, and the decision, expected as early as April, could make right-to-work conditions in the public sector the law of the land.

But public-sector workers aren’t cowering. They traveled in busloads to the Capitol, wore their union colors and carried signs vowing that no court ruling will keep them from joining together to fight for themselves and their communities.

Jim Glazer, a teacher in the South Washington County Schools and member of Education Minnesota, joined the rally to be “part of the energy” fueling actions across the country today.

“Janus is really going to test our unions’ ability to stick together,” he said. “That’s the point of it, to drag us apart. But we have a common cause here: workers’ rights and freedoms.”

Public-sector workers aren’t standing alone either. Private sector union members bolstered their ranks at the Capitol, as did allies from immigrant rights groups, faith organizations and the business community.

“What affects public workers will affect all workers,” said Deb Haugen, a registered nurse at Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis and member of the Minnesota Nurses Association. “For many years unions have set the standard for conditions in the workplace. If our voice is weaker, it’s not only going to be felt by union workers, but by all of us.”

Wendy Anderson, a Century Link retiree who remains active in her union, Local 7201 of the Communications Workers of America, said the landscape for unions is changing, but she thinks working people are up to the test.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re in the same union as me,” Anderson said. “We’re brothers and sisters, and we support each other.”

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St. Paul Schools, teachers reach tentative agreement

February 21, 2014 by
St. Paul Federation of Teachers President Mary Cathryn Ricker (left) and Superintendent Valeria Silva reviewed the contents of the tentative agreement with media members Feb. 24.

St. Paul Federation of Teachers President Mary Cathryn Ricker (left) and Superintendent Valeria Silva reviewed the contents of the tentative agreement with media members Feb. 24.

Three days before members of the St. Paul Federation of Teachers were scheduled to take a strike-authorization vote, negotiators for the school district and the teachers’ union reached a tentative agreement on a two-year contract that will run through the 2014-15 school year.

Teachers planned a ratification vote for March 4, and the union’s executive board has recommended members vote to approve.

The tentative agreement was the result of a 24-hour mediation session between the two sides that began Feb. 20. Joined by a state mediator and some members of the Board of Education, negotiators worked through the night.

After months of frustrating talks, SPFT President Mary Cathryn Ricker said, “the momentum was there the entire night, the engagement was there.”

As a result, instead of voting on whether to authorize a strike Feb. 24, teachers held a membership meeting to review details of the agreement, which Ricker said was an important step in efforts to “reclaim the school experiences that have been lost due to tightened budgets or encroaching standardized tests.”

Both the union and school administrators touted “key provisions” of the contract – and related agreements reached in bargaining – that, they say, will make progress on the teachers’ core bargaining principles. Known as “The Schools St. Paul Children Deserve,” the teachers’ guiding principles were developed after intensive outreach to parents and community stakeholders.

Chief among those priorities was lowering class sizes in the district. The tentative agreement will deliver more consistency and predictability in class sizes, while making the formula for calculating class-size restrictions more transparent, Ricker said.

The agreement also sets lower limits for class sizes in the 30 schools with the highest levels of poverty in the district, to “make sure resources get where students need them to go,” Ricker said.

The SPFT also made professional support staffing – media specialists, nurses, school counselors and social workers – a priority in negotiations, and the district committed to hiring 42 professionals in those fields.

Language in the agreement will reduce in-class time spent on standardized testing and test preparation activities over the next two years – another union priority – and calls for a “review of existing assessments for cultural relevance,” Ricker said.

Additionally, the district agreed to spend at least $6 million per school year to maintain and expand its pre-kindergarten programs for 4-year-olds.

Teachers made pre-K access a rallying cry at mobilization events in the weeks leading up to the strike vote, but SPPS Superintendent Valeria Silva said the district was always on board with increasing early-education investments. “We both needed to see it, and we got it into a wonderful agreement between the district and the union,” Silva said.

Ricker agreed the tentative agreement was a win-win for teachers and administrators. “You can’t see where the union’s proposal ends and the district’s proposal begins anymore because it’s such a blend,” she said.

The tentative agreement calls for salary and benefit increases amounting to 8.6 percent over the course of two years. Silva said the district remained “committed to providing a really competitive wage” to attract and retain teachers.

By scheduling a strike vote, the teachers’ union may have hastened the pace of negotiations. “I think maybe we were able to listen to each other a little better than before,” Silva acknowledged.

Still, at a press conference to review details of the agreement, the superintendent, union president and school board chair gave no indication the threat of strike had poisoned the labor-management relationship.

“We are nationally known for working well with our unions,” Board Chair Mary Doran said, “and we want to get back to that.”

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Community rallies behind teachers’ campaign for ‘schools our kids deserve’

February 19, 2014 by

Supporters line the sidewalk outside St. Paul Public Schools headquarters during a rally in support of the teachers' contract campaign.

Wearing red scarves, hats and shirts to show their solidarity with union teachers, families packed the parking lot outside St. Paul Public Schools headquarters yesterday during a rally in support of smaller class sizes, expanded pre-kindergarten and other community-driven priorities teachers have brought to the table in contract negotiations with the district.

“Parents are standing with you because you actually want to know what we want for our kids,” parent Leon Sanders told teachers at the rally. “And when we told you, you stood up for us.”

Supporters wear red to show their support for the teachers' union.

Supporters wear red to show their support for the teachers’ union.

The St. Paul Federation of Teachers organized the rally, which drew about 200 people, in advance of two critical events in negotiations: a return to the bargaining table tomorrow and a strike-authorization vote Feb. 24.

“We need to make sure our Board of Education hears they need to get serious about making progress with us on the schools St. Paul children deserve,” SPFT President Mary Cathryn Ricker said. “We want progress.”

Board of Education members received that message during a public hearing that opened their meeting later in the evening. A string of parents, teachers and students lined up to show their support for the teachers’ contract campaign.

Mariah Duncan, a senior at Central High School, told board members she’s had to sit on the floor of some classrooms stuffed beyond capacity. Jennifer Ewald, whose son has a severe peanut allergy and asthma, told board members she supports teachers’ efforts to staff more of the district’s schools with nurses.

Smaller class sizes and increased professional staffing are among the principles, culled from months of listening sessions with parents, students and other community stakeholders, that are guiding the teachers’ contract campaign. Others include a decreased reliance on standardized testing and expansion of the district’s pre-kindergarten offerings.

“I cannot stress enough that pre-K helped us put the pieces in place for our child to be successful,” Zuki Ellis told board members during the public hearing.

Leroy Duncan said his children report having as many as 29 students in their classes. “It’s not right," he said. "There’s no reason we can’t do better for our kids so they can get the type of attention they deserve."

Leroy Duncan said his children report having as many as 29 students in their classes. “It’s not right,” he said. “There’s no reason we can’t do better for our kids.”

A parent of three, Ellis also supports teachers’ efforts to reduce class sizes. Her oldest son has “close to 40 students” in some high school classes, she said.

“Is that safe for 40 high school students to be in a science lab?” Ellis asked. “Our babies deserve better – my babies, your babies, our babies.

“Thank you, teachers, for standing up for these issues.”

After the public hearing, board members tabled a resolution on the district’s response to a potential strike. But last week Superintendent Valeria Silva and Board Chair Mary Doran mailed letters to parents warning of school closures, schedule changes and other potential impacts of a teacher strike.

For Phillip Cryan, parent of a third-grader at J.J. Hill Montessori, the intent of that letter was clear.

“I was supposed to feel afraid,” Cryan said. “Other people got that message too? Well, I don’t feel afraid today.”

If it takes a strike to make progress on the schools St. Paul students deserve, Cryan added, then teachers will have his support – and support from parents across the district like him.

“We are with you in this fight because we see the love you show to our kids every day,” he said. “That’s why so many of us choose to live here and pay taxes here. We are going to be with you whatever it takes and for as long as it takes.”

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Parents, students support teachers’ walk-in demonstrations across St. Paul

January 30, 2014 by

St. Paul teachers and their supporters join a "walk-in" demonstration at American Indian Magnet school in the city's Dayton's Bluff neighborhood.

On days when the cold or snow delays the start of school, some students trickle into Ryan Long’s classroom at American Indian Magnet school, while others stay home altogether.

Sadly, it’s on these rare occasions that Long and other St. Paul teachers glimpse what it’s like teaching a manageable class size of students.

Ryan Long, a special education teacher at American Indian Magnet, supports his union's push to limit class sizes in the district.

Ryan Long, a special education teacher at American Indian Magnet, supports his union’s push to limit class sizes in the district.

“All of a sudden, you could manage your classroom,” Long said, joining a demonstration outside the school building before the start of classes this morning. “You can get things done.”

Limiting class sizes is among the key proposals Long’s union, the St. Paul Federation of Teachers, has prioritized in ongoing contract negotiations with the St. Paul Public Schools. SPFT members highlighted those priorities during “walk-in” demonstrations before class today at 55 school sites citywide, including American Indian Magnet in Dayton’s Bluff.

Parents, students and neighbors joined teachers at the walk-ins, showing their support for contract proposals the SPFT developed after months of gathering input from community stakeholders.

“We started our negotiation work with families, students and community members. It is only natural to continue that,” SPFT President Mary Cathryn Ricker said. “It’s time to make progress on a contract that ensures the schools St. Paul children deserve.”

[Click here to sign onto a petition supporting the SPFT’s community-driven vision for St. Paul’s schools.]

Negotiations began eight months ago. Along with limits on class size, teachers are pushing for expanded access to pre-Kindergarten; guaranteed staffing of school nurses, social workers, media specialists and other support staff; and a de-emphasis on standardized testing.

Michele Fairbanks, who teaches at the American Indian Magnet and has a daughter in the school, pointed to research by the union indicating some students spend as much as 30 days per school year taking tests.

“One set of tests is fine,” Fairbanks said. “But three or four standardized tests per year is overkill. The tests cost a lot of money, and that takes a lot away from students, from class sizes.”

In September, the district moved the talks into closed-door mediation and out of the public eye – a decision that rankled many teachers.

“The school district makes a big deal of having ‘Strong Schools, Strong Communities,’” American Indian Magnet teacher Jason Bresette said, citing the title of the district’s strategic plan. “But when they closed negotiations, it didn’t feel like they wanted strong community input.”

“Teachers who aren’t on the bargaining committee, parents, community members – we can’t listen or watch because they walked out so early in the process,” Fairbanks added.

Union officers said teachers planned the citywide walk-in to demonstrate their “frustration with the pace of talks, but it is not part of a formal run-up to a strike … or other job action.”

Long, who splits a case load of 45 students with one other special education teacher, believes district administrators and school board members share many of the teachers’ concerns, particularly when it comes to class sizes. But his caseload isn’t getting any more manageable as negotiations drag on.

“I’m supposed to have about 10 to 12 students in my caseload,” Long said. “We run out of chairs sometimes. It’s hard to move around in the classroom.”

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