Frustrated by the St. Paul Public Schools’ refusal to take up their top priorities in contract negotiations, SPFT members will take a strike authorization vote Jan. 31.
Union coat drive will help St. Paul’s homeless youth keep warm
January 11, 2018 by
“If students don’t know how they’re going to stay warm on their way home – or if they’ll be able to stay warm when they get there – it’s really hard to focus during school.”
Community Ed offers courses in labor history, construction careers
January 10, 2018 by
Want to learn more about local labor history? Looking to explore career opportunities in the construction trades? Community Ed has you covered.
Teachers to large nonprofits: ‘We all have a stake’ in St. Paul schools
December 18, 2017 by
Tom Stinson, a school nurse at Harding Senior High, sat across a table from two representatives of Allina Health last month and painted an unsettling picture. “Our kids will usually go to the nurse in their school eight times before they access any health care outside the school,” Stinson said. “They don’t get to the […]
Voters back labor-endorsed candidates, referendums in local elections
November 8, 2017 by
Labor-endorsed candidates performed well in municipal and school-board elections across the East Metro area Nov. 7, while voters in four large suburban school districts approved major school-funding requests that drew support from local unions. Kera Peterson, political director of the St. Paul Regional Labor Federation, which issues unified labor endorsements in local races, credited endorsed […]
Teachers look beyond ‘cookie-cutter’ signs and banners with community art build
November 8, 2017 by
Teachers in St. Paul are throwing out the playbook in contract negotiations with the district this year. Banners, signs and posters in the union’s storage closet are on the way out, too. Educators, parents, students and community stakeholders will work together on new, artist-designed signs and banners this weekend at a “community art build” co-hosted […]
Erik Brandt: An open letter to Macalester College (and its peers)
July 5, 2017 by
I’d like to tell you about my long-time colleague, Amy. Over the last 20 years at Harding High School in St. Paul, I have watched Amy work tirelessly with thousands of our fantastic students – nearly all of whom are low-income, minority, first generation to attend college – to help them navigate the college acceptance […]
Teachers kick off contract campaign by targeting corporate tax dodgers
April 18, 2017 by
Anticipating negotiations with a school district that seems perpetually short on resources, St. Paul teachers launched their contract campaign today – Tax Day – by calling on the city’s wealthiest corporations to pay their fair share toward local public schools. St. Paul Federation of Teachers Local 28 kicked off its contract campaign early this […]
St. Paul teachers answer Trump’s divisive rhetoric with wall of support for immigrant students
January 20, 2017 by
Teachers, parents and community members lined the walkway outside LEAP High School in St. Paul yesterday, forming a protective wall around students at the school for new immigrants as they walked to their buses after dismissal. Organized by the St. Paul Federation of Teachers on the day before Donald Trump’s inauguration, the public action […]
Union plumbers step up to keep St. Paul Schools’ water safe
November 21, 2016 by
Union plumbers are stepping up to make sure drinking water is safe for students and staff in the St. Paul Public Schools. The district recently finished testing all water fixtures in its buildings for lead. While more than 95 percent of fixtures passed the initial test, maintenance staff identified 233 fixtures that needed replacing. At […]
