Hours after scheduling strike vote, Minneapolis teachers reach tentative deal with district

The Minneapolis teachers union has canceled a strike vote, after reaching a “tentative tentative agreement” with the Minneapolis Public Schools.

“We worked together collaboratively in service to the students of Minneapolis Public Schools and reached an agreement that we are both proud of,” Greta Callahan, president of the teacher chapter of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers and Education Support Professionals, said in a statement the district sent early Thursday morning.

The announcement from the district came 13 hours after the union authorized strike votes for both teachers and education support professionals, which were scheduled for Thursday and Friday. Both groups have been bargaining with the district for months. Teachers entered mediation with the district on February 29. Education support professionals held their first mediation session on Monday.

“As we keep our students at the center, we worked together to reach an agreement that honors the hard work of our licensed staff and recognizes our budgetary constraints,” Superintendent Lisa Sayles-Adams said in a statement.

The district said details of the agreement would be made available after members vote on the contract. Teachers had been seeking higher pay in hopes of improving staff retention.

The Minneapolis Federation of Teachers and Educational Support Professionals represents more than 3,000 teachers and about 1,600 educational support professionals, union leaders said.

Though teachers reached an agreement Thursday, that same day educational support professionals began voting on whether to authorize a strike. The union said it would announce the results of that vote Saturday.

“We’re happy for our teacher colleagues, but our negotiations with the district are going too slowly,” said Catina Taylor, president of the union’s education support professional chapter, in a statement. “The district offers so far do not respect our contributions to the education of Minneapolis students.”

Educational support professionals play a variety of roles, including classroom support, behavior intervention, and family communication. They are more racially and ethnically diverse than the district’s teachers, which means they often share life experiences with their students. They are also paid less.

If members authorize it, union leadership can choose to call a strike at any time, with 10 days’ notice to the district.

In 2022, all three bargaining groups of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers and Education Support Professionals went on strike, shutting down schools for three weeks. This year, however, the union and districts have settled their contracts one at a time. Adult educators and K-12 teachers both reached agreements this month, leaving just the education support professionals with an unsettled contract.

Herb Mikel, a special education assistant at Sanford Middle School, told Sahan Journal on Wednesday that although the lowest-paid education support professionals received a 20% pay increase in the contract that settled the 2022 strike, many still have to work multiple jobs to make ends meet. She also said their health care contributions significantly reduce their take-home pay.

Minneapolis Public Schools is facing a budget shortfall of more than $110 million, and has laid out proposed cuts of more than 200 full-time staff positions, larger class sizes, termination of mental health contracts, and the elimination of fifth-grade band. The district has said that any additional funds to settle union contracts would result in steeper budget cuts.

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