Minneapolis teachers’ strike leads to with higher pay and more support

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America's Work Force Union Podcast AWF

Guest Name:

Greta Callahan

Guest Website:

www.mft59.org

Guest Social Media:

Facebook

Twitter

Supportive Documents:

Minneapolis Federation of Teachers (MFT) Local 59 President Greta Callahan joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast and discussed recent collective bargaining wins by the Minneapolis teachers and support staff following a nearly three – week strike, one of the longest educators strikes in decades.

The Minneapolis educator’s strike lasted from March 8 to March 27, and it was the MFT’s first strike since 1970. Both the teachers and educational support professionals (ESP) voted to approve the contract (76 and 79 percent respectively) offered by the administration.

ESP members won wage increases, as they will go from a starting wage of $19.83 per hour to almost $24 per hour. Teachers also received modest pay raises in addition to mental health support for students. The administration agreed to employ a nurse, school counselor, psychologist or social worker at every secondary site.

Over the course of the strike, the superintendent, HR director and a school board member resigned, which ultimately weighed in favor of the unions, Callahan said. She described the negotiation process as terrifying, as administrators had little interest in the concerns for children. Instead, she felt they were primarily driven by power and control. Ultimately, the striking educators prevailed through union solidarity, including the support of other unions, she added.

Listen to the entire episode to learn more about the educators’ successful strike.

America’s Work Force is the only daily labor podcast in the US and has been on the air since 1993, supplying listeners with useful, relevant input into their daily lives through fact-finding features, in-depth interviews, informative news segments and practical consumer reports. America’s Work Force is committed to providing an accessible venue in which America's workers and their families can hear discussion on important, relevant topics such as employment, healthcare, legislative action, labor-management relations, corporate practices, finances, local and national politics, consumer reports and labor issues.

America’s Work Force Union Podcast is brought to you in part by our sponsors: AFL-CIO, American Federation of Government Employees, American Federation of Musicians Local 4, Alliance for American Manufacturing, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes-IBT, Boyd Watterson, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, Communication Workers of America, Mechanical Insulators Labor Management Cooperative Trust, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 50, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Crafts, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 6, Ironworkers Great Lakes District Council, Melwood, The Labor Citizen newspaper, Laborers International Union of North America, The National Labor Office of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, North Coast Area Labor Federation, Ohio Federation of Teachers, United Labor Agency, United Steelworkers.

Minneapolis teachers’ strike leads to with higher pay and more support

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