Minneapolis teachers vote to authorize strike

Minneapolis Public Schools educators have voted overwhelmingly in favor of authorizing a strike amid an impasse in contract negotiations with the district.

Educators rallied outside the public school district’s headquarters in north Minneapolis Tuesday afternoon to show their support for the union and urge the district to come to the bargaining table with better contract proposals.

The Minneapolis Federation of Educators had announced late Monday that 92 percent of its members cast ballots in the multiday vote, and of those — 92 percent were in favor of putting the option of a strike on the table.

The vote outcome does not mean a strike has been called by Minneapolis teachers. If the union chooses to move ahead with a work stoppage, it would need to announce a strike date with at least 10 days’ notice to the district.

Union leaders have not yet announced a strike date. Mediation between the union and the district continues with another session scheduled for Thursday.

The union has been in negotiations with district leaders since April. Union leaders are negotiating contracts for teachers, educational support professionals and adult educators. The union is asking for better wages, class size caps and more special education support.

“No one wants to strike, but district leaders have left us no choice,” Marcia Howard, president of the union’s teachers chapter, said in a statement. “We are ready to reach an agreement as soon as possible, but we are also fed up and ready to take a stand.”

Community members “understand that we are fighting for smaller class sizes, safe staffing and for special education pay parity for adult educators, because they are also licensed teachers,” said Catina Taylor, head of the union’s professional support staff chapter.

Brenda Johnson has worked for the district for many years and says she can't afford to retire. “Education support professionals, we're working two and three jobs,” Johnson said. “And most of us can't afford to pay our mortgage and our rent.”

Becky Trammell has been a special education teacher for 16 years, and she’s also a parent.

“My child is impacted by the larger class sizes; he does have a learning disability,” Trammell said. “And so when he's in his general education classroom, he doesn't get the support that he really needs."

The district had previously said, as the union started its strike authorization vote last week, that the two sides “are aligned on values and we share the same primary goals for our contracts.” But school district officials also said they’re facing a challenging budget outlook.

“The district remains hopeful that a student-centered and fair agreement can be reached and looks forward to the next scheduled bargaining session on Thursday,” the Minneapolis school system said in a statement Tuesday morning.

The school district says if it agrees to part of the union’s proposals from just one of its chapters, it will need to make significant staff reductions and scale back or eliminate programs and services.

Minneapolis has been struggling with its budget for a while. It has faced multiple years of budget gaps of $75 to $100 million.

Last year it asked voters to approve a $20 million technology levy. Voters agreed to that, but that addressed only a portion of the budget concerns.

Earlier this year the district said it would have to make cuts to school nutrition and special education staff as well as cuts to administration.

The district has seen its enrollment decline significantly over many years, contributing to its financial problems. Enrollment stabilized last year, but the budget issues haven’t been fully addressed.

The union previously went on strike for more than two weeks in 2022 — its first strike since 1970. Educators and the district narrowly averted another strike in 2024, reaching an agreement on the eve of a planned strike authorization vote.

Use the audio player above to listen to the accompanying conversation between MPR News reporter Elizabeth Shockman and host Nina Moini on Minnesota Now.

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