St. Paul Federation of Teachers Settles Landmark Contract!
Through joint parent, student, and teacher organizing, the Saint Paul Federation of Teachers just settled a landmark contract, limiting class sizes and standardized testing, and emphasizing culturally relevant education and access to pre-school, while creating a path for teacher aides to become credentialed. For more information, check out this article: http://advocate.stpaulunions.org/2014/01/30/parents-students-support-teachers-walk-in-demonstrations-across-st-paul/
Part of the reason why the union in St. Paul was so successful is because of their policy of open bargaining. Over the last four years, St. Paul has pushed for rank-and-file teachers, parents, and community members to be present for and participate during bargaining, putting management on their best behavior: http://www.labornotes.org/2013/10/bringing-community-bargaining-table
Here is a summary of some of their key wins, as written by a teacher-activist in St. Paul:
Smaller Classes
- The district agreed to calculate elementary class size limits within each