Minneapolis Federation of Teachers (MFT) Teachers and Education Support Professionals in the Minneapolis Public Schools are on strike for safe and stable schools. This is the first strike in 50 years in this district.
Their fight parallels what nurses and other healthcare workers are experiencing. Top-down, corporatized control of schools and teaching is hurting students and driving families out of the district, so MFT members are demanding:
- Smaller class sizes because students have better learning outcomes when they get more attention from teachers.
- A living wage for Education Support Professionals – people like the Special Education Assistants. Their starting pay is currently $24,000 a year and as a result talented educators can’t afford to stay in those jobs, leaving students without the support they need to learn.
- Mental health support for students, like a social worker at every site and lower School Psychologist to student ratios.
- Recruitment and retention of educators of color.
Educators have always turned out to support nurses when we’ve needed them. Can you and your coworkers support them now? Picket lines are planned every day at every school, 7:30-10 a.m. There are several MPS schools very close to MNA hospitals. Can you gather a group of nurses to show your support?
- Abbott Northwestern/PEI: Andersen United Middle School, 1098 Andersen Ln. (just off 10th S directly behind the hospital)
- Hennepin Health: FAIR School for the Arts, 10 S. 10th
- M Health Fairview Riverside: Seward Montessori, 2309 28th Ave S.
- M Health Fairview Southdale: Armatage Community School, 2501 W. 56th
- Methodist Hospital: Southwest High School, 3414 W. 47th
- North Memorial Health: Lucy Laney Community School, 3333 Penn Ave N.
For more information: https://www.mft59.org/strike-readiness or follow MFT on social media: