The Saint Paul Federation of Educators Screening Committee is now accepting applicants for the bargaining team until Friday, March 26, 2021 at 5p.m. At SPFE we select one bargaining team with representatives from the Educational Assistant, School and Community Service Professionals, and Teacher/Licensed staff units to negotiate all three contracts. To be considered for the SPFE bargaining team you must:
- Be a dues paying member of SPFE,
- Complete the bargaining team application,
- Collect signatures from at least 25 other SPFE members who support your application to the team*, and
- Interview with the screening committee the week of April 12, 2021.
To get started, complete the application by clicking on the link below.
*Contact Leah (leah@spfe28.org), Abena (abena@spfe28.org), or Maggie (maggie@spfe28.org) for a support petition. Petitions are due at the time of your interview.
SPFE Bargaining Team Informational Meeting
Past bargaining team members will be hosting an informational session about what it means to be on the bargaining team on Monday, March 22, 2021 directly after the SPFE Membership Meeting (via zoom). The membership meeting starts at 5pm and we anticipate the informational sessions will begin around 6:30p.m. Please watch for the membership meeting link to attend.
Team Commitment
Being on the team is rewarding, but is rigorous and is a time and energy commitment. Bargaining Team members can expect to meet weekly, typically on Thursday evenings, through the negotiation process which is likely to conclude in 2022. There will be some meetings and trainings this spring via zoom.
There will also be some trainings and meetings during the summer of 2021. Our current plan is to do a combination of in-person and virtual meetings. Depending on COVID restrictions, our bargaining sessions may be in person or virtual. At times, Bargaining Team members may also be asked to use Union Business Leave days to work on this process during the school day.
Team Composition
The screening committee’s goal when doing team selection is to ensure that there is a wide range of representation of different jobs/positions held by SPFE members. It is also critical that the team is racially and linguistically diverse. The committee will be looking for member’s who are good teammates, can collaborate, and are open to learning about other member’s roles and issues.