On Monday evening, the Executive Board of the Saint Paul Federation of Educators unanimously voted to authorize a strike vote for Thursday, February 20, 2020. This decision was made with the overwhelming support of SPFE’s membership through petition.
We did not make this decision lightly, but we are certain that a strike vote is necessary if we hope to reach a settlement with the district that respects our students’ needs and honors our educators’ voices. After nearly a year of negotiating, the District still isn’t taking our student-centered proposals seriously and has refused to have any real discussion around educator pay and benefits.
We’re fighting for a fully staffed mental health team in every building to help address the growing mental health crisis in our schools. For smaller caseloads for educators in our special education programs to make sure that every student is able to receive the individual attention they deserve. For additional multilingual staff so every student and family can easily communicate with educators and participate in their school community.
SPFE is dedicated to building the schools that Saint Paul students deserve, and the profession that Saint Paul educators deserve. We will continue to fight for those principles.