Greetings,

Negotiations Update from the MFT:

In Dr. Green's June 17th "Superintendent's Spotlight", he stated that in order to balance the MPS budget, a negotiated salary freeze for all employees would be required. It's not negotiation if you mandate the outcome ahead of the process. It is disappointing that the MPS School Board and Administration feel the need to negotiate employee contracts in public since negotiations haven't even started yet. Is this their 'anticipatory set'?

While Minneapolis teachers know these are tough economic times for everyone, the District has been struggling financially for almost a decade. MPS teachers have given more and taken less during this same period to help the District stay solvent. Nearly 2,000 teaching jobs have been lost over the past decade. Those teachers remaining have not seen pay increases commensurate with their counterparts in other professions. Nor has their pay kept pace with inflation. In addition, like many others, healthcare costs have skyrocketed making family medical coverage a great burden for many teachers.

During these tough financial times, teachers have stepped up to help out by taking money from their own pockets to purchase essential classroom materials (an average of $600 per year) as well as supplying personal items for many of their neediest students. Teachers go into teaching because they want to make a difference in the lives of children. Yet, more and more, their personal generosity is becoming an expectation.

Since the year 2000, teachers' required workload has increased substantially making a 50-60 hour work week standard for most. No additional pay is earned for this additional work. We have calculated that MPS teachers contribute over $68,000,000 a year in uncompensated overtime with students and in preparation for teaching/school activities. While teachers do not come into teaching because they expect to make a lot of money, they should not have to also give up most of their own family and personal time on a regular basis without compensation. Yet, this too, has become an expectation.

Teachers have seen class sizes increase over the past decade which compounds the amount of paperwork, lesson preparation, student feedback and parent communication. While this strategy may help balance the budget, it does not help to improve student learning. Working in a class of 20-25 students is a very different experience for kids and teachers than a class of 30-35. Common sense tells us that more personalized attention and lessons can be given when class sizes are smaller.

So, the loss of many jobs, non-competitive salaries, soaring health costs, longer work days and weeks, the use of personal funds to compensate for doing more with less, and increased classroom/caseload sizes all demonstrate that MPS teachers have been giving back for many years. Now, in addition, a pay freeze is expected. We are coming to a time where the very essential job of teaching will be neither doable, desirable, nor affordable. Is that what we really want as a city/school district?

Finally, a 2% pay cut by those district administrators making $140,000 - $195,000 annually is nice but much less a financial hardship than a similar cut to a new teacher's salary of $37,000. While we appreciate the administration's gesture, we are simply in different leagues on different playing fields. It's like comparing apples to watermelons. The core work of education is teaching and learning. Teachers and students are the most important working unit in the district. We trust that when we reach the negotiations table, we will be able to tackle the challenges confronting us collaboratively to ensure students and teachers receive the same respect and support from the district as the voters of Minneapolis placed in them last fall. Our future depends on it.

Lynn Nordgren, President
and the MFT Negotiations Team
Minneapolis Federation of Teachers