John,

Today, we are standing on the picket lines with 3,600 members of the Saint Paul Federation of Educators, AFT Local 28. After months of unsuccessful negotiations with the Saint Paul public school district, SPFE members have been left with no choice but to leave their classrooms and strike.

Educators and school support staff want what students need. They want schools staffed with counselors and social workers to help students who struggle with anxiety and trauma, more multilingual staff and smaller class sizes to assist immigrant students and their families, more specialized staff with lighter caseloads to best teach special ed students, more classroom resources for all students, and fair wages and benefits for their work.

SPFE members are fighting for the schools that Saint Paul students need to succeed, and for the respect that educators deserve. They need our help to win. Click here to write to Saint Paul Public Schools Superintendent Joe Gothard and tell him: Give students the schools they deserve and negotiate a fair contract now with SPFE.

This contract is about justice, equity and fairness. It’s about wraparound services and a commitment for the union and the school district to work together to address the root causes of Saint Paul’s education funding issues. It’s about support for bilingual and special education so that every kid gets a great education. It’s about class-size caps, so one teacher isn’t responsible for 40 kids. It’s about building the schools that children want to attend, and that educators want to work in.

These are commonsense demands that have been implemented in other districts and will benefit our students, educators and community. We just need to pitch in and help SPFE make this happen. Click here to write to Gothard and tell him to come to the table with SPFE and give students what they need to succeed.

Strikes like the ones in Chicago, Los Angeles and other places across the nation have shown us what we can accomplish for our students and communities when we work together. Now it’s SPFE’s turn. Together, we can build a stronger Saint Paul and provide the schools Saint Paul’s students deserve.

In unity,
Randi Weingarten
AFT President

Nick Faber
SPFE President