“Our Teachers Want to Be Part of a Movement”
St Paul teachers could soon go on strike for the first time in seventy-two years. And they’re using the Super Bowl to highlight injustices in the Twin Cities.
Teachers union members participate in a July 2016 march in Minneapolis, MN for Philando Castile, an unarmed man killed by police. Fibonacci Blue / Flickr
On January 31, just before midnight, the tally came in. Over 80 percent of St. Paul Federation of Teachers (SPFT) members had voted to authorize a strike (two-thirds of the union’s approximately 3,700 members cast a ballot). If the mandatory, ten-day mediation period does not yield an agreement, teachers, educational assistants, and other school staff could hit the picket lines as early as February 17.
The lead-up to the potential strike coincides with the Super Bowl’s lavish arrival in the Twin Cities. Amid the glitzy, pre-game parties and high-profile NFL donations to food shelves lie deeper concerns about the gaping chasm between the very wealthy and those struggling to stay afloat in the Twin Cities.
SPFT is part of a coalition of labor and community groups using the big game to shine a light on racial and economic disparities in the area. SPFT has launched a separate website called “Real Legacy for Kids” that takes members of the local Super Bowl Host Committee to task, alleging that they are “hiding $16.5 billion in profits overseas” while public schools struggle to meet the needs of students.
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