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Several teachers unions request state mediation
The Bureau of Mediation Services says it’s received more than 20 petitions from education unions to help resolve contracts.
MINNEAPOLIS — The union representing Minneapolis public school teachers is the latest to formally ask for help from the state to negotiate a new contract with the district.
“This is another step towards a more safe, stable and strong Minneapolis Public Schools,” said Greta Callahan, president of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers.
In a statement, the MFT says that it “has met with the district in seven negotiation sessions. To date, it says it hasn’t received the district’s financial proposal, nor a response to the union’s opening proposal for an 8.5% salary increase in the first year of the next contract and 7.5% in the second.”
In a statement, Minneapolis Public Schools said they were “saddened” by the request, saying they believed they made “significant progress” during their sessions.
The full statement reads:
We are both surprised and saddened by the MFT (Teacher Chapter) request to file to move into mediation after just five sessions. We have made significant progress on reaching an agreement and our sessions, including the session on the date that MFT shared this request with MPS, have been productive. All of the sessions have been livestreamed and archived. Pursuant to state law, mediation is confidential and closes the process to the public, which is why it is our hope that we can continue bargaining in the manner which we have, in order to reach agreement as quickly and transparently as possible.
The School Board agreed to consider the request to jointly file for mediation as quickly as possible; however, the opportunity was not given by MFT for the School Board to meet in advance of their filing, as a public notice period is required by law. Regardless of MFT’s rationale, doing so without giving the Board an opportunity to meet and process gives the impression to our community that we are not making progress. Our goal is to keep everyone informed of negotiations progress as transparently as possible.
St. Paul and Anoka-Hennepin teacher unions will also enter into mediation with the state.
This comes at a time when settling contracts is moving unusually slow for districts all across the state. In fact, the statewide teachers union, Education Minnesota, says at this same time four years ago, 185 districts had settled. That number dropped to 155 in 2021 to now just 98 that have settled. Teacher contracts are renegotiated every two years.
“The level of emotion amongst our members is pretty high right now,” said John Wolhaupter, the lead negotiator for Anoka Hennepin Education Minnesota.
The Anoka-Hennepin School District says AHEM filed for mediation with the Bureau of Mediation Services on Nov. 22, and the first session is scheduled for Jan. 3, 2024.
The district and AHEM also entered mediation in the last contract period.
“I think the positive is that the mediation process really does provide a good outlet for driving towards a settlement,” said Wolhaupter. “I know both sides remain committed towards that settlement.”
In a statement, the district says it, “is committed to the goal of improving terms and conditions for employees while working within tight budget parameters to maintain financial and operational stability for the district.”
Pay raises remain a top priority for many unions, especially since the legislature backed billions of education dollars this past session.
“We are definitely using every bit of resource we have,” said the Bureau of Mediation Services Commissioner Johnny Villarreal.
The agency helps many sectors, including public school districts, resolve about 235 petitions a year. Villarreal says it has five mediators that serve the state, but it’s not experiencing any backlogs.
“Some mediations we come into and they’re just talking about wages or one or two issues, and we may walk into another mediation where there are dozens of issues that are open and unresolved,” said Villarreal.
He says what is increasing now is the number of strike notices his office receives — a trend growing all across the country.
“We want to get the parties together as soon as possible, and we have been settling the majority of those cases,” said Villarreal.
A spokesperson for Minneapolis Public Schools released the following statement:
We are both surprised and saddened by the MFT (Teacher Chapter) request to file to move into mediation after just five sessions. We have made significant progress on reaching an agreement and our sessions, including the session on the date that MFT shared this request with MPS, have been productive. All of the sessions have been livestreamed and archived. Pursuant to state law, mediation is confidential and closes the process to the public, which is why it is our hope that we can continue bargaining in the manner which we have, in order to reach agreement as quickly and transparently as possible.
The School Board agreed to consider the request to jointly file for mediation as quickly as possible; however, the opportunity was not given by MFT for the School Board to meet in advance of their filing, as a public notice period is required by law. Regardless of MFT’s rationale, doing so without giving the Board an opportunity to meet and process gives the impression to our community that we are not making progress. Our goal is to keep everyone informed of negotiations progress as transparently as possible.
As for St. Paul, the district and union filed jointly for mediation on Dec. 8.
In a statement, the district says, “We are proud to offer one of the highest average salaries for teachers in Minnesota. At the same time, SPPS is facing a significant budget shortfall due to rising expenses and the expiration of federal COVID relief funds in 2024. With 80 percent of the district’s budget going to employee wages and benefits, settling a fair and financially sound contract is a top priority.”
In a statement, the union says, “Its top priorities include more staff for mental health teams in every building, increased compensation to recruit and retain educators and staff, lowering health insurance costs, and reducing caseloads and providing additional resources for educators working with students with special needs.”
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The chief was discussing the shooting of Davis Maturi, who for months had been contact with the MPD about escalating harassment from his neighbor, John Sawchak.
MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said his department “failed” after a man was shot, allegedly by his neighbor in the city.
“We failed this victim. 100%, because that should not have happened to him,” said O’Hara in a Sunday evening press conference.
The chief was discussing the shooting of Davis Moturi, who for months had been contact with the MPD about escalating harassment from his neighbor, John Sawchak.
Sawchak was charged with shooting Moturi as he was pruning a tree on his front yard on Oct. 23.
Moturi remains hospitalized with a fractured spine, two broken ribs, and a concussion.
O’Hara and the MPD came under a heavy attack from the Minneapolis City Council after it was revealed that the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office had charged Sawchak, but the MPD had not arrested him.
“MPD still has not arrested the suspect despite charges from the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office for Attempted Murder, 1st Degree Assault, Stalking, and Harassment and a request from the HCAO for a warrant with $1 million bail. MPD told the HCAO they do not intend to execute the warrant ‘for reasons of officer safety,’” said the letter from the Minneapolis City Council.
“We failed to act urgently enough,” said O’Hara, before citing staffing concerns as a contributing factor.
It was a stark difference from the tone the chief initially took on Friday, then saying “If we wound up in a deadly situation, the headlines would read ‘MPD shot mentally ill person’.”
On Sunday, O’Hara said his previous comments were meant as a response to accusations that the MPD “didn’t care,” about the case.
“This is the result of over-politicizing policing in Minneapolis,” said O’Hara.
O’Hara stated that the MPD will, for the moment, continue waiting for Sawchak to exit his home to arrest him, but the chief added “We are running out of options before we have to escalate the matter.”
The heated back-and-forth between the city council and the chief continued earlier Sunday when Minneapolis City Council member Emily Koski released a statement questioning O’Hara and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey actions in the matter.
“Our Chief of Police is hiding behind excuses, and our Mayor…is just hiding.” said Koski in the statement.
Cities across Minnesota expanded voting hours and locations for the upcoming presidential election.
MINNEAPOLIS — Expanded early voting hours and locations are giving Minnesotans more opportunities to cast their ballots before the general election.
Over 1,000 people visited Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services over the weekend to make their voice heard.
“We have always voted as a family. We have this right as Americans to vote, and we wanted him to know right from the get-go that you’ve got to vote in every single election because this is our voice, this is our opportunity to really pick the future that we want based on the candidate that we vote for,” said Kelly Wallander.
Kelly and her husband, Claude, picked up their son Harrison from college, so they could all vote in the general election for the first time as a family.
“It’s interesting. It’s cool to see elections on TV, basically as long as I can remember, and now know that I’m a part of it and being able to vote with my parents is cool,” Harrison said.
“I like voting early just because exactly you miss the line and you get it in there,” Claude said.
Director of Elections and Voter Services for the City of Minneapolis Katie Smith said the past two days have been busy.
“We’ve had really solid turnout. We’ve had about 42,000 people who have already voted in this election,” she said.
She anticipates next weekend will be even busier.
“Every year we kind of looking at how many people we’re planning for and how many people are coming through. We try to always expand our service hours as we get closer and closer to the election,” she said.
Smith said they’ve also started using pop-up voting locations to reach more people.
“In 2023, there was a legislative change that allows for us to have sites around the city that are open for different lengths of time as well as different dates form our main site. We’ve really taken the opportunity to host some one-day early vote pop-ups… in some unique and really great spaces throughout the city,” Smith said.
Sunday’s pop-up was at the Capri Theater. Paige Gayle voted here along with her sister.
“I like early voting because it’s convenient, it’s fast and it’s quick,” she said. “I work on actual election day, so for me it was important to get out beforehand.”
Smith said offering more voting opportunities for people in Minneapolis is crucial to their work.
“It’s so important to be able to offer all of these voting methods so that people can find something that works really well for them and make their voting plan,” Smith said.
Voters tell KARE 11 one of the perks to early voting is little to no wait. Voting early also gives them peace of mind and is one less thing to do on election day.
“It’s so much more convenient. This way I don’t have to worry about it. I’ll still be working on election day, so I would have had to go in before or after work. Now, I don’t have to worry about it. I know my vote will be counted,” Macy Bauers said.
Bauers said she votes in every election and hopes more people take advantage of early voting in the coming days.
The two adults who were killed were both male, according to the department, which is investigating the shooting.
MINNEAPOLIS — Three people were shot, two of them fatally in a Minneapolis encampment on Sunday afternoon, according to the Minneapolis Police Department.
The shooting occurred on the 4400 block of Snelling Avenue shortly after 3 p.m., said the MPD.
The two adults who were killed were both male, according to the department, which is investigating the shooting.
A woman was also taken to the hospital after the shooting and is in critical condition, said the MPD.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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