Socialism

As Ellen David Friedman explains in Labor Notes, attendance at bargaining sessions is just the beginning. Ideally, open bargaining means “maximum participation in the whole process, not just at the table,” through surveys, worker committees that draft proposals, and relationship-building that starts long before formal negotiations begin, David Friedman argues. Not only does it build power for workers, but it can be fun.

“Some of the power of open bargaining is you can start to, as a membership, demand more,” says Erica Schatzlein. She works at Nokomis Montessori in St. Paul where she teaches students who are learning how to speak English. She has taught for over 20 years, and she has been the lead negotiator for Saint Paul Federation of Educators (SPFE) Local 28 for the past three contracts. “It’s been really fun,” she says. “We’ve hired an ice cream truck, and our community organizer has done screen printing.”

Minnesota Federation of Educators (MFE) Local 59 (previously known as Minneapolis Federation of Teachers or MFT) and SPFE Local 28 have been holding open bargaining sessions for union members whose contracts both expired on June 30. Although collective bargaining under Minnesota’s Public Employment Labor Relations Act (PELRA) must be conducted as public meetings, these unions have made an organized effort to encourage and invite all union members as well as community members to their meetings, either in-person or virtually. Additionally, this year is the earliest these unions have entered bargaining and the first year they are bargaining in the summer time. Members from other unions have been attending to show their solidarity with educators, as well as members of a local group of parents that have been able to be involved in the bargaining.

“At one meeting, a bunch of parents gave testimonials,” says Nikki O’Neil, a rank-and-file member of MFE Local 59 who has been attending the sessions. O’Neil works as an education support professional (ESP) in early childhood special education at Wilder in South Minneapolis. She says that parent support during the Minneapolis educators strike of 2022 was critical.