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Jon Collins
ST. PAUL, Minn.

Mpls. teachers union asks to close contract talks

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Months after Minneapolis teachers' contract expired, the union has notified Minneapolis Public Schools that it has asked federal mediators to allow contract talks to take place privately.

Negotiations between Minneapolis Public Schools and the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers started in early June.

Minneapolis Public Schools spokesperson Stan Alleyne said the district opposes the union's request to close negotiations to the public because they want to ensure that other stakeholders are allowed to monitor the process.

"We have a very educated community, we have an active community, and they have wanted to be part of the process in the past," Alleyne said. "We feel like it's OK to let the public know what we're trying to accomplish and we don't really have anything to hide."

Minneapolis Federation of Teachers (MFT) President Lynn Nordgren said union negotiators feel like they're spinning their wheels.

"The atmosphere has been very positive but we don't feel like we're making a lot of progress," Nordgren said. "We believe a mediator will help us get more focused so that we can get to some decisions together."

The union asked the Bureau of Mediation Services to close the negotiations to the public last week, although the district received formal notice of the request today.

Alleyne said the district and union have met about a dozen times. In a statement released Monday, Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson said the union needed to be "flexible and embrace innovation and creativity that will help accelerate student growth in this district."

"Our primary issues right now are about giving schools more flexibility in their staffing processes, particularly, the schools that are struggling the most, giving them the flexibility to select staff that are qualified and the best staff possible, and giving them the ability to retain those staff members," Alleyne said.

The teachers' union is concerned about class size and smaller special education caseloads. They're also pushing back against activities like meetings and paperwork that take time away from teaching students.

"We just want more time for collaborating with peers, for getting our lessons ready, for looking at student work, for calling parents, having meetings with parents," Nordgren said.

The contract talks affect more than 3,000 Minneapolis teachers. The prior contract expired at the end of June, although its conditions are still in place.