The St. Paul Federation of Educators, representing 3,700 teachers, educational assistants, and licensed school staff, has voted to authorize a strike, the union said late Thursday night.
Two-thirds of the union’s educators cast a ballot on Thursday; of that number, 92% voted to authorize a strike, the union said.
The move marks the fourth consecutive strike vote for St. Paul educators, whose contracts are negotiated every two years. St. Paul teachers last went on strike in March 2020, closing schools for four days right before the COVID-19 shutdowns. In 2018 and 2022, the union and district settled a contract before a strike; in 2016, the union called for a strike vote, but settled a contract the night before the scheduled vote.
“It often feels like the district doesn’t come to the table really ready to dig into proposals until our members vote to strike,” Erica Schatzlein, an English language teacher at Nokomis Montessori Magnet School and the union’s lead negotiator, said in a Wednesday interview. “That’s unfortunate. But we will take the steps necessary to win a fair contract, and if the district is not acting until we vote to strike, then we will vote to strike.”