2007 MFT/MPS Contract Negotiation Following is a record of the 2007 contract negotiation between the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers (MFT) and the administration of the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS). For questions about this site contact Seth Kirk at sethkirk@comcast.net
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January 23, 2007: Minneapolis School Board executive session. Emma Hixson, from the MPS administration, introduces the contract negotiation process to the Board. Emma describes the roles of the administration and the Board. Emma describes that the administrations goals for the negotiations will focus on modifications to teacher placement and layoff rules. The Board members who are present offer their perspective on the negotiating process. (notes) February 20: Board executive session. The Board discusses the issue of teacher placement rules. The Board asks about the negotiating session being open or closed. The administration tries to summarize the Board's position on teacher placement. (notes) February 27: Board executive session. The Board questions the administration about negotiation strategy. The Board works with Jackie Turner of the MPS Communications Department to create "belief statements" that will guide the contract negotiation process. (notes) March 12: MFT email to teachers, with "one last call" for people who would be interested in being on the negotiation team. Notes that the first negotiation will be March 23. March 13: Board executive session. The Board continues discussion about "belief statements", which the administration wants to finish to help support some pending grant applications. There is a more general discussion about how the Board communicates publicly about the negotiations. (notes) March 14: Star Tribune story notes that teacher placement rules are likely to be a focus of the upcoming negotiations. March 23: First meeting of the negotiation teams. April 19: The Minneapolis League of Women Voters holds a public forum on the Minneapolis teacher placement process. Reported in Buzz.mn the following day. April 30: Negotiation session (notes and analysis). A discussion of some ground rules and an initial listing of issues to be discussed in the negotiation. Also, on the same day, an MFT email to teachers, which warns about another email being circulated by principals. The MFT email asserts that MFT is "the exclusive representative of the teachers", and that nobody in the schools should discuss teacher working conditions with the teachers. May 8: MFT email to teachers, which invites teachers who want to address the MFT negotiation team at two sessions, on May 15 and May 21. I attended one presentation on May 21, where teachers from Montessori, Language Immersion, and International Baccalaureate schools requested recognition of their professional qualifications that were not reflected in state licensure. Significant work was invested in preparing for this presentation; the negotiation team offered no response. May 10: Negotiation Session (notes and analysis). Lots of discussion about scheduling future negotiations, and an initial review of positions associated with three of the identified issues. May 14: Negotiation session (notes and analysis). Mostly a discussion with the mediator about the negotiation process and a quick review of some of the teacher-identified issues. May 22: Board executive session. The administration updates the Board about the negotiations. They discuss the general structure of the contract and how the contract defines explicit and implicit interactions between the administration and MFT. The Board starts to ask more specific questions about the administration's strategy in the negotiations. (notes) May 29: Board executive session. The administration updates the Board about what MFT has presented at the negotiations. Discussions about negotiation strategy, alternative compensation, and the possible attendance of Board members at negotiations. (notes) May 31: Negotiation session (notes and analysis). A deeper dive into the issues of district initiatives, prep time, class size/caseload, and learning/working conditions. June 20: MFT email to teachers, a first communication to the MFT membership about the general character and progress of the negotiations, including a joint statement, which I do not have a copy of. June 13, June 22, and June 29: Negotiation sessions July 11: Negotiation Session (notes and analysis). Discussion about specialist teachers (including an entertaining discussion about desks), NCLB issues, and fresh-starting schools. An interesting discussion about the roles of teachers and administrators. July 20: Negotiation Session (notes and analysis). All about the issue of realignment, mostly about recent communication that the administration had with teachers regarding realignment. An interesting characterization of the union/administration interaction. July 23: MFT email to teachers, more about realignment. August 10: Negotiation Session (notes), Discussion about student behavior issues and the first foray into the issue of teacher transfer and reassignment. (notes by Kate) August 14: Board executive session. The administration recounts the first negotion discussion about teacher transfer and placement. A discussion about strategy and "interview and select" and layoff. A discussion about the personal dynamics at the negotiation table, the Board's interactions with each other, and one Board member's interaction with the MFT president. (notes) August 16: Negotiation Session (notes and analysis). Presentation by the MPS CFO about the state of MPS finances, which is met with great skepticism by MFT. Also, an amusing discussion where both the administration and the union reveal that they don't really know how many teachers are working at MPS. August 23: Negotiation Session (notes). Discussion about the issue of "Working Conditions" (including class size and a return to the desks issue), the issue of "Staff Development" (including a lot of nit-picking at existing contract language), and an initial exchange of proposals about teacher transfer and reassignment. August 24: Negotiation Session.. My reflections on the process to this point. August 28: Board executive session. The administration describes a detailed proposal for changes to teacher placement and layoff procedures. The Board and the administration talk about potential changes in the negotiation process. (notes) September 11: MFT email to teachers, in response to an email a few days earlier from Superintendent Bill Green to MPS teachers. September 20: Negotiation Session (notes). The first session after the administration decides to switch from "interest-based bargaining" to "traditional" or "positional" bargaining. No real discussion takes place, the meeting is a stand-off. September 22: MFT email to teachers. Communicates that there has been a change in the negotiation process. September 25: Board executive session: The administration describes the Sept. 20th stand-off to the Board. The Board discusses a revised communications strategy and public statements about the negotiations. (notes) October 4: MPS Superintendent Bill Green authors a letter to MPS parents about the negotiations. October 9: Board executive session. The administration and the Board discuss that they are waiting for a proposal from MFT. Discussion about issuing statements to the press. (notes) October 11: Negotiation Session (notes). MFT presents elements of a new contract proposal, including "Teacher Rights and Responsibilities" and "Transfer, Reassignment, and Recall". The administration says that they won't talk until MFT has a complete proposal. November 1: Negotiation Session (notes). MFT presents a complete contract proposal. The administration promises to return in two or three weeks with a proposal of their own. November 12: An administrator tells me that MFT has recently filed with the State for mediation, and that the BMS replied saying that they could not start the mediation process until mid-December. November 13: Board executive session. The administration describes the MFT proposal to the Board and the elements of the response proposal that the administration is preparing. (notes) November 21: Negotiation Session (notes). The MPS Administration presents their full contract proposal in detail, very different form the MFT proposal. MFT says almost nothing except a very dramatic "see you in mediation". November 27: MFT email to teachers. Describes the administration's proposal in alarming terms, announces a MFT meeting the following day about the negotiations, and proposes "Red Wednesdays", where teachers are encouraged to wear red every Wednesday in a show of union solidarity. November 28: An MFT meeting for all teachers about the negotiations (pdf notes). November 29: District-organized meetings for teachers to provide feedback to the strategic planning process. Much of the discussion focuses on staffing changes proposed by the administration (brief notes). November 30: The first day of formally mediated negotiations. I witnessed the arrival of the mediator; he took charge of the process with immediacy and authority and told me that the mediated negotiations were closed to observers. December 2: The Minneapolis Star Tribune runs an editorial endorsing a change in the teachers contract to interview-and-select placement of teachers. December 3: The MPS administration publicly releases MPS Communicator #1, which announces this new channel of communication and describes how the negotiations have entered mediation. This same day, MFT sends an email to teachers encouraging them to attend the next School Board meeting, to email Board members, and to show solidarity with MFT by wearing red on Wednesdays. December 4: The administration releases MPS Communicator #2, which describes some of the key elements of the administration's teacher contract proposal. MFT sends an email to teachers noting an error in the communication from the administration on the previous day. MFT President Rob Panning-Miller attends the School Board Meeting and presents "teacher recommendations for the strategic plan". Mr. Panning-Miller summarizes his comments in this posting to the MPS Parents Forum Yahoo discussion group. The Board meets in executive session and discusses strategy, with outside consultants. (notes) December 5: MinnPost runs a story "Teachers want you seeing Red". December 7: The administration releases MPS Communicator #3, which notes the general challenges being faced by the Minneapolis Public Schools. December 9: MFT email to teachers calling teachers to rally at the 12/11 School Board meeting, KFAI story (Daily Planet summary, mp3 from KFAI) about the negotiations with comments from Emma Hixson and Rob Panning-Miller December 11: The administration releases MPS Communicator #4, which describes "shared sacrifices" made by many district employees as the MPS faces budget pressures. MFT sends a morning email to teachers rallying teachers to attend the evening School Board meeting. The evening School Board meeting is preceded by a silent protest by teachers, but the majority of the meeting is School Board's approval of the proposed strategic plan. Although the strategic plan is not directly related to the contract negotiations, a highly orchestrated show of support for the Board's plan, which includes the presence of the Mayor and the State Secretary of Education, leads one speaker to conclude that the Board "blew the teachers out of the water". December 15: MFT email to teacher entitled MFT Organizer #1. Introduces this as a new communication channel, which intends to convey the facts of the negotiations without negotiating through "the public or the media". December 16: MFT President Rob Panning-Miller posts to the MPS Parents Forum discussion group an Op-Ed piece that he wrote in response to the 12/2 Star Tribune editorial about teacher staffing. Mid-December: MFT releases a newsletter-style pdf publication entitled MFT Educator, which highlights the December 11 rally. December 18: MFT emails MFT Organizer #2 to teachers, which talks about the need for adequate teacher compensation. The administration releases MPS Communicator #5, which talks about new accountability mechanisms for non-teacher district staff. December 19: MFT emails MFT Organizer #3 to teachers, which talks about the need for "school stability". December 20: MFT emails MFT Organizer #4 to teachers, which just states that negotiations are continuing. December 21: (The last day before winter break) MFT emails MFT Organizer #5 to teachers, stating that the negotiations have been occurring and future sessions are planned. The administration releases MPS Communicator #6, which talks in general terms about the challenges of the negotiation process. MinnPost has a story on the negotiations. December 30: MFT emails MFT Organizer #6 to teachers, stating that negotiations are continuing, and calling upon teachers to contact School Board members to support reaching a contract settlement. January 3: Board executive session. A marathon session where the Board and the administration discuss the final offer of the administration. (notes) January 7: MFT sends an early-morning MFT Organizer #7 to teachers describing marathon negotiating sessions, a mid-day email announcing that a tentative agreement has been reached, and then a later email announcing a membership meeting on the tentative agreement. January 8: Minneapolis Star Tribune has a story about a contract agreement being reached. The Board meets in executive session. (notes) January 9: MFT holds a meeting for all members to present and discuss the tentative agreement. January 10: The administration releases MPS Communicator #7, which announces a tentative contract agreement with MFT has been reached, and describes some of the details. MinnPost has a story about the tentative agreement. Star Tribune has a story about the agreement. January 11: MFT sends four separate email to teachers, with revisions to the published agreement, details about the procedure for voting on the contract, and FAQs (I & II) about the contract agreement. Star Tribune has another story about the tentative agreement. January 12: Minneapolis Star Tribune has a short editorial supporting ratification of the contract proposal. January 15: Star Tribune has a brief piece about the contract voting. MFT email to teachers with "official results" of the contract vote. Minnesota Public Radio has a story about the contract approval. The MPS School Board meets in executive session, celebrating the end of the negotiation process (notes), then later votes to ratify the MFT contract.. January 16: Star Tribune summary story about the ratified contract February: In February, I arrange meetings with Rob Panning-Miller, Emma Hixson, and Pam Costain (School Board Chair during the negotiations) to discuss their summary perspectives on the negotiation process. My summary of those conversations and my personal conclusions from observing the process are here.
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