#minneapolis federation of teachers

On Strike for Good Education

On February 24, 1948, Minneapolis school teachers abandoned their classrooms for the picket lines. The strike was the result of the school board deciding to cut four weeks from the school year in order to stay within budget and prevent a $2,000,000 deficit. Both union and non-union teachers rejected the shortened school year and union teachers filed new salary demands calling for an increase in the minimum pay base from $2,000 to $3,000 and an increase from $4,000 to $6,000 for salary maximums. During the strike, 92 public schools closed and 65,000 students were out of school. During the strike, many students joined in support of the teachers, carrying signs that said “Pay our teacher. Give them a fair hearing. They can’t live on hot air. We want school” and “U had yer lurnin lettuce hav hours”. The strike lasted 27 days. Students and teachers returned to the classrooms on March 22, 1948, after teachers approved a $300 pay increase for the remainder of the year and automatic increase of $200 annually.

This year, on February 23, 2022, after many months of negotiations, teachers unions in Minneapolis and St. Paul both filed intents to strike, bargaining for, among other things, more mental health professionals for students, smaller class sizes, higher wages for teachers and protections to help retain teachers of color. A strike could begin as soon as March 8. The Minneapolis Federation of Teachers last went on strike in 1970. You can read about the 1970 strike in Dr. Bill Green’s forthcoming book Strike! Twenty Days in 1970 When Minneapolis Teachers Broke the Law (University of Minnesota Press, June 2022).

Photos of the 1948 Teachers’ Strike from the Minneapolis Newspaper Photograph Collection in the Hennepin County Library Digital Collections.See more online.