Black Immigrant Domestic Workers Share Notes on the Storm
Between Covid-19, the resulting economic depression, and structural racism, Black immigrant domestic workers are at the epicenter of three converging crises.
Labor
St. Paul Teachers Vote to Authorize Strike Ahead of Super Bowl
As football’s biggest game heads to the Twin Cities, educators push for more community investment from host committee companies.
Shortly after midnight on Wednesday night, the St. Paul Federation of Teachers sent out an email to its members letting them know that they had overwhelmingly voted in favor of authorizing a strike. The timing could not be more crucial: the Twin Cities expects one million people to attend Sunday’s Super Bowl game.
Contract negotiations aren’t only over wages. Educators also want to see more investment in the schools, including smaller class sizes, more support staff, and pilot programs for restorative practices. To fund these proposals, the union wants the school district to bring in more money through better tax policies and direct negotiations with local corporations. That’s where the Super Bowl comes in.
While the union is months into its negotiations, leaders haven’t hesitated to point out that the investment that the state and local companies have made in hosting the football game comes at a price for Minnesota’s kids. In a report released in December, the St. Paul Federation of teachers showed that the companies on the Minnesota Super Bowl host committee have avoided paying their fair share in taxes, leaving the state’s schools underfunded.
According to the report, the companies acting as founding sponsors of the Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee hold $16.5 billion in tax havens. Additionally, the report points out, lobbying has led to even lower tax rates for these corporations and their wealthy CEOs. While the companies have offered up some philanthropic contributions to the education system, their donations pale in comparison to the $1.5 million each founding partner paid to join the Super Bowl host committee in the first place. And their philanthropy is no substitute for a public sector properly maintained by taxes — something Minnesota teachers understand all too well.
Wednesday’s vote for authorization was the first step in a potential strike. The union requires 10 days of notice before striking, and has two mediation sessions scheduled between now and February 13, the earliest a strike would take place. But if the district and union do not come to an agreement by then, the city could see its first teacher’s strike since 1946.
“Nobody wants to go on strike, and we will do everything in our power to prevent one. However, we are going to fight for what our students need and not apologize for working to create the schools Saint Paul children deserve,” said Nick Faber, elementary science specialist on release serving as president of the Saint Paul Federation of Teachers, in a statement to Inequality.org.
The teachers are just one part of a coalition of Minnesota organizations pushing for more local investment and protections for the community and using the Super Bowl to draw attention to their fight. The cash pooled by the state and its corporations to fund the spectacle (and the new, publicly-funded stadium where it’ll be held) is proof that there’s plenty of money in Minnesota. The question is how to make the wealth work for the host community, not just the host committee.