The red coats are coming, and no I am not talking about the British. On Monday March 24^th over one thousand people including teachers and parents donned the color red for a school board meeting in regards to a contract settlement. You may have noticed teachers’ early absences both in the morning and after school last trimester. This movement is not unique to Blaine High School and can be seen happening now across the nation. Work to Rule is a union movement in which teachers only work their regular school day, 7:15- 2:50.  Mr. Riordan, the union head for Blaine High school explains this action as, “a non-intrusive work action that we can take… but it is not a sustainable practice.”

The goal of this initiative was to bring awareness to the amount of unpaid work teachers must partake in just to keep up with the demands of their classes. Riordan explained, “Most teachers have sense of pride about what they need to do.” Riordan said he found himself having to have late night caribou sessions just to keep up with his grading.  BHS Principal Mr. Phelps agrees that the best thing that came out of this situation was awareness: “When it came to our students, our teachers did the right thing.” Riordan furthers, “We don’t want students to suffer, but to notice.” Work to Rule served as a wake-up call to brand new teachers who were unfamiliar with the time commitment teachers at Blaine put in, but also served a chance for freedom and relief, teachers could walk out of the building at 2:50 with no extra stress.

“Wait together. Come in together,” is the best way Phelps summarizes his impression of the teachers for Work to Rule. The movement generated camaraderie and sense of connection for people who probably never even see each other during the day.  Phelps smiled as he explained, “As always, they’re here to help the kids.” But, the future looks bleak for teachers and participants of Work to Rule. Phelps remains optimistic, “I’m hoping we get settled. Nobody wins in a strike… we want a fair and equitable contract.”

But, now teachers are entering the next phase, strike authorization. Just last night, March 28^th, advocates of this movement met for a mediation session. For first in time in seventeen meetings, three school board members were actually present. Regardless of the school board members’ presence throughout the 6-hour endeavor, not much headway was made. As of now, no new bargaining sessions are scheduled. The teachers’ contract is now 271 days overdue.  Phelps adds, “nobody got everything they wanted…if both sides are upset it’s a good thing, because that means compromise.” As of now, the situation falls into a strike authorization vote where teachers must decide if they wish to strike. This vote will be held on April 17^th.

If you wish to keep updated with negotiations check out AHEM, Anoka Hennepin Education Minnesota, their website is http://ahemnegotiationsnews.blogspot.com/