Minneapolis teachers plan community campaign: 'Stand Together for Students'

From the Minneapolis Labor Review, August 27, 2010

By Steve Share, Minneapolis Labor Review editor

As the Labor Review went to press  August 19, Minneapolis Federation of Teachers Local 59 planned the following week to kick-off a community campaign, “Stand Together for Students,” to mobilize support for the city’s public schools. “It’s a full-blown campaign to support our students and our teachers,” reported Lynn Nordgren, MFT Local 59 president.

The campaign has launched a website — www.StandTogetherForStudents.com — and plans to distribute lawn signs, gather signatures on petitions, and organize supporters to oppose classroom cuts.

“We’re reaching out to the community to support students,” Nordgren said. “Many of our students have a lot of challenges in their lives… Let’s make sure we’re supporting them as a community. Let’s support our teachers so they can do their job.”

The campaign launch comes as Minneapolis teachers prepare to return to school without a contract. “It’s unsettling for us to not have a contract resolved,” Nordgren said. “We’re going to stand firm, much like the nurses… We’ve been saying all through the negotiations, ‘we’re here for the kids.’ The district has been saying, ‘we’re here for the money.’”

Contact:
www.StandTogetherForStudents.com

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