This summer, the Minneapolis Public School Board said it didn?t budget for the teachers? salary increases. So they?re not going to pay them, despite the fact that the increases are mandated by the contract the school board signed with the teachers in 2001.

?The school board decided this unilaterally,? said Minneapolis Federation of Teachers Local 59 President Louise Sundin. ?It?s inconceivable that the board could have so little regard for a collective bargaining agreement. I guess they don?t get the meaning of ?agreement.??

At issue are the teachers? step and lane increases. Teachers who tried to file their transcripts and forms for lane changes?pay increases based on completing more training or education?were told the district ?isn?t doing them anymore,? according to the MFT Educator, the union?s newsletter.

Union officials are aghast at the school board?s move. ?This is seriously damaging the District?s relationship with their unions. It instantly throws us back 20 years,? Sundin said. ?It?s the ultimate insult. Teachers paid for these benefits when they negotiated them, and they can?t just be dismissed with the shrug of a shoulder or a cavalier wave of a hand.?

Teachers are fighting back using a multi-pronged strategy. First, the union filed grievances on this and four other breeches of the contract. Second, they?ve filed an unfair labor practice complaint with the National Labor Relations Board. Lastly, they?re going to exercise some public pressure with a demonstration at the School Board meeting on Sept. 9 at 5 p.m. ?We?re going to start with some people at the Board meeting, and escalate from there,? Sundin said.

The contract that the Board is violating expired on June 30, but it includes a provision that the contract will continue until a new agreement is signed. The union is now in negotiations for the next contract.