By Elowyn Pfeiffer and Iemawn Chughtai

Saint Paul, MN – 110 members of the Saint Paul Federation of Educators Local 28 (SPFE) gathered on Monday, November 25 for a member meeting in which a vote was held for the union local to sign on to a letter urging President Biden to enact an arms embargo on Israel and work towards a ceasefire in Gaza, and to put pressure on their national union, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) to do the same.

SPFE’s Progressive Caucus first introduced this resolution in October. With 55% voting in favor, the resolution passed.

Seven national unions, including the National Education Association (NEA) and the United Auto Workers (UAW), and locals including the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers Local 59 (MFT) and the MN Association of Professional Employees (MAPE), have signed onto the public letter named in the SPFE resolution.

During the meeting SPFE members highlighted how the United States government is using tax dollars to help carry out a genocide while schools remain critically underfunded. Members brought attention to the government funding of Lockheed Martin which is assisting the genocide in Gaza as well as the anti-immigrant violence on the U.S./Mexico border.

One member shared, “We have a responsibility to use the power our union holds to push our lawmakers to stop arming a genocide and stop funding companies like Lockheed Martin who profit from suffering.”

Another member noted that they advocate for an arms embargo to interrupt a cycle of violence and “to show students in our district that when leaders break promises, other adults will stand up for them.”

Some members suggested that the Progressive Caucus and supporters of the resolution only cared about the genocide in Palestine because it is “trendy” to do so. Others speaking out against the resolution criticized the newly-formed caucus for not bringing resolutions forth on other international issues. Some argued against the resolution on the grounds that LGBTQ+ Palestinians are persecuted in Gaza, to which members responded by sharing the experiences of queer Palestinians living under Israeli occupation.

Members speaking against the resolution also suggested that the resolution would cause Jewish students and teachers to feel unsafe in Saint Paul Public Schools, falsely equating anti-Zionism with antisemitism and suggesting that a critique of a state government is the same as hatred towards a national or ethnic group.

Elowyn Pfeiffer, a social studies teacher, shared, “Our union is our source of power as working people. Through our solidarity, we fight injustice.”

As unions have proven throughout history, working class solidarity with oppressed people across the world furthers the power that a union has to fight for change locally. SPFE’s solidarity with the people of Palestine is a lever for change in Saint Paul schools.

#StPaulMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #Teachers #MFT #MAPE