Tucson, AZ – Last Thursday, April 12, Arizona Republican Governor Doug Ducey presented his proposal for salary raises to the movement of educators called Arizona Educators United (AEU). It did not take long for teachers and educational support professionals to reject the proposal based on suspicions of a lack of new funding streams and the lack of recognition for classified support staff.

Minneapolis, MN – The Teamsters Local 792 strike against J.J. Taylor Distributing, a beer hauler based in Minneapolis, continued into its ninth day April 17, with about 40 workers picketing all entrances into the company. Workers from several other workplaces and local unions joined Teamsters from J.J. Taylor on the picket line.

‘Strike fever’ hits the Garden State as teachers push back to protect health care

Jersey City, NJ – On March 16, public school teachers in Jersey City, New Jersey went on strike after months of frustrating contract negotiations with the city’s Board of Education. Their union, the Jersey City Education Association (JCEA), announced the strike to their nearly 4000 members late on the night of March 15.

Glasgow, Scotland – As of March 17, for the last month, lecturers across the United Kingdom have been on strike in response to changes in their pension plans. The employers’ organization, Universities UK (UUK) are attempting to abolish the lecturers’ existing pension plans, which guarantees retirement based on their salary. They want to replace this pension scheme with one that would be determined by the stock market, which is highly unstable and does not guarantee retirement. The University and College Union (UCU) has argued that this new scheme would make lecturers lose over £10,000 a year, and £200,000 by the time of retirement – equivalent to about $280,000.

St Paul, MN – The Saint Paul Federation of Teachers (SPFT) says that educators will strike beginning Feb. 13, if no settlement is reached in ongoing contract talks with the Saint Paul Public Schools (SPPS).

St. Paul, MN — By an overwhelming majority, members of the Saint Paul Federation of Teachers (SPFT) voted to authorize a strike Jan. 31. Approximately two-thirds of members voted at the InterContinental Hotel in downtown Saint Paul. Of the votes, 82.0% of school and community service professionals, 89.5% of educational assistants, and 85.1% of teachers and licensed staff voted yes to authorize a strike.

Minneapolis, MN – Members of the University of Minnesota Teamsters Local 320 overwhelmingly passed a strike authorization vote, with 85% voting to approve, Nov. 2. The vote was tallied at the Teamster Hall this afternoon, with many Teamsters observing the count.