According to Minneapolis Public Schools Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson, the teachers’ union’s request for state mediation is a move that is “hasty and disrespectful to MPS [Minneapolis Public Schools] stakeholders.” However, the request filed by the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers (MFT) is an attempt to break the stalemate that has occurred after more than 12 unsuccessful negotiating sessions held between the school district and the teachers’ union in the past year. 

According to the teachers’ union president, Lynn Nordgren, “We have had a lot of great discussions about many issues, and the atmosphere has been positive, but we are not making much progress. We believe a mediator will help us get more focused so we can come to some decisions together.”

The move will mean that the public within Minneapolis will no longer be able to voice their opinion concerning the negotiations that occur.  According to Josh Tilsen, the Director of the State Bureau of Mediation Services, such a move is helpful in order to keep the two sides from posturing for the sake of the press and public opinion. 

Superintendent Johnson has gone on record to say, “I strongly disagree with MFT’s decision to shut the public out of these talks.” She also reiterated her frustration that all earlier negotiating sessions were stalled because the meetings primarily focused on non-contractual issues, with only three focusing on the “key issues.”  It is this distraction from the issues at hand (namely, the contracts) that Johnson blames for the lack of successful negotiating sessions between the two sides.