2020 election and beyond: Uniting in a movement for our students, public schools
Education Minnesota reshaped its election work in 2018, focusing on getting out the vote at the worksite level. While the union still supported pro-public education candidates, the focus on activism and building power at the worksite was the core of our electoral success.
As we look to 2020, voting is still a high priority. And through our democracy, and especially our union, we have the collective power to defeat Trumpism in 2020 and win a public education system in 2021 that can prevent Trumpism for the next generation.
That will only happen when Minnesota’s public school system is fully funded and educators can wholly and completely meet the needs of students without an ongoing struggle for necessities like a well-rounded curriculum, student supports and small class sizes.
Uniting in a movement around the public schools, which are a public good for everyone no matter where you come from or what you look like, will be at the crux of our 2020 electoral work and the next two legislative sessions.
The power of the educator vote only translates into real changes for students and for our democracy with a visionary movement in our workplaces and within our communities. Only this way will we reverse decades of underfunding and inequality, and build a truly inclusive, multi-racial democracy for future generations. Across the country, #RedForEd organizing is showing time and again that the public is with educators.
That’s why this is our Minnesota plan for democracy and public education for 2020-21:
- Get out 100 percent of the educator vote for public education on Nov. 3, 2020.
- Collectively engage at least 33,000 parents and community voters in the election and beyond.
- Unite our co-workers and communities in a statewide movement for full funding of public education in the spring of 2021.
If you and your co-workers are looking for a meaningful and powerful way to take a stand for your students, here is what you can do to be a part of this movement right now:
- Register online for the upcoming leadership summit for democracy, unity and worksite action, our 2020 Education Minnesota political conference, in Bloomington Jan. 31-Feb. 2 at
www.educationminnesota.org/advocacy/EdMNVotes/Political-conference.
The summit will be the place for educators to learn about the tools you’ll need to develop worksite teams to build unity around electing pro-public education candidates in the 2020 election and fight for fully funding schools in the 2021 legislative session.
The summit will also feature a public meeting with key elected officials.
- Talk to your union building rep, steward or worksite action leaders about what fully funded schools would mean to the students you serve.
- Share your commitment with educators on social media using #edmnvotes.
