Pay, pensions, health care
Pay, pensions, health care, burnout remain top priorities in member poll
A recent poll of Education Minnesota members found that improvements to pay, pensions, health care affordability and burnout continue to be top priorities. The poll, commissioned by the union, interviewed 5,201 members through both online and phone surveys from July 14-21.
Educator burnout continues to top the list of concerns, and though it has declined by 10 percentage points since 2023, it remains high. Members are more concerned about educator burnout than the educator shortage: 92% of members surveyed this year expressed concern about burnout, while 84% voiced concerns about the educator shortage. Burnout concerns remain highest among education support professionals and members in the Twin Cities suburbs.
According to the poll, reducing the educator shortage has dropped to a second-tier priority behind affordable and quality health insurance, teacher salaries and providing educators and students a safe place to learn.
Increasing health care costs
Members voiced strong concerns about the rising costs of health care and believe it is the top issue Education Minnesota should prioritize: 89% of members said that ensuring every educator has affordable quality health insurance is a top or high priority. Seventy-two percent of members’ health insurance costs have increased since last year and half of members surveyed said the amount they pay for health insurance is not affordable. Forty-nine percent of members said they put off a doctor’s appointment or medical care because they worried about being able to afford the cost.
Education Minnesota’s policy priority: one large health insurance pool
To help alleviate increasing health care costs for educators, Education Minnesota has proposed one large health insurance pool for all public school employees
in the state. Moving all school employees into one large state-run insurance pool would give the state the leverage and management efficiency to reduce costs, maintain strong health insurance coverage and free up district-level resources from navigating health
insurance. It would take out millions of dollars of waste and stabilize insurance for school districts of every size and in every region of the state. A majority of members support our proposal for one large insurance pool.
Educator pay
Concerns around pay have declined somewhat in recent years. In 2023, 71% of members said they were very concerned about educator pay, but only 59% of educators said they were very concerned in 2025.
Much of this decrease in concern is due to strong bargaining during 2023-24 contract negotiations. Our members’ bold approach to bargaining, coupled with historic investments from the Legislature into public education, allowed Education Minnesota locals to bargain the largest raises of many members’ careers. Respondents named increasing salaries as their second highest priority behind ensuring access to affordable health insurance.
Pension improvements
Further pension improvements remain a concern for members, but due to the 2025 pension reform bill, the intensity of concern has decreased since 2023. In this survey, 59% of respondents said they were very concerned about pensions, compared to 67% who said they were very concerned in 2023.
Members are also more satisfied with retirement benefits: in 2025, a majority of members (56%) are satisfied with their retirement benefits, compared to only 43% who were satisfied with them in 2023. This increase in satisfaction is due to the 2025 pension reform bill, which provided more flexible retirement options for many educators.
Education Minnesota job performance
Two-thirds of members rate Education Minnesota’s job performance positively, and nearly two-thirds of members said Education Minnesota was effective at advocating for better pay, pensions and health care. Members were supportive of our union’s pension changes and endorsed our plan to reduce health care costs through bargaining as a single, statewide pool.
Education Minnesota will continue to advocate for better pay, further pension improvements, more affordable health care and steps to reduce educator burnout. For more information, visit our website at educationminnesota.org.
