One battle after another: Educator unionism in 2026
Federal agents equipped for war are roaming the streets of the Twin Cities as I write this, and many educators and students are staying home for fear of abductions and violence. Yet a hundred miles away, Minnesota educators are anxious that their salaries won’t sustain their familie, and that the health insurance companies are pricing them out of their careers.
2026 is already shaping up like one battle after another for our union as we use our collective power to improve the lives of our educators and students, no matter where they live. We will resist authoritarian tactics in the streets, and we’ll push for better pay, pensions and health care at the Legislature and the ballot box.
No educator I know wanted to continue the chaos and assaults on public education that we endured in 2025, but here we are. Federal prosecutors are investigating the governor and mayor of Minneapolis for calling for peaceful resistance to ICE. Several districts have switched to hybrid learning to protect children from their federal government. A members’ infant was strapped in their car seat when they were nearly killed by federal officers with chemical munitions.
Acceptance isn’t an option, as Martin Luther King Jr. once said: “The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.”
So we’re working with parents to protect school buildings and support members of our school communities who are fearful or traumatized. We’re clear and public about our demands for federal agents to stay away from schools. We’re working across the union movement to peacefully resist and get back to normal.
But our union knows that is not enough. Educators were losing ground on compensation, especially health care, well before the federal incursion. And without changes, our profession will become even less financially viable as the cost of living increases.
When the Legislature comes back in February, we’re prepared to make the case for our solution to the health insurance affordability crisis. A single, statewide pool of every school staff member will control costs for educators. When we unite our purchasing power, insurance companies can’t divide up our employers and charge whatever they want.
At the same time, we will be pushing for changes to the tax code to raise revenue and give the state government the resources necessary to raise pay, improve pensions and lower health care costs.
I know some educators worry that talking about raising taxes is too controversial for our union to touch. I strongly disagree and don’t intend to comply with the wealthy corporations, and the politicians they pay for, who want us to be silent and scared.
For too long in America, they’ve convinced working people that demanding that the rich pay what they truly owe back to society is too risky. They’re hoping we’ll stay quiet while they hoard their wealth, and we struggle to raise our families.
Instead, we will be advocates for public education in 2026. We will defend against school vouchers, whitewashed history lessons, and blaming and shaming certain students for how they look or identify. This, too, has become our responsibility.
As educators who work in union, we depend on each other in difficult times, and these times are as challenging as anyone can remember. So, let’s start 2026 with a pledge: This year we support each other. This year, we find our courage through solidarity. This year, we overcome…and win.
In unity,
Monica Byron,
Education Minnesota President
