Record number of delegates chart course for union work at Representative Convention
President Specht gives final address to the RC
On April 25-26, Education Minnesota hosted its annual Representative Convention in Bloomington. Delegates from across the state met to conduct union business, including discussion of action items that will guide the union’s work for the next year.
There was a record-breaking nearly 800 participants in attendance at this year’s Convention. In addition to discussing and debating action items, the delegates also heard from state and national leaders and celebrated the Education Minnesota award recipients. NEA President Becky Pringle and AFT President Randi Weingarten both spoke to delegates at the Representative Convention, along with Minnesota AFL- CIO President Bernie Burnam. All three speakers emphasized the importance of solidarity for advocacy and building community among members.
During the convention, delegates discussed 16 action items. Eight passed, two failed, four were withdrawn, one was ruled out of order and another was sent to the Rules Committee. The approved action items direct Education Minnesota to:
- Support and encourage locals to take action that promotes and protects our union’s principles or issues that matter to locals and their
- Make achieving a statewide health insurance plan for all educators a top priority in 2025-2026 and continuing the work of the Health Care Task
- Create a committee to research the financial impacts of post-secondary enrollment options, concurrent enrollment or online postsecondary courses on public schools and higher education institutions.
- Support the NEA’s lawsuit against the Trump administration for attempting to dismantle the S. Department of Education.
- Develop a task force to investigate the investment of pension money into companies that violate human rights, civil liberties, and more.
- Direct the Human Rights Committee to work with the Ethnic Minority Affairs Committee and Education Minnesota Ethnic Forums to develop language for the Constitution and Bylaws that acknowledges the connection to stolen land of Indigenous people.
- Support educators working in Minnesota on J1/H1 and other types of visas.
- Establish and train a group of member rights advocates to provide culturally responsive assistance with union representation for members who request it.
Action items are directives to Education Minnesota that require a specific action and generally expire at the next Representative Convention.
Delegates also approved two changes to the Education Minnesota Constitution and Bylaws: one change cleans up language regarding at-large districts, and the other increases the voluntary contribution to the PAC by $5, bringing the total to $30 a year. This PAC contribution remains separate from dues and members can still request refunds at the end of the fiscal year.
Delegates also shared their support for Becker Education Association, which had been challenged by a competing union for sole representation rights. Educators in Becker voted on whether to remain part of Education Minnesota or whether to join a new organization, the Becker Association of Professional Educators. Becker employees voted overwhelmingly to remain with BEA: 71% of voters chose to stay.
Education Minnesota also honored several awardees, including ESP of the Year Mark Bauch, Human Rights Award winner Kasey Wacker, We Are One Solidarity Award winners Education Minnesota Lakeville and Peterson-Schaubach Leadership Award winner Denise Specht.
The Human Rights Award honors a member who uses their advocacy to advance human and civil rights. This year’s winner, Perham teacher Kasey Wacker, created a program in her district that uses public speaking classes and service-learning and community service projects to create a safe and equitable environment for all students in the Perham school district.
The We Are One Solidarity Award is given annually to an Education Minnesota local union or group of active members demonstrating outstanding or significant union leadership. This year’s recipient was Education Minnesota Lakeville, whose organizing in 2023 and 2024 brought together thousands of community members and resulted in a 99% strike authorization vote that eventually led the school board to back down and negotiate with the local.
The Peterson-Schaubach Leadership Award honors a leader who has made outstanding contributions to Education Minnesota or its locals. This year’s winner was President Denise Specht, who was honored for her twelve years as president and many years on the governing board before that.
In her acceptance speech, President Specht highlighted the union’s successes over the years, including the successful block of a constitutional amendment that would instate right-to-work, navigating the aftermath of the Janus decision, continually blocking voucher programs and plans to write standardized testing into the state constitution. She also highlighted policies passed by pro-public education lawmakers, such as linking education funding to inflation, unemployment insurance for education support professionals, paid family medical leave and more.
Specht encouraged delegates to uphold union values. “Minnesota educators valued advocacy for schools, improving their community and watching out for their pocketbooks,” she said. “From our organization’s start and through parts of three centuries, ‘union values’ have been a braided rope of solidarity, social justice and fair compensation. If anyone tells you a real labor union is only one strand, he is simply wrong.”
Her address also warned against division taking root in the union. “Racism, sexism and elitism have always clung to the union movement, holding on like parasites in our guts – causing pain, making us sick. This is how Education Minnesota falls apart: when sadism replaces civility, bullying replaces respect, students are ignored. Without the power that comes from our moral authority as advocates for students and our communities, Education Minnesota’s influence will fade.”
She continued, “ The future of Education Minnesota is more diverse by race, worksite and membership category – and that’s okay. We should never stop organizing workers. Let’s all see the racial diversity of our union and our new ESP members as a way to grow power.”
Her address concluded with a call for solidarity. “For the past decade, I’ve signed all my columns and letters with a single word: together. Together is how we’ve succeeded and how our union will stay strong.”
Specht, along with Secretary-Treasurer Rodney Rowe, decided not to seek reelection, resulting in the election of a new slate of officers.
