At our May Membership Meeting, a group of Educational Assistants and School and Community Service Professionals submitted the following petition to SPFT membership. Over 100 members had already signed it:
BY Educational Assistants and School and Community Service Professionals to change our union’s name from Saint Paul Federation of Teachers (SPFT) to Saint Paul Federation of Educators (SPFE).
We, the undersigned eligible members of the Educational Assistant (EA) and School and Community Service Professional (SCSP) units of the Saint Paul Federation of Teachers (SPFT), petition the Executive Board, officers, and membership to initiate the process to change our union’s name from Saint Paul Federation of Teachers (SPFT) to Saint Paul Federation of Educators (SPFE) in order to be more representative of all its members.
We submit the following petition and call on the membership to bring forward a resolution to the process.
WHEREAS, we are committed to building a just and equitable society;
WHEREAS, we believe in honoring the value of and cultivating each student;
WHEREAS, we believe working with the community is essential to student success;
WHEREAS, we believe educating students is a craft that requires committed and talented professionals;
WHEREAS, we are committed to working collectively as a powerful force for justice, change, and democracy;
WHEREAS, SPFT members include licensed staff, EAs and SCSPs who are all dues-paying members;
WHEREAS, SPFE in the name itself would be inclusive of all members;
WHEREAS, EAs and SCSPs reflect the demographics of our student populations and our communities;
WHEREAS, EAs and SCSPs are essential to the educational growth of our students and internal workings of our district, and contribute to the function of our union;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Executive Board, Officers, and members of SPFT change our union’s name to embody a just and equitable representation of a democratic union for all.
