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Teachers' Union Unveils Agreement to Layoff White Teachers First

Madeline Leesman
Madeline Leesman  |  August 16, 2022 4:45 PM

Townhall has covered time and time again how teachers' unions have been connected to the Democratic Party and agenda. Leah pointed out last month how the nation's largest teachers' union dropped over $100,000 on an "enemies list" that it claims is working to prevent education on gender identity and sexual orientation. Earlier this year, the Chicago teachers' union slammed Mayor Lori Lightfoot's opposition to kids doing remote learning. This week, news broke that a teachers' union would base layoffs going forward on race and not consider seniority. 

As Leah noted in 10 Things to Know for Tuesday, the agreement is between a Minneapolis teachers' union and Minneapolis Public Schools. It stipulates that white teachers will be laid off before "educators of color," regardless of their seniority. The agreement is aimed at protecting teachers in "underrepresented populations." 

Minnesota-based outlet Alpha News published parts of the agreement on Sunday. It will take effect in the upcoming school year. 

One of the proposals dealt with “educators of color protections.” The agreement states that if a non-white teacher is subject to excess, MPS must excess a white teacher with the “next least” seniority.

“Starting with the Spring 2023 Budget Tie-Out Cycle, if excessing a teacher who is a member of a population underrepresented among licensed teachers in the site, the District shall excess the next least senior teacher, who is not a member of an underrepresented population,” the agreement reads.

According to the United Federation of Teachers, “excessing” means “reducing staff in a particular school when there is a reduction in the number of available positions in a title or license area in that school.”

The agreement adds that non-white teachers, as well as those working in various programs, “may be exempted from district-wide layoff[s] outside seniority order.” The agreement also prioritizes the reinstatement of teachers from “underrepresented populations” over white teachers.

The Star Tribune reported in June that the agreement was in the works after a three-week teachers' strike last spring. The Tribune's report noted that the language in the contract "upends the traditional last-in, first-out hiring policies as a way to retain 'members of populations underrepresented among licensed teachers.'" 

"Last-in, first-out policies are designed to protect more senior teachers, a higher percentage of whom are white," the Tribune added. 

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ABCNews4 noted that the agreement includes "anti-racist" and "anti-bias" provisions, including an "Anti-Bias Anti-Racist Staff Development and Advisory Council." All these provisions are aimed to "remedy the continuing effects of past discrimination" and to hire and retain teachers from underrepresented groups. 

Conservatives sounded off about the agreement, pointing out that it shoots a hole in the liberal argument about "white privilege" and that it's illegal. 

Political commentator Clay Travis spoke about the agreement on Hannity, who pointed out that the Minneapolis teachers' union wants to use the policy as a national model. 

"The foundation of the Democratic Party now is two things, Sean. It is 'everything is racist' and 'America is an awful place.' That is basically everything that the Democrats believe, and if you drill down essentially every policy that they advocate for, that's what it is at its essence," Travis said. "They don't talk about equality anymore, they talk about equity."