Teachers bring workplace democracy to Becker. Here’s their story.

Last spring, teachers in Becker, Minn., did something that is almost unheard of in Minnesota public education labor relations. Frustrated with their longtime union representation, they formed an independent association and forced a representation election.

As documented in a recent analysis of Minnesota labor law, workplace democracy for public school teachers has been largely a myth since 1971, when Minnesota’s Public Employment Labor Relations Act (PELRA) was enacted with no meaningful mechanism for teachers to evaluate or remove their union representation. The only option has generally been decertification, a difficult process that has rarely been attempted in the state.

The result is a system where most current K-12 teachers have never had the opportunity to vote on which union represents them, or whether they want union representation at all. Many local unions were established through grandfather clauses or joint employer-union agreements. Once certified, they generally remain in place indefinitely, without any requirement to hold a vote and reestablish majority support among the educators they represent.

Enter a group of Becker teachers, who formed the apolitical, local, nonprofit labor union called the Becker Association of Professional Educators (BAPE). After gathering the required signatures, BAPE petitioned the state’s Bureau of Mediation Services (BMS) for a representation election. The election would allow teachers to decide whether to remain represented by the Becker Education Association, a local affiliate of Education Minnesota, or choose BAPE as their new exclusive representative.

BMS conducted the election, and simply getting to that point was an achievement in itself. Union opposition and administrative hoops make decertification efforts uncommon. The incumbent local union has had decades of entrenched relationships, institutional resources, and the full backing of Education Minnesota. BAPE was driven by teachers willing to take all that on to give their colleagues a chance to vote on their representation.

Although the local union retained representation rights, BAPE received support from more than a quarter (29 percent) of teachers who voted.

This is their story. And it deserves attention.