100% of St. Louis Public Schools skilled trade employees vote to join Teachers Local 420

Union requests bargaining for a fair and expedient agreement

In a Dec. 6 election conducted by the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations-State Board of Mediation, St. Louis Public Schools skilled trades employees voted 100 percent to join the American Federation of Teachers Local 420. The 10-day period for challenges and official certification has ended and the union is formally requesting management to open bargaining for a fair and expedient agreement.

“We offer congratulations to our newest members,” said President Ray Cummings. “We welcome them into their union and look forward to negotiations with the St. Louis Public Schools. One hundred percent is a strong mandate. We believe that everyone deserves the right to collectively bargain. We are looking forward to meeting and negotiating a fair and expedient agreement.”

The district employees are skilled trades and crafts people. A letter from the Missouri Board of Mediation Chair Todd Smith states that unless there is challenge or objection within 10 days “the Board will promptly issue to the parties a certification of the results of the election.” An accompanying “Tally Sheet” indicates 100 percent of those casting ballots voted “for American Federation of Teachers Local 420” an affiliate of the St. Louis Labor Council and Missouri AFL-CIO.