Minnesota newcomers
Osseo Paraprofessionals Local #7325 Osseo, Minn.

The Osseo (Minn.) Paraprofessionals are one of AFT’s newest PSRP locals, voting about a year ago to affiliate with the national union. As part of Education Minnesota, which is a merged AFT-NEA state federation, the local union is also part of the NEA.

For years, the Osseo Paraprofessionals was an independent union that bargained its own contract for the roughly 700 paras it represents. The union was proud of its independent history, but turned to Education Minnesota for the greater strength and training opportunities a larger umbrella union could offer, says co-president Becky Hespen.

One goal the Osseo paras share with their colleagues across the country is a desire to be seen as professionals, not just “bored housewives who want something to do,” Hespen notes. “We want to show that this is a profession you can choose. [The affiliation] helped give us a boost.”

Contract negotiations—the union’s previous pact expired last June—are an overriding issue for the union right now. Longer-term priorities include increasing professional development opportunities for members and getting more of the membership involved in the whole range of union activities, Hespen says. “We really haven’t had much staff development for paraprofessionals,” she explains.

The union and the district recently formed a task force to address issues related to No Child Left Behind, which has helped draw more attention to some of the union’s concerns. The task force has looked at issues such as training, practice tests and testing dates for the ParaPro assessment.

The NCLB task force mostly included union members who had never served on a committee before, which is exactly what Hespen and the other leaders were looking for. “We know we can’t do this all by ourselves; there’s no way. We need the members to step up and take some ownership,” she says. The district is also developing a new discipline handbook, which should provide more opportunities for union involvement.

“There’s an excitement there [among members and activists] that wasn’t there before,” Hespen says. “That kind of enthusiasm catches on.”