Minneapolis teachers celebrate tentative deal to end strike

By STEVE KARNOWSKI
Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Teachers in Minneapolis have reached a tentative agreement to end a more than two-week strike over pay and other issues that idled some 29,000 students and around 4,500 educators and staff. The district and the union for teachers and staff announced the deal early Friday. Ratification votes are expected over the weekend, and Superintendent Ed Graff says he’s looking forward to welcoming students and staff back to school on Monday. The union says it made “major gains” on pay for support staff, protections for educators of color, class size caps and mental health supports. Union leader Shaun Laden says their collective action showed that strikes work.