However, by the late 1960s, teachers in Minneapolis were beginning to face the same issues that their compatriots in Saint Paul had, particularly regarding pay.
However, the school district refused to meet their demands for increased salaries, stating that they did not have the financial ability to do so.
During news coverage of that event, it was discovered that an 11-year-old Prince had participated in protests in favor of the teachers.
[1][note 1] The teachers demanded class-size reduction, higher pay, improvements to school facilities, and increased funding for textbooks.
[1] The labor dispute attracted national attention and ultimately ended in victory for the striking teachers.
[4][5] By the late 1960s, public school teachers in Minneapolis were facing many of the same issues that their counterparts in Saint Paul had experienced several decades earlier.
[6] At the time, public school teachers in the city were earning an average annual salary of between $6,950 to $13,535 (equivalent to between $54,528 and $106,192 in 2023).
[4] Over the course of their strike, the teachers maintained strong support from the local community,[7] and in many cases, students and their family members also partook in picketing.
[5] On April 27, over two weeks after the strike had commenced, negotiators for the schools and the union reached a tentative agreement on the terms of a new labor contract, which would be put to a vote by its members the following day.
[16][17][18] While reviewing old footage, it was revealed that the station had interviewed an 11-year-old student who was protesting alongside teachers.
[20] The identity of this individual was later confirmed to be Prince, the musician who grew up in Minneapolis and attended one of the public schools being picketed.