Judge Grants Restraining Order, Injunction to Bemidji Teachers’ Union Against District

A Beltrami County judge has granted a temporary restraining order and injunction for the Bemidji Education Association against Bemidji Area Schools.

The ruling by Judge John Melbye says that on Dec. 18, the school district ordered employees involved in a contract dispute to cease and desist from distributing any materials on school grounds without approval from the district. On Jan. 4, the district ordered employees to no longer conduct any further informational pickets on district property.

According to court documents, Melbye said he ordered the restraining order because the district’s actions chilled employees’ statutorily protected activities. He went on to say injunctive relief is necessary to cure irreparable harm to the power dynamics between labor and management in the midst of an ongoing labor dispute.

The next hearing in the case is on Monday. Bemidji teachers have worked without a contract for almost seven months now and this week picketed outside the school district offices and spoke at the most recent school board meeting.