Emily Erpelding has worked as an assistant teacher at the University of Minnesota’s Child Development Laboratory School for about two decades. She said her salary hasn’t kept pace with the cost of living, forcing her husband to take on two full-time jobs to make ends meet for them and their two children.

“I know it's really hard on my husband, he's not getting enough sleep, and we miss him. I'm worried about his health too,” Erpelding said. “It really, really hurts. Because I know what I do is really important. And the university should know it’s really important…I just wish they paid us like they should.”

More than 2,000 university employees across the state represented by AFSCME have been negotiating with the school for about five months.

AFSCME UMN President Max Vast said employees a

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