Frigid temperatures didn’t stop Colorado Springs School District 11’s teacher union from making a statement Wednesday morning.

Members of the Colorado Springs Education Association gathered outside of multiple schools carrying signs and chanting ahead of their start times for a solidarity walk-in following the recent dissolution of their collective bargaining agreement.

Late last year, D-11’s board of education voted to let the nearly 60-year master agreement between them and the union expire.

D-11 board votes to end master agreement with teachers’ union

“When educators have a seat at the table, they can advocate for smaller class sizes, adequate planning time, mental health supports, and the resources necessary to help students excel,” the union said in a statement.

CSEA president Kevin Coughlin, joining McCauliffe Elementary teachers outside the school, said the demonstration was to generate public awareness of the agreement and the decision’s impact on educators.

He added that they decided to hold their demonstration ahead of teachers’ contract time to avoid any repercussions from the district.

“We’re not looking to disrupt the instruction of students during their class time,” he said.

At North Middle School, less than a block from the District 11 administration building, about a dozen staff members braved single-digit temperatures to walk up and down El Paso Street, carrying signs that read, “You Can’t Put Students First If You Put Teachers Last.”

Union representative Tammi Price said the lack of a union forces teachers to worry about job security, which in turn, harms students.

“It makes our job unknown,” said Price, who has been with the district for 16 years.

“We don’t know what to expect. We won’t have the protections that we’ve had. It gives the board the right to change things up any time they want, without us really having a say. It makes our jobs insecure and makes it harder to focus on students and do our best for them. Are we still going to have good pay? Are we going to have planning periods? Are we even going to be here? “