Fight for MTA's Positive Agenda on Beacon Hill

Greetings,

A big MTA-backed education bill that addresses testing, educator evaluations, school accountability, restoring collective bargaining rights in Level 4 and Level 5 schools and more will be heard by the Joint Committee on Education on Tuesday, Sept. 12, in Gardner Auditorium at the State House.

The lead sponsors of S. 308, An Act Strengthening and Investing in Our Educators, Students and Communities, are Senator Michael Rush (D-Boston) and Representative Marjorie Decker (D-Cambridge). If you can make it, please come to Beacon Hill to show your support and demand that the committee listen to educators.

MTA members are invited to arrive early for coffee and refreshments and to learn more about S. 308. Join me and others at 20 Ashburton Place at 8:30 a.m. The hearing begins across the street at 10 a.m. Please RSVP to Anthony Moreschi in the MTA Government Relations Division at 617.878.8701 or amoreschi@massteacher.org.

If you can't make it to the hearing, the committee still needs to hear from you. Please go here to submit written testimony. It just takes a few minutes to write about your experiences with any of the issues addressed by this bill. Make your voice heard!

Innovation Partnership Zones
Educators and allies spoke loudly and clearly this past week against bills filed by Senator Eric Lesser (D-Longmeadow) and Representative Alice Peisch (D-Wellesley) to create so-called Innovation Partnership Zones. While state Education Secretary Jim Peyser led the charge in favor, I was joined by, among others, Springfield Education Association President Maureen Colgan Posner, who told the committee in no uncertain terms that we don't need legislation to empower teachers. We simply need professional respect and autonomy and an end to high-stakes testing.

Coalition partners from the Massachusetts Education Justice Alliance and sisters and brothers from AFT Massachusetts, the Boston Teachers Union and the Massachusetts AFL-CIO joined us in speaking against these bills. They called them out as union-busting, anti-democratic legislation that - as one speaker noted - are just a new attempt to privatize our schools after our victory on Question 2.

We will keep you updated on these proposals.

DACA Disgrace
President Donald Trump reached a new level of cruelty on Tuesday with his announcement that he is phasing out DACA, a program that provided a path forward for young immigrants brought to this country by their parents when they were children. Go here for information about a rally to Resist Deportations! Defend DACA! It will be held on Boston Common at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 16.

Here is the brief statement I released Tuesday, with a link to resources put out by the NEA. You can also go here to read a thoughtful essay on the topic by MTA General Counsel Ira Fader.

Educators have a more important role than ever in providing support to our immigrant students regardless of their legal status. Schools and colleges must continue to be safe havens. Personally, I will do whatever it takes to stop the deportation of these young residents.

Matt Damon to Join 'Backpack' Q&A
If the words "Backpack Full of Cash" don't get your attention, how about the name "Matt Damon"?

"Backpack" is an important film that explains the ideology and tactics behind the privatization agenda of people such as U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and her state counterpart, Jim Peyser. It is not only narrated by Damon (a proud Cambridge public school graduate), but he will also participate in a panel discussion after the screening.

The film will be shown at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 13, at the Wheelock Family Theatre, 200 Riverway, Boston.

Other panelists include early childhood education advocate and author Nancy Carlsson-Paige (who is also Damon's mother), Luis Navarro of the Boston-area Youth Organizing Project and BTU President Jessica Tang. Josh Grolin of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood will moderate. The screening is free and open to all on a first-come, first-served basis. Go here for more information.

Organize Against High-Stakes Testing on Sept. 10
All are welcome to join a group that is Organizing to Resist High-Stakes Testing. The first meeting of the new school year will be held at 10 a.m. this Sunday, Sept. 10, at MTA headquarters in Quincy. Go here to register.

Helping Educators Affected by Harvey
The cleanup from Hurricane Harvey is just beginning, even as Hurricane Irma barrels toward Florida. Educators along the Gulf Coast are among the hundreds of thousands of residents who still need a hand. Go here for information on the NEA-sponsored Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund.

Labor Day Reflection on 2007 QEA Strike
Former Quincy Education Association President Paul J. Phillips sent me a Labor Day reflection he wrote looking back on the QEA strike of 2007. His main takeaway: "But what we really had from the action was power." I want to share it with you. Go here to read his thoughts on what it means to be in a union.

Solidarity,

Barbara

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