Farewell Message: When We Fight, We Win
Farewell Message: When We Fight, We Win
Barbara Madeloni,
President
Greetings,
At the end of this week I will step down as president and hand the torch over to Merrie Najimy, the new MTA president, and Max Page, the new MTA vice president. I will be leaving the MTA but not the movement. I have accepted a job with the Labor Notes organization, where I will be developing a new position as education coordinator, working with unions across the country.
We’ve accomplished so much in the last four years. Along with the big win of defeating Question 2 in 2016, our successful pushback against Group Insurance Commission plan design changes, and the campaigns for a $15 minimum wage and paid family and medical leave, we have been building stronger locals and growing our collective power.
From the Cape to Western Massachusetts, locals are standing up against bullying management, winning overrides, rejecting the austerity narrative in order to save jobs, and organizing to win better pay, benefits and working conditions. When the billionaires come at us with lies about unions, we are calling out their games and saying: “I am sticking with the union.”
Within labor and the community, the MTA is seen as a leader fighting for workers, public education, students and economic and racial justice. When we access our collective power, unions are essential to making a better, more just world for all.
And we sure need unions right now. I come to the end of my term with a curious mix of trepidation and hope. Trepidation because the assaults on the public good, workers, people of color, immigrants and democracy itself are at a fevered and violent pitch. Hope because I witness every day the power of workers acting together. In the midst of the violent assaults from the billionaire class, acts of daily collective courage preserve and build hope.
When I ran for president four years ago, it was on a platform that said: We do not have to settle for the conditions given to us — not in our classrooms, offices or communities. Working together, we can set our hopes high for the public schools and colleges our communities deserve, for justice and for a world in which each may flourish. A message that said: When we fight, we win.
We have been winning. And even when we don’t win each battle, the very act of fighting is winning. When we fight, we are defining our vision, experiencing the joy of collective action, and creating the world we want. These efforts and the movement they build will continue to grow stronger with Merrie and Max leading the MTA.
I am deeply grateful for the opportunity you gave me to be a part of building this movement with you. Thank you.
Solidarity,
Barbara
At the end of this week I will step down as president and hand the torch over to Merrie Najimy, the new MTA president, and Max Page, the new MTA vice president. I will be leaving the MTA but not the movement. I have accepted a job with the Labor Notes organization, where I will be developing a new position as education coordinator, working with unions across the country.
We’ve accomplished so much in the last four years. Along with the big win of defeating Question 2 in 2016, our successful pushback against Group Insurance Commission plan design changes, and the campaigns for a $15 minimum wage and paid family and medical leave, we have been building stronger locals and growing our collective power.From the Cape to Western Massachusetts, locals are standing up against bullying management, winning overrides, rejecting the austerity narrative in order to save jobs, and organizing to win better pay, benefits and working conditions. When the billionaires come at us with lies about unions, we are calling out their games and saying: “I am sticking with the union.”
Within labor and the community, the MTA is seen as a leader fighting for workers, public education, students and economic and racial justice. When we access our collective power, unions are essential to making a better, more just world for all.
And we sure need unions right now. I come to the end of my term with a curious mix of trepidation and hope. Trepidation because the assaults on the public good, workers, people of color, immigrants and democracy itself are at a fevered and violent pitch. Hope because I witness every day the power of workers acting together. In the midst of the violent assaults from the billionaire class, acts of daily collective courage preserve and build hope.
When I ran for president four years ago, it was on a platform that said: We do not have to settle for the conditions given to us — not in our classrooms, offices or communities. Working together, we can set our hopes high for the public schools and colleges our communities deserve, for justice and for a world in which each may flourish. A message that said: When we fight, we win.
We have been winning. And even when we don’t win each battle, the very act of fighting is winning. When we fight, we are defining our vision, experiencing the joy of collective action, and creating the world we want. These efforts and the movement they build will continue to grow stronger with Merrie and Max leading the MTA.
I am deeply grateful for the opportunity you gave me to be a part of building this movement with you. Thank you.
Solidarity,
Barbara