Summer Conference Gets Better and Better

Summer Conference Gets Better and Better

Merrie Najimy

Merrie Najimy, President


all-in

Greetings,

I have been attending the MTA's Summer Conference for years, and it gets better and better. This year the energy was electric. Members and local leaders were there to develop their practice, grow their union muscles, and contemplate ideas about the ways race and whiteness affect our institutions, students and members - and how to make change. They had a little fun, too.

My sincere thanks to the MTA staff who worked tirelessly to plan and implement the conference, members who gave their time and effort to run workshops, and those of you who took days out of your summer to participate.

The Keynote Panel Was Riveting

We were welcomed by Kelley Strickland of the USA at UMass Amherst, who reminded us of our GIC victory. Then we heard other inspiring stories from MTA local leaders and members from across Massachusetts. They talked about the ongoing pushback against austerity policies in their districts, the power of talking to members, and efforts to democratize their locals.

Teacher Jay O'Neal told us the story of West Virginia educators experiencing "'death by 1,000 cuts"' and how they arrived at the conclusion that striking was the only way to win the funding that their students deserve. He broke it down into practical steps and, in his humble words of wisdom, told us, "If we can do it, you definitely can."

Arlene Inouye of United Teachers Los Angeles described the "cancer" of charterization and privatization that public schools in her city are facing - pressures that have created an era of resegregation and austerity. By putting together a student-focused agenda, UTLA members started a campaign and transformed their union into one that fights corporate power and wins.

Springfield Education Association President Maureen Colgan Posner and SEA member Lynn Budd talked about how their association is committed to building its strength through grassroots organizing. Their work includes increasing union participation by educators of color and their allies, who have formed ALANA - the African Latino Asian Native American Educators.

Watch this great video

Lessons Learned
The first step to victory is gathering members together to talk to one another, as each of these leaders has done, and as we are doing in other MTA locals. From there we identify our aspirations, obstacles, solutions and plans of action. We are building our power.

 

When We Fight, We Win!
 

In Solidarity,

Merrie