MTA Union News: Loss of a dedicated unionist
MTA Union News: Loss of a dedicated unionist
Greetings, MTA members,
It is with great sorrow that we note the passing of Lisa Nazzaro, long-time MTA field representative and organizer. A dedicated unionist for decades, she advocated passionately for MTA members and our public schools since 2006. Lisa's obituary in The Boston Globe.
Lisa has been on our minds as we have attended rallies and standouts in Medford and Woburn, with many more on the horizon. You all are lifting your voices in new ways and with new urgency on behalf of your members and students.
It is such a great honor to be able to show up to support you and to amplify your voices around the state.
MTA Solidarity and Victories
An ongoing list of solidarity actions: A regular feature of our weekly email from now on will be this list, where you can view upcoming actions. And add your own with this form. The more we show up for one another, the greater the power we generate for local and statewide campaigns.
Members of both the MSP UMass Amherst (Massachusetts Society of Professors) and CSU UMass Boston (Classified Staff Union) finally saw pay increases in their paychecks last week. In two weeks, they’ll see the retroactive pay for the long-delayed funding of their contract agreements. It was because of their unions’ advocacy that they negotiated these raises for our members’ hard work through the pandemic and beyond. The locals are turning right away to making sure that new raises take into account the large gap in pay raises during the Baker years and the rising cost of living.
On the same day as those members received their well-deserved increases, our community college faculty and staff — represented by the Massachusetts Community College Council — successfully reached a tentative agreement that advances the pay and other issues for our overworked and underpaid community college members.
MTA Events
The Greater Southeastern Massachusetts Labor Council is holding its annual holiday party at 6 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 19, at the Airport Grille (1569 Airport Road, New Bedford). To RSVP, please email GSMLaborCouncilMA@gmail.com right away.
Learning about strikes: Please join us for organizing and action dialogue sessions – one held today at 4 p.m. and another one next Tuesday – facilitated by Ellen David Friedman from Labor Notes and featuring educator activists from Brookline, Haverhill, Malden and other MTA locals.
Organizing and Action Dialogues
Session 1: Tuesday, Dec. 13, 4:00 to 5:30 p.m.
Session 2: Tuesday, Dec. 20, 4:00 to 5:30 p.m.
Register in advance. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
We'll be discussing escalating actions and approaches to building strong locals throughout the Commonwealth, as well as our legislative proposal to eliminate the prohibition against striking by public workers. All MTA members and organizers are welcome to join. Space is limited, so please register ASAP. Joining both sessions is encouraged, though not required, since the second session builds on the first one. This is a great opportunity for contract action team chairs and members to share stories and discuss strategies!
Delegate Nomination Deadlines Approaching
The nomination period for several delegate positions is now open and will conclude on Friday, Jan. 13.
MTA Annual Meeting (April 28-29, 2023, Springfield, MA)
Retired Delegates to Annual Meeting
Regional or Retired Ethnic Minority Delegates to Annual Meeting
NEA-Representative Assembly (July 2-6, 2023, Orlando, FL)
MTA Regional Delegates to NEA-RA
MTA Statewide Delegates to NEA-RA
MTA Retired Delegates to NEA-RA
The online nomination forms for all of the above delegate seats can be found at massteacher.org/nomform and nominations are due no later than 5 p.m. on Jan. 13. Read more about details on these and other elections to take place in 2023, as well as information on Bylaws, Standing Rules, and Resolutions submissions.
Local Delegate Seats: If you are interested in serving as a local delegate to either MTA Annual Meeting or the NEA-RA, speak to your local president or local election chair about timing and your local’s nomination/election process. In most cases, nominations and elections for these local seats take place each year from February through March or early April.
Candidate Recommendation Committee Nominations Open
The Candidate Recommendation Committee is responsible for making recommendations to MTA members to support candidates for state and federal offices. Elections will be held to fill seats representing the following congressional districts: CD2 and CD5 (two seats each) and CD4, CD6, CD7, CD8, and CD9 (one seat each). To be eligible, an MTA member must reside in the Congressional District to be represented. The deadline to self-nominate as a candidate for the CRC is Thursday, Dec. 29. Read full details and use the online nomination form.
Regional and Retired Ethnic Minority Delegates to the 2023 Annual Meeting
MTA affirms its commitment to the goal of maximizing ethnic minority participation in all levels of organizational governance. One way that is fulfilled is through the allocation of ethnic minority delegate seats to Annual Meeting. This delegate allocation is equal to the number of district directors from each MTA electoral region, plus two such delegate seats for the retired membership. An election will be held to fill the seats among the nominations received. We encourage ethnic minority members to self-nominate to fill these positions. The nomination deadline is 5 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, and the online nomination form is available here.
Political Education
As we head into a renewed battle against the high-stakes testing regime, it is well worth reading Wayne Au’s book, Unequal by Design: High-Stakes Testing and the Standardization of Inequality. If you want to join a book group that has been meeting to discuss this book, please email Cynthia Roy, MTA Executive Committee member, at cindyanneroy@gmail.com.
In solidarity,
Max and Deb