Union News: Post-Summer Conference Bliss
Union News: Post-Summer Conference Bliss
Greetings,
We are still recovering from a wonderful summer conference at UMass Amherst. Look out in the coming weeks for videos of the plenary sessions with speakers Loretta Ross and Adolph Reed. They are important public intellectuals whose ideas are worth hearing and wrestling with.
The dates for next summer conference have been set – July 28-31 – and again will be at UMass Amherst. We had more than 500 attendees this year. Let’s add another 200 next year! Based on what we saw and experienced, you will be glad you took a few days in your summer to grow as a union member and educator.
On a disturbing note, we all have been watching the Maui community grapple with the devastation and loss of loved ones on the island. Please support our union siblings from the Hawaii State Teachers Association in whatever amount you can.
MTA Events
Saturday, Sept. 9 – that’s the All Presidents’ meeting. If you are ready to get involved in ending the high-stakes MCAS graduation requirement, or care about winning debt-free, high-quality public education for yourselves, your students and your family members, ask your local president if you can join them on that day.
On Wednesday, August 16, at 5 p.m., please join us at Gloucester High School, as we rally in support of the Gloucester Association of Educational Paraprofessionals. They are heading into bargaining again, holding firm on their simple demand for a living wage for a full-day’s work.
Political Education
As ride-booking companies made record profits throughout the pandemic, drivers got the short end of the stick. As vice presidents of the state AFL-CIO, we have stood in full support of the state federation taking on Big Tech CEOs who are meddling in Massachusetts workers' fight for livable wages and collective bargaining rights.
Make no mistake, Uber and Lyft want to make every job contingent and non-union. Massachusetts AFL-CIO President Steve Tolman likes to say that Uber is the largest transportation company in the world that pretends it has no vehicles and no employees: they just reap the profits off the labor of the drivers.
Read this report from the Economic Policy Institute about how Big Tech is unraveling workers' rights and misclassifying workers as 'contractors.'
In solidarity,
Max and Deb