MTA ESPs take their fight for a living wage to the Legislature
MTA ESPs take their fight for a living wage to the Legislature
MTA Education Support Professionals are taking their fight for a living wage to the Legislature.
Last week at a State House hearing before the Joint Committee on Education, MTA ESPs testified in support of an educator pay bill which would set a statewide salary of $45,000 for ESPs and increase the minimum salary for teachers to $65,000. The bill, An Act relative to educator pay, is one of MTA's legislative priorities.
In local after local, members are prioritizing lifting the pay of ESPs to achieve a living wage, as defined by MIT's Living Wage calculator – and there have been tremendous gains. The MTA will continue to make those campaigns a priority. But ultimately, the state needs to make sure that all ESPs make a living wage as the bare minimum of what our essential professional educators deserve.
Here are excerpts from the hearing.
- This bill would personally change the lives of thousands of ESPs in Massachusetts, said Joni Cederholm, a Weymouth ESP and former MTA ESP of the Year. She said that after more than 25 years working she brings home just $300 a week.
"The injustice and lack of respect to ESPs is appalling," Cederholm said. "ESPs serve a critical role in our schools and with our students. We are the foundation of our school buildings and without us the brick and mortar would crumble." - "Educator wages are abysmally low," said Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven, sponsor of HB 4180. "It is a complete disgrace that there are paraeducators who earn as little as $13,000. This is not a living wage and it is no surprise that many districts are struggling to recruit and retain educators."
- MTA President Max Page told legislators: "The majority of ESPs earn less than $30,000 per year despite the fact that nearly 80 percent have a college degree. In fact, some ESP contracts have salary steps below the state minimum hourly $15 wage – a deeply unjust reality made possible by a loophole."
- "I have been outraged and furious as I have met hundreds of educators in this state who are living paycheck to paycheck," MTA Vice President Deb McCarthy testified. "In Hingham, since December 2022, paraprofessionals have been fighting to put an end to poverty pay."
- McCarthy noted that the median price for a home in Hingham is $1.5 million ... yet the highest salary for ESPs before taxes is a little above $25,000. The lowest ESP salary in the town is a little above $19,000.
- Andover ESP Susan Greco testified that she has "lived with extreme financial anxiety for performing one of the most important jobs in our society."
- "When creating budgets and policies, I want adults to remember and value what matters to children and the difference a caring, consistent, high-quality ESP can make in a child’s life. Our work is real and it counts," Andover ESP Holly Currier told legislators. "If a job is worth doing, it is worth at least a living wage."
- Read the MTA preK-12 Bill of Rights and see if your local has signed on.
- Learn more about the MTA ESP program.
- What is a Living Wage for ESPs? Check out the preK-12 ESP Living Wage Calculator.
- Make plans to attend the MTA ESP Conference.
Watch the Jan. 10 hearing Urge the Education Committee to Take Action