A Thrillingly Busy Fall
A Thrillingly Busy Fall
Greetings,
Our calendars are thrillingly filled with two kinds of events – YES on 2 events, and bargaining rallies and expanded bargaining sessions. These two arenas of our work – one to change state law on high-stakes testing, and the others to win fair contracts – are all part of the bigger campaign for the schools and colleges our communities deserve. We fight to end the harm of high-stakes testing and to redirect public schools back to authentic learning led by you, the education workers in almost every public school in the state. And we fight, local by local, not only for fair pay and benefits, but also for the autonomy and resources to provide that authentic education you were called to provide. In doing both parts of this work so passionately, you, MTA members, are providing a vision for our national union, the NEA – see the event that Max attended on Monday, below – and shaping the next administration’s policies around public education, in preK through higher education.
YES on 2 – Get involved!
We have 48 days to get this done! MTA educators, parents and supporters are all over the state talking to voters about YES on 2! Check out last weekend’s activities and make plans to get involved this weekend.
Sign up for canvasses scheduled all over the state this weekend including two, which are being led by legislators. On Saturday, Rep. Jim Hawkins and Sen. Paul Feeney will be canvassing in Attleboro beginning at 12 p.m. and beginning at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Rep. Steve Owens, Sen. Pat Jehlen and Rep. Mike Connolly will be in Cambridge.
Also this week, Sen. Jason Lewis, who chairs the Legislature’s Education Committee, announced his support for Yes on 2! Read his endorsement.
You, our members, are the most powerful campaign strength we have. When you speak, people listen. They trust what you have to say about public education. Please join your local’s canvass or phone bank, or sign up to do it on your own – make phone calls from home, knock on doors in your community, share your story, or call on your school committee to pass a resolution in support of Question 2. Here are some easy ways to get involved.
New Solidarity Actions Interactive Map – Bookmark this!
We’re excited to launch a new interactive map for MTA educators to submit actions and get involved in MTA locals’ events. Already, locals are submitting events and MTA members can see where locals, other unions, campaigns and community organizations are holding actions. The MTA encourages you to participate in these events to show your support for one another and our locals, make connections and build our collective power.
MTA Events, Solidarity and Other Opportunities
Kathy Greeley book readings on MCAS
One of our own members, retiree Kathy Greeley, has written a powerful memoir, “Testing Education,” about the impact of high-stakes testing on her colleagues and students. Join her at an upcoming book reading and discussion, at Odyssey Books in South Hadley on Wednesday, Sept. 25, at 7 p.m., or in Cambridge at Porter Square Books, on Sunday, Sept. 29, at 3 p.m.
MCAS Ballot Question Vote YES on Question 2 (part of the Retiree Speaker Series)
Where: Register for this virtual event
When: Sept. 25, 3 - 4:30 p.m.
Meet with MTA organizers and retirees to learn about their work and hear about how you can help win a YES vote on Question 2 to eliminate the MCAS exam as a high school graduation requirement.
Join the All-Member Meeting
Where: Virtual Webinar
When: Oct. 1, 7-8 p.m.
Please join us for an All-Member Webinar focused on the YES on 2 campaign – the ballot initiative to replace the MCAS graduation requirement. We plan to share stories from the field and provide resources for you to connect yourselves, your friends and families to the campaign. We hope you'll join us on Oct. 1!
Please register as soon as possible for this important meeting.
Take Action to Fully Repeal GPO/WEP
We have never been closer to eliminating the Government Pension Offset/Windfall Elimination Provision (GPO/WEP), which has deprived so many retirees of the Social Security benefits they deserve from work they did before, or even during, the time they worked as a Massachusetts educator.
Learn more and check out this video of NEA state affiliate presidents, from states where members are hurt by GPO/WEP. And please sign this petition, urging our elected leaders to push for a vote on the Social Security Fairness Act to fully repeal both the GPO and WEP. All but two of our federal representatives – U.S Rep. Richard Neal and U.S. Rep and House Minority Whip Katherine Clark – have signed on to the call for an immediate vote on the legislation that has bipartisan support. They need to support MTA members. But all of the representatives need to keep hearing from us that this is a priority for our members.
September All Presidents’ Meeting
When: Saturday, Sept. 21
Where: Sheraton Framingham Hotel
Join us on Sept. 21 for a crucial meeting for presidents and their guests, as we kick off a year of action on behalf of our members, students and public education – starting with building our momentum to win passage of Question 2 – to replace the MCAS as a graduation requirement!
Ask your local president if you can join them on that day. Presidents can attend with a team of core activists from their local. To register, click here. For more information, email mtagovernance@massteacher.org.
MTA PDP Courses – Registration opens Thursday
Registration will open at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 19 for the fall PDP Courses. Choose from eight courses covering topics including English language learners, special education, anti-racism and artificial intelligence. Most courses are virtual. To see course titles and descriptions, including meetings dates, times and locations, please click here.
Two Events About Higher ed as a public good
On Monday, Max joined NEA President Becky Pringle and AFT President Randi Weingarten at a press conference to release a statement of unity shared by relevant national unions representing higher education workers. This unprecedented show of solidarity was designed to show a commitment by these unions to fight for higher education that is debt free worker- and union-friendly, and provides the best educational opportunities to everyone who seeks them.
Read the statement and watch the press conference.
And next week there is the launch of a new series on the future of public higher education at UMass Amherst.
Date: Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 6 p.m.
Where: UMass Bowker Auditorium and via Zoom
On Tuesday, September 24 at 6pm EDT, join the UMass Amherst history department and partners for the launch of the 2024-25 Feinberg Series, What Are Universities For? Struggles for the Soul of Higher Education. The internationally recognized historian, cultural critic, and public advocate Dr. Davarian L. Baldwin will deliver the series keynote: Is Higher Education Good for Our Communities? Assessing the Past and Forging a New Path Forward.
With an eye to the University of Massachusetts, Baldwin will draw from his book In the Shadow of the Ivory Tower to discuss the “public good” of higher education as it has shifted from a service provider of education and research to acting as a major force of economic development and political governance in our communities.
Political Education
The chaotic collapse of Steward Health Care is a crisis we in the MTA should care about. Thousands of jobs were lost. Two hospitals providing care to our members and the families of our students have shut down. And the remaining ones need to be strengthened after being deliberately underfunded for years leading to worse health outcomes and dozens – if not hundreds – of deaths. Doctors and nurses in the MNA have worked valiantly to care for patients. But the exposé by the Spotlight team reminds us of perhaps the most infuriating part: Steward “Health Care” was and is not a health care company. It is a scam that used our hospitals, and the real estate they owned, as a source of extraordinary profits for Ralph de la Torre and his executives. Finally, and something we will have to wrestle with as a union: our state pension fund – which we all rely on for a dignified retirement – was invested in Apollo Management, a private equity firm that both profited from Steward’s real estate scams, and ultimately brought down these once-proud health care institutions.
Our state pension fund – which we all rely on for a dignified retirement – is invested in the very private equity firms that profit from scams such as Steward Health Care, and ultimately bring down once-proud hospitals and other institutions.
In solidarity,
Max and Deb