One Job Should be Enough
One Job Should be Enough
We hope you had a good Labor Day, MTA members!
On Saturday, I (Max) walked up to the farmers market on the town common in Amherst. First stop was the bread stand. I was greeted with: “Are you Max Page?” I then had a nice chat with two of our members from Hampshire Regional who were working because, as one said: “You know that educators don’t make a lot of money.”
It reminded me of the few days we spent in Philadelphia for the NEA Representative Assembly back in July. I took two taxi rides during my time there, and both drivers were also educators – one a classroom teacher and another a bus driver – trying to make ends meet. This is all too common among MTA members and across the country. Along with holding one of most exhausting and stressful jobs, our members also work nights and weekends and summers.
We were reminded of these moments on Labor Day. UNITE HERE Local 26 went on strike at the major hotels in Boston, demanding with their slogan, “One Job Should Be Enough,” which also applies to so many of our members. The Boston strike was part of a national week of action for UNITE HERE. Let’s stand with Local 26 and all of UNITE HERE as they stand with us on YES on 2, and in our own contract battles. Tuesday was the last day of their three-day strike in Boston.
YES on 2 – Get involved
This summer, our summer member organizers knocked on 140,000 doors and made nearly 200,000 dials to voters. Allies in the labor and community sectors – including the Massachusetts PTA, AFT Massachusetts, Boston Teachers Union, UNITE HERE Local 26, Massachusetts Nurses Association, and many others – have been signing on in support of Question 2.
Here’s what Chrissy Lynch, president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO (which formally endorsed Q2) said at the Labor Day breakfast:
Now it is YOUR TURN to bring us victory in the campaign to replace the MCAS as a high-stakes test, which determines who gets a diploma and who doesn’t.
We need your help to win on Nov. 5. Please take time to get involved – make phone calls from home, knock on doors in your community, or call on your school committee to pass a resolution in support of Question 2. Here are some easy ways to get involved.
MTA Mentoring Program – Apply today!
Have you heard of the new MTA mentoring program for new educators of color? The Retired Members Committee and New Member Committee are launching the Retired Member-New Educator of Color Mentoring Program this fall. The joint work group hopes to help with retention of educators of color, in part by supporting them with the wisdom of a retired mentor familiar with navigating a career in public education in Massachusetts. Learn more and sign up to be a mentor or mentee.
Springfield needs your solidarity
The Springfield Education Association, our second-largest preK-12 local, will kick off bargaining on Sept. 11 at 4 p.m. at the Meline Kasparian Professional Development Center (named for a former MTA President) at 1250 St. James Ave., in Springfield.
September All Presidents’ Meeting
When: Saturday, Sept. 21
Location: Sheraton Framingham Hotel and Convention Center
Join us 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 high school 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. For more information, email mtagovernance@massteacher.org.
Political Education
Here is an article about a new report from the National Bureau of Economic Research that shows how educator strikes raised the pay and improved the working conditions for educators, and that those strikes did not harm student learning. There are even suggestions (which we know to be true!) that strikes will positively impact students over the long run. This is because they potentially improve recruitment and retention of educators. The article and report don’t bring up another point: the lesson in democracy and civic engagement that our students learn when they see their beloved educators fighting for the schools we all deserve.
In solidarity,
Max and Deb