Your Bargaining Fights Are Building a Democratic Future
Your Bargaining Fights Are Building a Democratic Future
Greetings, MTA members,
Most of us have been looking on in despair at the onslaught of attacks on our values, our neighbors, our schools and colleges. The main conversation is how do we fight back? We respond with statements of condemnation. We are sharing information for our immigrant families about their rights and information for our schools so they know how they can protect our students.
But so many of us are flailing, trying to figure out how to push back when so many in positions of power are bowing before a vicious autocrat, competing for how quickly they can go along with dismantling our institutions, and shredding our values.
What was clear at the Winter Union Skills conference this past weekend – attended by over 500 MTA members – is that a key part of defending our public schools and colleges, and our democracy, is by engaging in bargaining and union work more generally in a democratic manner. We defend public schools by winning the kinds of changes that working people deserve everywhere – such as fair pay, especially for the lowest paid, and paid family and medical leave – and what our schools need. That includes support for our students’ mental health challenges, schools that are safe for the most marginalized and schools that nurture creativity and civic activism.
Your local bargaining fights represent you, as union members, engaging in democratic action as working people. In your campaigns, you center the values we hold close, the ones that are the key to strengthening a democratic, progressive vision of the world we want to live in.
Lean into this work, because it won’t just improve your working conditions – it is the key to saving this country.
MTA Events, Opportunities and Solidarity Actions
All-Member MTA Meeting - YES on 2 Follow Up
When: Wednesday, Jan. 29
Where: Zoom
Please join us for a Zoom meeting tomorrow, Jan. 29, from 7-8 p.m. We will celebrate our YES on 2 victory and discuss the way forward, including defending our win in the Legislature and pushing forward other key priorities for public education, from preK to higher ed. Questions? Please reach out to MTAGovernance@massteacher.org.
Please consider recording a short video to share how the passage of Question 2 has impacted your students. We may share this video during the meeting on Jan. 29.
Check out our Legislative Agenda for 2025 We believe in a forward-looking vision for public education, which is captured in our legislative agenda and our demands at the bargaining tables across our locals. Take a moment to read through our priorities for 2025.
Immigration and Schools — Know Your Rights The NEA has some helpful resources on immigrant students’ rights in school. Check them out. Trainings for Immigrants When: Thursday, Jan. 30, at 5 p.m. Where: Roxbury Community College
Lawyers for Civil Rights is holding its first community forum on training for immigrants and organizations who stand up for them at Roxbury Community College. Learn more here.
Temporary Protected Status Program When: Sunday, Feb. 2, at 2 p.m. Where: Maverick Landing Service, 31 Liverpool St., Boston
The Massachusetts TPS (Temporary Protected Status) Committee is hosting an important Informational Assembly. Participants will receive an update on the TPS program and the extension of its protection.
The Strike: Building Workers' Power Today
When: March 28-29
Where: UMass Amherst
The UMass Amherst Labor Center is bringing together workers, leaders and scholars from across the U.S. and around the world to explore the power of strikes and collective action. Join us for this one-and-a-half day event featuring interactive workshops, activist and research panels, roundtable discussions and networking opportunities as we dive into the dynamics and potential of collective action in the 2020s and beyond. Register here.
Massachusetts Teacher of the Year Nominations The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is seeking nominations for the next statewide Teacher of the Year. Please use this form to nominate a teacher.
Candidate for New Commissioner of Education Massachusetts needs a new Commissioner of Education, and the MTA would like your help in identifying candidates we can recommend. The MTA is searching for a progressive leader who is supportive of good education policy that uplifts our students and educators. If you have any suggestions of candidates, please contact MTA staff member Molly Labonte at mlabonte@massteacher.org.
2024-2025 National Conferences - Funding Requests The MTA is accepting applications for members to request funding to attend national conferences during this academic year. This is a great opportunity for members to immerse themselves in union education and job-specific education while engaging with members across the country. Limited funding from both MTA and NEA is provided for these conferences and space is limited. If interested in applying for funding, please fill out the survey form.
Nominations Sought for MTA Annual Awards The MTA celebrates individuals each year who have made outstanding contributions to the labor movement and public education. Please send your nominations for the 2025 MTA Friend of Labor and Friend of Education awards to our Division of Governance.
Please include the following information: The name, mailing address, email address, and title, if applicable, of the nominee, and the award sought for them. A statement that summarizes the nature of the accomplishments and contributions of the individual to education and educators, or to the labor movement. Your name, email address, local association, mailing address and telephone numbers. Please send your nomination to MTAGovernance@massteacher.org no later than Feb. 12.
Revolutionizing Education – A Journal of Education Policy & Practice The MTA is launching an open-access, peer-reviewed journal! Revolutionizing Education seeks to promote high-quality research that amplifies voices that are often marginalized in mainstream discourse. The journal is currently looking for members to submit articles and become peer reviewers. Learn more.
Political Education
This might be a good time to pick up a copy of Timothy Snyder’s brief but chilling book, On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century. Lesson #1: Do Not Obey In Advance. Lesson #2: Defend Institutions.
In solidarity,
Max and Deb