On March 4, Join Us to Stand Up and Fight Back ... and Fight Forward
On March 4, Join Us to Stand Up and Fight Back ... and Fight Forward
Greetings, MTA members,
When public education is under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back! ,
We are in the fight of our lives, as the administration in Washington takes full aim at public education, preK through higher ed – our students, our members and our union. Threats to our immigrant students, vouchers for private schools, attacks on racial justice and LGBTQ+ youth, cuts to research budgets in higher ed, undermining the freedom to teach and the freedom to learn – all of it is coming at us so quickly.,
But what we know is that beyond the Beltway and the ideology of hating public education, regular people who are Republicans and Democrats support our public schools and colleges. We need to lift up our voices to protect our schools, colleges and universities. And we need to do so in every school and on every campus, with our parents and community supporters.
On Tuesday, March 4, let’s join thousands of locals across the country in the NEA and AFT, and walk into our schools and colleges together in defense of public education. Share what your school means to your community, and share what the attacks could mean to your students.
The craven goal of undermining public education, one of our nation’s greatest inventions, in order to privatize the common good and give even more money to the wealthiest in our society, needs to be stopped. ,
Read on to see how you can get involved on Tuesday.,
MTA Events, Opportunities and Solidarity Actions
March 4: Protect Students and Public Schools Day of Action
NEA is joining AFT, Moms Rising and the Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools to engage activists around the country in local actions and events to highlight the impact of threats to gut public education, and MTA members are encouraged to join and wear red! The NEA’s new webpage contains a step-by-step guide for creating local events including message guidance and background information on cuts to education. It also includes the link to create and share events. All of these materials can also be found at nea.org/protect.
MTA Higher Ed All-Member Meeting
When: Thursday, Feb. 27, 7 p.m.
Where: Virtual
From grant funding to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts (DEI) to immigrant rights, higher education is under attack. This meeting will provide a baseline for what executive orders and other actions do — and don’t do — and discussion about some things you can do to protect students, programs and our campus communities. Register here.
Featuring:
- Alice O’Brien, NEA general counsel, Guidance on the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights “Dear Colleague” letter.
- James Racine, MTA legal counsel, Overview of the executive orders that have the most impact on higher education institutions. What they do, what they don’t do, and their legal status.
- MTA President Max Page, Organizing to fight back.
- Wolfson, Higher Ed Labor United, a coalition of higher education unions fighting together to protect higher education.
Protect Our Pensions
When: Wednesday, March 5, 3 - 4:30 p.m.
Where: Virtual
As part of the First Wednesday Retiree Speaker Series, MTA Retired members invite educators to tune into a session that explores current topics in retirement and pensions. Discussion will include an update on the WEP/GPO repeal and state legislation supported by MTA that would increase the COLA for retirees. Register here.
Political Education
MTA member Jack Schneider, professor of education at UMass Amherst, has a new piece in The Nation, looking at who really wants to destroy the U.S. Department of Education ... and who doesn’t.
In solidarity,
Max and Deb