We will not be bought
We will not be bought
Greetings, MTA members,
I was lucky to be able to spend this past Sunday in New York City with my son. First stop was the Whitney Museum to see the Edges of Ailey exhibition about the life and influence of one of our nation’s greatest choreographers, Alvin Ailey. More on this in the Political Education section…
At one point I found myself poring over an exhibition case with Ailey’s notebooks. Two women were talking about the era in which we find ourselves. They were commiserating about their fears of this political moment, wondering how we would get through the next four years. Then one of the women looked up and saw that I had my AFL-CIO sweatshirt on (as you know, Deb and I serve as Vice Presidents on the Board of the Mass AFL-CIO). A big smile came to her face – “AFL-CIO! Union power! That’s what we need right now!”
And it's true. We find ourselves facing one of our greatest challenges in recent memory. At the same time, we find ourselves more essential than ever. We will, in our actions, remind the country that public education is one of this country’s greatest inventions, and that our union will be the organization to defend universal free public education for everyone.
The indispensable Mo Cunningham regularly reminds us that we cannot be bought.
Groups that get far too much air time, and who will be showing up on the governor's new council on high school graduation, are well-funded by the Walton Foundation, whose most notable expedition into buying elections in Massachusetts was Question 2, their failed attempt in 2016 to increase the number of charter schools in our state. But they have been regularly funding the likes of Mass Business Alliance for Education, National Parents United, the charter school association, and others, ever since.
To set the record straight, the MTA receives nothing from Walton or any other foundation. Indeed, MTA is funded by its members through dues which are voted on democratically at our Annual Meeting. We will not be bought. We live by our unbreakable principles rooted in our state Constitution. And these schools are our schools.
MTA Events, Opportunities and Solidarity Actions
Black History Month Check out and share this curated list of Black History Month classroom resources, which includes links to guidance on how to teach Black history meaningfully and honestly.
To learn more about the 2025 National Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action, go to our resources page and take action this week. The week of action is from February 3-7; join the movement!
ASCA’s National School Counseling Week National School Counseling Week highlights the tremendous impact school counselors can have in helping students achieve school success and plan for a career. Find resources on their site.
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 them for this one-and-a-half day event featuring interactive workshops, activist and research panels, roundtable discussions and networking opportunities as they dive into the dynamics and potential of collective action in the 2020s and beyond. Register here. MTA Benefits Budgeting & Debt Management Virtual Workshops Many household budgets have been pushed to the breaking point over the past few years, as families did their best to overcome the financial challenges of COVID and the inflation that followed. In the first webinar in this series, MTA Benefits’ partner Cambridge Credit Counseling will address:
- Building a better budget: Techniques and tips
- How to repay debt: The pros and cons of all the strategies
- Creating targeted savings plans and crisis budgets
The first webinar is Feb. 6, at 4:30 p.m. Additional topics will be held on March 6, April 3 and May 1. Register now and go here for a full list of upcoming webinars.
New Members Community Forum
We invite you to join this month’s New Members Community Forum hosted by the MTA New Members Committee. The upcoming meeting is Thursday, February 13 from 7-8 p.m. via Zoom. This is an opportunity to catch up, check in, share about the year so far, troubleshoot issues that have arisen and offer insights to your colleagues. Attendees have the opportunity to participate for the whole hour or drop in at any time between 7 and 8 p.m. that works for you. Please register in advance here.
NEA Foundation’s Global Learning Fellowship
Since the inception of the NEA Foundation’s Global Learning Fellowship in 2011, they have been thrilled by the desire among educators to bring a global perspective into their classrooms, and to help their students thrive in our increasingly interconnected world. Now more than ever, the advancement of global teaching and learning across the United States is in need of support.
The NEA looks forward to continuing to advance this important cause with its next cohort of NEA member educators.. t The 2025-2026 application is open through April 7. Check out theGLF overview and application link, and theinstructions.
Join the MTA Chorus and Open Annual Meeting
MTA members who are interested in singing with the MTA Chorus at the 2025 Annual Meeting of Delegates should contact Chorus Director Tim Sullivan at tsull10334@aol.com. Two rehearsals will be held at Brockton High School on April 21 and April 28 at 6 p.m..This year’s Annual Meeting will open on May 2 in Springfield. You do not need to be an Annual Meeting delegate to sing in the chorus.
Regional Ethnic Minority Delegates to Annual Meeting – Deadline Feb. 7
MTA affirms its commitment to the goal of maximizing ethnic minority participation in all levels of organizational governance. One way that is fulfilled is through an allocation of ethnic minority delegate seats to Annual Meeting. This delegate allocation is equal to the number of district directors from each MTA electoral region. Elections are held to fill the seats among the nominations received, per district. We encourage ethnic minority members to self-nominate to fill these positions through the link below.
The deadline to self-nominate for a seat as a Regional Ethnic Minority Delegate to Annual Meeting is Friday, February 7 at 5 pm. Information and the nomination form can be found online here.
Elections for MTA Executive Committee and Board – Nomination Signatures due by March 7 This year, elections will be held for various seats on the MTA Executive Committee and Board of Directors. These elections will take place at Annual Meeting in May. To be a candidate, most seats require nomination signatures which are due back to MTA by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, March 7. View the full list of openings and learn more about becoming a candidate here. Contact MTAGovernance@massteacher.org with any questions or to request nomination papers.
Local Delegate Elections
Now is the time to start thinking about serving as a delegate to MTA’s Annual Meeting, which will be held May 2-3 in Springfield, and the NEA-RA, scheduled for July 2-6 in Portland, Oregon. The nomination process and election for local delegate seats are handled by each local association with the names of elected delegates due to MTA in early to mid-April. Contact your local president or election officer to find out the details and timing of your local processes.
Elections Contact
If you have any questions regarding MTA’s nomination or election process, please contact John Connelly, Division of Governance & Administration, jconnelly@massteacher.org or 617-878-8305.
Political Education
In honor of Black History Month, I would urge you, if you are able, to go to both the Alvin Ailey exhibition at the Whitney Museum, and the James Baldwin exhibition at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture to learn more about these essential figures in American culture and politics. As Baldwin said: “A writer is by definition a disturber of the peace. He has to be … He has to make you ask yourself, make you realize that you are always asking yourself, questions that you don’t know how to face.” To that end, you might just want to reread, or pick up for the first time, The Fire Next Time. Here are two lines you will find in the book:
“The subtle and deadly change of heart that might occur in you would be involved with the realization that a civilization is not destroyed by wicked people; it is not necessary that people be wicked but only that they be spineless.”
“The impossible is the least that one can demand.”
In solidarity,
Max and Deb