We have a new ESP of the Year!
We have a new ESP of the Year!
Greetings, MTA Members,
While at the NEA Leadership Summit in Detroit this past weekend, I had the chance to visit a work of art I had long hoped to see – Diego Rivera’s 1933 Detroit Industry Murals at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Covering the walls of a three-story central courtyard, the murals tell both a heroic and terrible story of the rise of the airplane and auto industry in Detroit, its capitalists (like Edsel Ford, son of Henry, who paid for the mural) and its workers, the natural world exploited to build the factories and products, and the incredible achievements made possible, including vaccines to save lives.
But the central figures on the two largest walls are the workers of all races working in sync with the machines to produce these wondrous automobiles and airplanes. It was a reminder by Rivera, a leftist and once a member of the Communist Party, that it was the workers and their labor that made Detroit run.
I stepped out of the courtyard with the Rivera murals and their celebration of all workers and jumped on a Zoom to cheer on Katie Monteiro as she walked into the MTA Quincy headquarters and was shocked to see a cake and flowers and a crowd congratulating her on becoming this year’s MTA ESP of the Year.
I am glad that we have our new tagline to include alongside our logo – “A Diverse Union of Education Workers.”
MTA Events, Opportunities and Solidarity Actions
Social Security Fairness Act Update
Good news! According to an update on its website, the Social Security Administration is beginning to pay retroactive benefits. Monthly benefit payments to people affected by the repeal of the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset will be recalculated soon. People who expect to receive a retroactive benefit as a result of the repeal should get a one-time payment, deposited into the bank account that SSA has on file, by the end of March, according to the agency. This retroactive payment will cover increases going back to January 2024. Because Social Security benefits are paid one month behind, most affected recipients will begin receiving their new monthly benefit amount in April 2025.
Go to massteacher.org/wepgpo for an expanded explanation.
Shift Happens Book Discussion with Author J. Albert Mann When: April 9, 4-5:30 p.m. Where: Virtual
Join us for a Zoom book club featuring a charming young adult book perfect for learning and teaching U.S. labor history. The author will lead the discussion and share resources for educators, including an NCSS outline to accompany the book. Borrow your free copy of Shift Happens in ebook or audiobook format (free to MTA members on the MTA library in Libby using your MTA member number to log in). Register here to attend the book discussion. We Need Your Help to Address the K-12 Fiscal Crisis The MTA is demanding urgently needed investments in the FY26 state budget to address the fiscal crisis impacting our public schools. But we cannot win the resources our students deserve without your help. Click here to see several actions that you can take right away to help advance our campaign, including by organizing with your colleagues and our allies through Fiscal Crisis Action Teams, and telling lawmakers that students and educators are counting on them to deliver the funding we need. Actions Taken Alert Actions taken by the MTA Executive Committee at its meeting on March 1, 2025, can be found here along with the agenda for the upcoming March 12 Special Executive Committee meeting.
Let the NEA Know How Federal Actions Impact You Recent federal actions on education are having real consequences for students, educators and communities, and the NEA wants to hear from educators throughout the country about your experiences.
Stand Up for the U.S. Department of Public Education The Department of Education is vital to public education nationally and in Massachusetts. The NEA invites all educators to write to Congress and stop the destruction of the DOE.
Check Out Revolutionizing Education, the MTA’s New Journal The MTA has launched 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. MTA Benefits Webinar: Secondary Traumatic Stress When: Wednesday, March 19, 4:30 p.m. Where: Virtual
Educators must support both the academic and emotional well-being of students. Facing student trauma can lead to secondary traumatic stress – including stress, compassion fatigue and burnout. Join Mary Ferrara, LICSW-R, CASAC of MyRosalie, and an MTA Benefits partner, to learn how to recognize the signs of and manage secondary traumatic stress. This is a Member Appreciation Webinar; two lucky attendees will each win a prize: a $100 Visa gift card and an L.L. Bean tote bag. Register now. For a full list of MTA Benefits’ upcoming webinars, click here.
ESP Conference
When: April 5 and 6
Where: Southbridge
Registration for the Education Support Professionals Conference is now open! This year’s conference has an all-new location and schedule including a plenary session with Nick Juravich, MTA member and author of “Para Power: How Paraprofessional Labor Changed Education.” Enjoy the great workshops and join us for a special dinner as we honor Katherine Monteiro, MTA’s 2025 ESP of the Year. Learn more and register by March 14 if you need a hotel room.
First Wednesday Retiree Speaker Series: Climate Change, Global Warming and Heat Stress When: April 2, 3-4:30 p.m. Where: Virtual
Heat stress can sap energy, exacerbate health problems and impede learning in schools. Let's explore how heat affects our health and consider individual, union, organizational and community-based ways to address the underlying causes. Register here.
Professional License Renewal (Part of the Licensure Workshop Series)
When: March 26, 7-8:30 p.m.
Where: Virtual
This session will teach you how to apply for a Professional license and renew it. We will explain what you need to include in your application in ELAR. You will learn how to gather evidence for your Professional Development Points (PDPs) and understand your options for the Individual Professional Development Plan (IPDP). Register here.
Paid Student Teaching Programs
When: April 3, 4 - 5:30 p.m.
Where: Virtual
Participants will learn how Registered Teacher Apprenticeship Programs are being implemented nationally and about options for program development in Massachusetts. The session will cover RTAP design and ways to include the voice of current and prospective educators. Register here. THE STRIKE: Building Workers' Power Today When: March 28 - March 29 Where: UMass Amherst
The UMass Amherst Labor Center is bringing together workers, leaders and scholars from around the world to explore the power of strikes and collective action. The one-and-a-half-day event features workshops, activist and research panels, roundtable discussions and networking opportunities, all focused on the power of collective action. Register here.
Political Education
One of the speakers at the NEA Leadership Summit was former UMass Amherst Professor Heather Cox Richardson (now at Boston College). Many of you may know of her because of her widely read blog, Letters From an American. But her book, “Democracy Awakening,” is well worth reading, as an accessible history of the rise of the right wing and an authoritarian ideology that is now dominant in the White House. She reminds us of the simple fact across American history: The marginalized and exploited who sought to gain their rights as equal members of American society demanded education as the key to obtaining their rightful place. And throughout our history it has been authoritarians of various types – enslavers before the Civil War, proto-fascists in the 1930s, white supremacists in the 1950s and 60s, and MAGA ideologues today – who have sought to suppress the freedom to learn and freedom to teach to achieve their ends of a docile citizenry.
In solidarity,
Max and Deb