900 Strong at Summer Conference. Our Union Is on the Move!
900 Strong at Summer Conference. Our Union Is on the Move!
Greetings, MTA members,
Nine hundred members just left the UMass Amherst campus after four days of learning, inspiration, and a whole lot of fun at the MTA Summer Conference. It was a true delight to see members in dialogue, learning and building their union muscle. Everywhere we went, dropping into workshops on ESP living wages, on defending our immigrant students, members and communities on organizing community schools, securing pension reform, as well as trainings for new presidents, we witnessed the union in action. Truly remarkable guest speakers were featured at our plenaries: Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, Cornel West and Maurice Mitchell (not to mention an appearance on Zoom by Dolores Huerta). Summer Conference is a unique space in our union, where new members and leaders are welcomed, and new leaders formed. Mark your calendar now for next summer – July 26-29, 2026!
Before the conference, the MTA Board of Directors met for its annual retreat and meeting. Out of those meetings came a set of statewide union priorities for the next year. They include:
- Redoubling our efforts to bring every potential member into our union, and have democratic bargaining be the norm in every local negotiating a contract this year.
- Investing heavily in supporting MTA locals that are getting involved in local elections to elect true allies of public education and labor.
- Defending our public schools and colleges against the attacks by this federal administration.
- Pushing forward with our legislative agenda, including winning paid family
- medical leave for all educators, living wages for ESPs, passing a RetirementPlus fix, and more.
- Planting our flag for more fundamental changes by exploring the possibility of winning constitutional amendments for a wealth tax on the super-rich, for universal and public child care and early education, and high-quality, debt-free public higher education.
Together, our union has won so much, local by local, as well as statewide. Working people and our communities look to us to lead. I am proud the Board endorsed a visionary agenda for public education, our members and the common good.
MTA Events, Opportunities and Solidarity Actions
Save the Date – Labor Day Solidarity Parade
When: Sept. 1, 9:30 a.m.Where: Boston
Just as all of you and millions across the country showed up for rallies and marches for May Day and No Kings Day, we need to do so again. Protests alone won’t stop rising authoritarianism, but they are necessary to demonstrate that we will defend our democracy. There’s a simple calculation that researchers say has held true around the world – if we can get 3.5 percent of the population to participate – that's about 12 million people.
All Presidents Meeting
When: Sept. 20, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Where: Sheraton Framingham Hotel and Conference Center
Save the date, please! Soon we will post a registration link for all of our local presidents to join us on Sept. 20. At this meeting we will celebrate the many victories of the past year, share the Board of Directors’ ratified priorities for our union for the coming year, strategize together about how to fight back to protect our public schools and colleges from federal attacks, learn about the resources for having you win the school committee and city council elected officials you deserve, and many other priorities. This is primarily for local leaders, but we urge them to bring a small team of other local leaders and member activists. If you are interested, please contact your local president.
MTA Benefits Offers Life Insurance Options for Members
MTA Benefits’ partner of more than 20 years, Vista Financial, offers members life insurance options with competitive rates, a simple application process, availability for family members and no-pressure guidance from trusted local insurance professionals. If you’d like to learn more about life insurance and what might be right for you, call Tom Colbert at 888-646-1972, ext. 104, or email mta@vistafg.com.
Mark Your Calendars for the 2025 EMAC Conference
When: Dec. 5 - 6
Where: Sheraton Framingham Hotel and Conference Center
Be on the look out for requests for workshop proposals. Go to massteacher.org/emac to learn more about the MTA’s Ethnically Marginalized Affairs Committee.
Political Education
In upcoming editions of the MTA Union News, I will share links to the writings of some of our remarkable plenary speakers at the 2025 Summer Conference.
I’ll start with our opening plenary speaker, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, who, better than anyone I know, argues that to take on the harms of racism requires taking on the inequities of capitalism. You can find her writings in The New Yorker and The New York Times, as well as in her influential books. I highly recommend “From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation,” and “Race for Profit,” her study of how racial discrimination and real estate exploitation have been mutually reinforcing.
In solidarity, Max and Deb