A History Lesson

Want to know how you-the Michigan Education Association (MEA)-came to be? Read on!

• MEA came into being on October 12, 1852.

• MEA was first established as the Michigan State Teachers Association (MSTA) with about 200 teachers as its first members. Dues were 25 cents.

• Dramatic growth in membership called for the MSTA to establish a regional and district system that is still in existence today. There was also a statewide movement to improve the profession. Issues like sick leave, retirement, higher salaries, credit unions, tenure and standards were reviewed.

• In 1926, MSTA officially became the Michigan Education Association.

• In 1929, MEA built its own headquarters in Lansing.

• By 1958, MEA had grown to 48,000 members and became the fifth largest education association in the nation. MEA adopted an intensive legislation program designed to improve the welfare of the profession.

• In 1964, MEA moved to its present headquarters in East Lansing.

• Public Act 379, the Public Employment Relations Act (PERA) was enacted in 1965 by the Legislature giving school employees the right to bargain with their employers as equals under the law. MEA became a force for teacher rights, welfare and professional concerns.

• In 1965, membership stood at 130,000, which included teachers and support personnel.

• MEA works to improve the working conditions for teachers and support personnel. MEA local units in more than 500 Michigan school districts are bargaining master contracts with the help of MEA staff and resources.

• In 1974-75, an MEA task force recommended the formation of an organization to represent Educational Support Professional (ESP). In 1975, the MEA Representative Assembly (RA) endorsed the recommendation and the Michigan Educational Support Professional Association (MESPA) became a reality.

• MESPA affiliated with NEA in 1981 and effective on May 19, 1984, ESP members joined MEA. Combining the groups created one of the largest single unions dealing with public education.

• MEA currently represents more than 160,000 teachers, support personnel and higher education employees.

Updated: February 18, 2009 7:36 PM