By Brenda Ortega Editor Last Friday was not an unusual day at school for MEA member Amber Guerreiro. Nothing in particular happened to make the middle school Spanish teacher feel frustrated or discouraged. But she came home “overcome with exhaustion,” she said, “and I just broke.” “It was a regular day, like any day, but […]
The application to be on the state’s new redistricting commission is now open—you can apply through June 2020 to be a part of redrawing fairer district voting maps in Michigan. The commission is being formed by Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson after voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure to end gerrymandering of state voting maps […]
The ongoing budget battle between Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and GOP legislative leaders has taken up much of the oxygen in Lansing lately, but several other key issues are bubbling up to the surface at the Capitol. MEA lobbyists expect members will need to engage on legislation that has been introduced or will soon appear related […]
After nearly a month of stop-and-start discussions between the Governor’s office and the Legislature, schools are still without critical funding needed for this current school year. MEA members need to contact all our lawmakers and urge them to reach agreement on supplemental budget bills that fund priorities that were cut last month because of the lack […]
You are invited to participate in an Educator Workforce Solution Summit. Public Policy Associates, Inc. (PPA) is working with the Michigan Education Association, AFT Michigan, and the Middle Cities Education Association to give frontline educators like yourself a chance to share your opinions about policies that will help recruit and retain more educators. PPA is conducting […]
October 16, 2019 By PAULA HERBART/President – Michigan Education Association “It’s not just about the mother, it’s about the health and well-being of her child.” That is how Amy Urbanowski-Nowak, president of MEA’s Birch Run local association, explained her fight for one of her teacher members to get the time needed to express breast milk […]
By Carolyn Moss and Brandon Everest Workers in Traverse City often hear the saying “a view of the bay is half the pay.” On behalf of everyone who experiences the impact, we beg to differ. Employees in Traverse City scorn the notion that location is an excuse for poor pay and poorer working conditions, and […]
The MEA Scholarship application is now open. Interested applicants can find it online at mea.org/mea-scholarship. The application deadline is Feb. 20, 2020. Questions can be directed to Barb Hitchcock at bhitchcock@mea.org or 517-333-6276. To be eligible for the MEA Scholarship, applicants must be a dependent of an MEA member or MEA-Retired member in good standing. […]
By Paul Helder MEA Retirement Consultant Are you eligible for retirement benefits you were not aware of? That is a possibility if you were a student who worked part-time at a Michigan community college before July 1, 2014. The problem is this: The state doesn’t have information to identify and notify those people. Instead, eligible […]
Terri Spencer clocks in to her custodial job at Clarkston High School at 9:30 a.m. By 1:00, the union president has helped clean three lunch periods and mop up at the end. Then room cleaning begins. How many classrooms do you clean? After 2:00 I’m responsible for 19 rooms, the girls and boys bathrooms, and […]
