Bargaining
Bargaining and enforcing local contracts is at the root of MEA and our advocacy for members and the students they serve. One of the biggest advantages of MEA membership is the service provided directly to members by MEA’s UniServ directors. These highly trained professional labor relations consultants help teachers and education support professionals access a wide variety of services available only to members.
Bargaining News
Strong contracts emerge in efforts to attract, retain educators
‘The pendulum is finally swinging back’ Last year Angie Pullen began her fourth term as president of a local unit of paraeducators and administrative assistants in Cadillac and saw the fruition of 10 years of effort in the form of a powerful new contract. In Cadillac, the president of the teacher’s union— Dana Jobin, left — and support staff president…
In historic win for educators, state lawmakers restore school employees’ workplace rights
By Brenda Ortega and Zach Crim MEA Public Affairs Rep. Matt Koleszar UPDATE 7/27 – Gov. Whitmer has signed HBs 4044, 4233 and 4354 into law, along with several other bills designed to recruit and retain educators. These new laws will take effect in early 2024. HB 4356 will be sent to Gov. Whitmer for her consideration soon – please…
ESSER Expenditure Deadline Looms Large Over Local Schools
The deadline for spending $5.57 billion of federal money sent to Michigan school districts amid the pandemic looms large in many places that still lag behind the pace needed to allocate those dollars in time. The funding came in the form of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) program during the COVID-19 pandemic’s height, largely under President Biden’s…
MEA bargaining tools arm local teams with powerful narratives
As local bargaining teams head to negotiating tables this spring, MEA has new data showing in many places educator compensation has not kept pace with school funding increases, information which could be used to justify significant pay increases. MEA Statewide Bargaining Consultant Craig Culver (left) speaks with Josh Brey, a math teacher at Harbor Springs, during the Northern Michigan Education…
Anatomy of a Crisis: How one MEA bargaining unit built strength to win
THE STORY One year ago, a group of Oakland County teachers began negotiating a new contract. They had been underpaid for a long time. Their bargaining unit was not tightly organized. They had little union infrastructure or member involvement. Few members even knew what the contract said. Photos by Tara Johnson Yet today those educators boast major contract wins plus…
Faculty at Monroe County Community College vote no-confidence, charge unfair labor practices
Faculty at Monroe County Community College have overwhelmingly approved a no-confidence vote in President Kojo Quartey and filed charges of Unfair Labor Practices against the college, which the faculty association addressed with a show of solidarity at the Board of Trustees meeting on Monday night. Faculty at Monroe County Community College, pictured here at a recent Board of Trustees meeting,…
Michigan schools can spend federal funds on staff salaries through April 2026
School districts may have until April 2026 to spend federal school rescue dollars, the U.S. Department of Education recently announced. To qualify for this extension, school districts must have a signed contract for the expenditure and an extension request approved by the Michigan Department of Education prior to Sept. 30, 2024. This extension will provide school districts with flexibility when…
Federal funding providing critical tutoring support for students
Providing additional academic support for students recovering from the pandemic has become a key use of federal school rescue funds in local districts across Michigan. Many school leaders are spending these resources on tutoring for students who struggled to adjust to learning from home and are now working to catch up. More than 200 school districts throughout the state signaled…
MI Teacher Briefs U.S. Ed Secretary on Uses of Federal Rescue Funds
Addressing students’ academic and mental health needs, while lightening the load for overstretched educators, are among the most urgent uses of federal school rescue funds prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to one local union leader in west Michigan. Theresann Pyrett, president of the West Ottawa Education Association, took that message to the White House on Wednesday. Pyrett is among…
Bargainers Report Contract Successes: ‘This is basic economics’
MEA member Joe Ligaj has a blunt message for school administrators and state-level policymakers concerned about educator shortages: If you pay them, they will come. Joe Ligaj “This is just basic economics—Econ 101,” the president of the Lincoln Park Education Association (LPEA) said. “There’s a labor shortage, and the way to address that is through the contract: higher wages, benefits…