If you’ve been keeping up with developments at the state Capitol since January, you know some good things are happening and more is in the works. Democratic leaders in both chambers passed a rollback of the state’s unfair retirement tax, which Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed along with an expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit […]
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. Statewide trends show all school employees’ compensation as a share of total school district expenditures has fallen […]
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. Yet today those educators boast major contract wins […]
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor Things weren’t going according to plan at a recent meeting of the board of Brandywine Community Schools in Niles, where community opposition is growing as a new board majority has begun to enact an extreme political agenda targeting library books and teaching materials. Missing two of its seven members, […]
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor Like many other MEA members who are alumni of Michigan State University, Marissa Teslak returned to her beloved alma mater less than a week after the devastating mass shooting that killed three students and critically wounded five others. A behavioral consultant in Warren Consolidated Schools, Teslak and her 11-year-old […]
My first article back in August, titled “A Chance Encounter,” was a tribute to the love I hold for my mother and the teaching profession. This is my last article for the My View series, and upon much reflection I decided to write a love letter to honor all my educator colleagues. Anyone who knows […]
Many people think of collective bargaining for salary, benefits and working conditions as the most essential benefit of union membership, but the solidarity created by belonging to a union family is at least as important. That solidarity was demonstrated recently through the work of both AEM (Aspiring Educators of Michigan) members and MiNE (Michigan New […]
A state House committee heard testimony from West Ottawa Education Association President Theresann Pyrett today in support of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s MI Kids Back on Track program and the importance of funding academic interventions for students in the wake of the pandemic. “While I am infinitely proud of the work our district and members did […]
Winnie Brinks may be the new state Senate Majority Leader from Grand Rapids, but on Feb. 13 she was another of so many parents “sick with dread” while texting a son or daughter locked down on campus at Michigan State University amid an active shooting. Sen. Brinks was among the Democratic leaders, MEA President Paula […]
This week, the State House passed Senate Bill 12, which eliminates the retention requirement from Michigan’s third-grade reading law. Passed in 2016, this law requires third-graders to be held back if they score below grade level on a high-stakes standardized reading test. SB 12 has already passed the State Senate — it now heads to Gov. […]
