Blog
Ann Arbor ESP Member Walks his Talk in College and Second Career
MEA member Gary Cooper could have relaxed after retiring from a 30-year career as an autoworker at Ford Motor Co. Instead his upbringing eventually led the 64-year-old former UAW shop steward to a full-time role as a community assistant at Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor. The support staff position requires him to wear “quite […]
Recruit. Respect. Retain. MEA launches Michigan Educator Project to hear from front lines about educator shortage
EAST LANSING — With media coverage continuing to focus on Michigan's educator shortage, MEA has launched www.MichiganEducatorProject.org so the public can hear directly from front-line teachers and other education employees about what's driving the crisis. “Recruit. Respect. Retain.” Under that banner, the new site includes videos from educators – recorded both before and during the pandemic [...]
A State Edu-Budget Primer and Call to Action
Every year at this time, talk of the state budget in Michigan can be confusing because of competing spending plans that must get negotiated. However, this year’s discussions about education funding have added complexity from various federal COVID relief acts for responding to the public health crisis. Also complicating the conversation is the fact that […]
MEA President statement on latest GOP in-person learning demands for pandemic funds
MEA launches MiSchoolRelief.com to lookup federal funds pending by school district, contact lawmakers urging immediate distribution EAST LANSING — The following statement can be attributed to MEA President Paula Herbart on the House Republican proposal in this morning’s Appropriations Committee meeting to tie further COVID relief funds to a demand for 20 hours per week [...]
New Resource Celebrates Labor, Highlights Inaugural Workplace Rights Week
To showcase the state’s commitment to the labor movement and establish Michigan as a place for economic opportunity and prosperity for all, the Michigan Dept. of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) created a new online resource to celebrate, highlight and support the inaugural Workplace Rights Week, April 26 through May 1, as proclaimed by Gov. […]
Herbart Sings to Energize Work of MEA RA
Making real change is not easy, but working together and pressing through difficulty can get us past old barriers – as evidenced by recent guilty verdicts in last year’s killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, MEA President Paula Herbart said in a speech to last weekend’s MEA Representative Assembly. “Those verdicts are a […]
Whitmer Outlines Urgent Priorities in MEA RA Speech
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer spoke to delegates at the virtual MEA Representative Assembly last weekend about a variety of pressing issues on which educators need to make their voices heard. RELATED – Herbart Sings to Energize Work of MEA RA Funding Whitmer said billions in federal relief dollars for public schools in Michigan represent a can’t-be-missed, […]
Welcome Back Proud Michigan Educator – MEA Teacher Re-Entry Program
MEA is partnering with the new Michigan Department of Education (MDE) program, Welcome Back Proud Michigan Educators, encouraging educators with expired credentials to return to the teaching workforce by reducing or eliminating professional learning recertification requirements. For more information, visit MDE’s site about the program, which includes a memo describing the program, an FAQ and an eligibility survey. MEA Program Specifics and […]