Engagement * Bargaining * Advocacy * Justice * Empowerment * Support by Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor Mike Eyre has been a middle school history teacher for 25 years, and he’s served nearly two decades as president of his local union. But even Eyre was moved by a recent turn of events that he and […]
Engagement * Bargaining * Advocacy * Justice * Empowerment * Support by Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor Four years ago, serendipity stepped in to help MEA UniServ Director Mike McGee and a bargaining team in Portland win a good contract for secretaries—and set the stage for an even better outcome in talks this year for […]
Engagement * Bargaining * Advocacy * Justice * Empowerment * Support by Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor The celebration was short-lived when members of United Teachers of Flint learned the district was offering to pay each of them a $22,500 bonus, using some of the federal COVID-relief money sent to the district this year. Soon […]
Recently, chaos and vitriol have dominated many school board meetings around the state and nation. Verbal attacks and threats of physical violence targeted at board members and educators have become far too common. What’s driving this angry rhetoric? Safety measures put in place to protect students and employees, as well as efforts to be open […]
EAST LANSING — The following statement can be attributed to MEA President Paula Herbart regarding the strike underway by Kellogg workers in their effort to settle a fair contract: “As an educator, I know a healthy breakfast is essential to student learning. And I know many breakfasts that fuel our students’ education are made right […]
An overhaul of the broken federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF) announced on Wednesday is meant to restore the promise made to educators and other public service employees who have suffered under the program’s 98% rejection rate. Changes include a limited one-year waiver that allows all payments by student borrowers to count toward PSLF, […]
The House Education Committee voted along party lines Tuesday to forward a bill to the House floor seeking to bar discussion in schools about important issues of race and gender in classrooms and limit the professional expertise of educators to help students develop important critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. Sponsored by Rep. Andrew Beeler (R-Fort Gratiot), […]
Engagement * Bargaining * Advocacy * Justice * Empowerment * Support by Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor One philosophy of the union bargaining team at Clarkston Community Schools says if it’s a problem for one, it’s a problem for all. For local president Daryl Biallas, that value now extends to a spate of attacks on […]
This week, the Legislature and Governor reached an agreement on remaining state budget legislation (aside from the K-12 budget adopted this summer), including additional funding for higher education and child care. For higher education, HB 4400 includes $2.2 billion in higher education funding – including increases for community colleges and universities of 1% in state […]
MEA members who identify as people of color are invited to upcoming roundtable discussions to explore concerns, interests and preferences among this important group of educators. These events will be held throughout October at MEA offices in Lathrup Village (Oct. 7), Kalamazoo (Oct. 14), Grand Rapids (Oct. 20), Flint (Oct. 21) and East Lansing (Oct. 28). […]
