Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ventured into the Jackson County turf of Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey (R-Clarklake) on Thursday to illustrate the struggles schools are facing without a state budget and press Republican leaders to put real solutions on the table.
Join fellow MEA members as we celebrate Labor Day across Michigan! Don’t forget to wear #RedForEd at these events in Detroit, Marquette County, Grand Rapids and Muskegon (or wherever your Labor Day plans take you!). If you’re in Detroit, join MEA Vice President Chandra Madafferi, Secretary-Treasurer Brett Smith, and Executive Director Mike Shoudy at the […]
First-year educator Stephanie Connell briefly paused and held her head in her hands to contain the overwhelm she felt while shopping in the New Teacher Store at Rochester Community Schools last Friday. The high school English teacher and brand new MEA member was allowed to take whatever she wanted for free from a room crowded […]
Collective bargaining in school districts around the state has been hampered by the Legislature’s failure to pass an education budget before leaving for summer break, MEA President Paula Herbart said this week. As of Tuesday afternoon, there were 157 unsettled contracts among MEA-affiliated locals across the state. “For the first time this decade, the Legislature […]
MEA President Paula Herbart used her monthly “Labor Voices” column in The Detroit News to slam various schemes being floated by Republican leaders in the Legislature to bond, restructure, or reamortize the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System. A pension is a promise of a secure retirement, she writes, but too often in Lansing pensions […]
A pension is a promise of a secure retirement. But too often in Lansing, they’re viewed as piggy banks to be broken into for political purposes. As a young educator, I remember then-Gov. John Engler diverting state payments from the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System to fund other priorities — which accelerated us down a […]
Over the past 18 months, MEA member Nicole Haney has been heart-broken by images of immigrant children in detention – including those separated from their parents for no good reason – so she attended a rally at the state Capitol to make her voice heard.
An updated Michigan Code of Educational Ethics has been approved by the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) to guide local policy and decision-making beginning this school year. Adapted from a model code developed by a national panel of practicing teachers and administrators, Michigan’s document covers a range of expectations such as integrity in instruction, maintaining […]
In case you missed it… Last week Bridge magazine published a series of articles detailing one of the concerning consequences of our state’s teaching shortage—uncertified substitute teachers filling long-term and permanent roles in our schools.
The MEA Higher Education Conference is one of the great benefits that MEA provides for its higher education members – both faculty and support staff. The sessions for the conference are developed by the MAHE Board and include sessions designed for new leaders as well as on the topics of Advocacy, Unionism and Instruction. There [...]
