By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor When MEA member Amanda Walker took a lead role organizing Saginaw-Midland-Bay City educators to vote in a spring special election for a vacant state senate seat, the goal was to energize everyone — but especially members who had been politically disengaged. Walker and the team exceeded their own expectations. […]
When Karen Christian was growing up in Flint, both of her parents were public school teachers and leaders in United Teachers of Flint who taught her the importance of unions. Last week at the MEA Representative Assembly, after a dozen years as UTF president having led the unit through multiple crises to a celebrated contract, […]
After years of organizing and hard-fought legal battles, the Union of Tenure System Faculty (UTSF) won recognition from Michigan State University (MSU) in September — part of a growing movement in higher education. After failed unionization efforts in the 1970s and 1990s, this marks the first time MSU’s tenure system faculty have achieved collective representation. […]
Stories by MEA Voice Editor Brenda Ortega MEA member Robin Moore (left), who works at Lansing Community College, is a captain in the campaign. Jeff Wilson, who works at Michigan State University, is a member of the MEA Board of Directors and Ad-Hoc Committee for the campaign. MEA member Jeff Wilson sees the Michigan ESP [...]
Clear majority of faculty unite to support historic unionization The Union of Tenure System Faculty (UTSF) won recognition from Michigan State University (MSU) yesterday after years of organizing and hard-fought legal battles. A recognition agreement was signed by both parties following a neutral party verification confirming that a clear majority of eligible faculty submitted authorization […]
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor In the early 1980s, when Roy Freeman first became a school custodian following a post-high school stint in the U.S. Navy, strong health benefits kept him on stable footing when his newborn child spent time in neonatal intensive care. But over a long career Freeman has seen pay and […]
A new statewide Bill of Rights campaign aimed at improving the wages, benefits and working conditions of school support staff was rolled out recently at the annual MEA conference for Education Support Professionals (ESP). Modeled after similar campaigns launched in other states, including Maryland, Illinois and Massachusetts, the Michigan ESP Bill of Rights calls for [...]
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor In Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss, only the kindly elephant with his enormous ears can hear cries for help from residents of a microscopic community he can’t see — the Whos in Who-ville — who populate a speck of dust blowing in the wind. Horton protects the […]
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor Teacher Candice Ridley first noticed the organizing talents of paraeducator Fred McFadden several years ago while taking part in collective action during a staff convocation to start a new school year in the Pontiac School District where both work. In the audience, Ridley and other staff members all remained […]
On Tuesday, March 4, join educators across Michigan in wearing #RedForEd as part of the national Protect Our Kids Day of Action. Help raise awareness about the importance of federal education funding for our students amid efforts to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education. A collaborative effort between NEA, AFT, AROS, Mom’s Rising and the […]
