By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor If you follow the news, you might recall a huge budget crisis that burst on the scene in the Wayne-Westland School District as winter holidays approached 18 months ago, suddenly prompting threats to privatize busing and lay off dozens of employees. You may remember the local union mobilizing resistance […]
Click to view online. In this issue: LETTER TO MEMBERS: Celebrating Excellence for our students NEWS & NOTES: ICYMI — Educators define issues : You can help QUOTABLES AEM/MiNE: Growing Libraries with Representation MEMBER VOICES: Tuition-free community college changes lives COVER STORY: Michigan educator known for ‘shoe club’ wins NEA Award for Teaching Excellence AWARDS […]
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor Nearly 30 years from the start of his labor activism as a graduate student organizer, MEA member Alec Thomson returned to his union origins on the campus of Wayne State University on Tuesday to protest the Trump administration’s draconian cuts to higher education and medical research. Now a union […]
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor MEA members were joined by parents, students and other community allies in conducting Walk-Ins to Protect Public Schools across the state on Wednesday as part of a nationwide collective action organized by NEA and AFT to spotlight a powerful—and empowering—sense of unity. The morning events held outside school buildings […]
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor Over a long career—first in the U.S. Army and now as a teacher in the career and technical education (CTE) field—MEA member Mike Cook has always used education and training to reinvent himself and build a resume of marketable skills. This year Cook began creating a new CTE program […]
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor Under gray skies and cold wet weather—at the end of a long day in the classroom—first-year teacher Alexandra McCloskey stood in a puddle on a pedestrian overpass spanning Interstate-696 in Farmington Hills last week. She held a sign asking drivers to honk if they love public schools. McCloskey absorbed […]
The U.S. Department of Education provides critical help for Michigan students with special needs and kids attending rural and urban school districts. Every student — regardless of where they live or their family’s income — deserves a great education that can prepare them for the jobs of the future. Eliminating or defunding the Department of […]
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor Regina Bluemlein In a time of heightened anxieties across the country, the Lansing Schools Education Association has launched a campaign to routinely remind young people of one core message: educators can be relied upon to protect, nurture and teach them. The “LSEA Safe” campaign followed on the heels of [...]
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 […]
