By Brenda Ortega
MEA Voice Editor

A new MEA task force will examine ways to address increasing violence against educators in the workplace and advocate for policies, legislation and resources to ensure classroom safety for school employees and students alike in Michigan.

Formation of the task force was approved on Saturday by the MEA Representative Assembly (RA) —  the union’s governing body made up of delegates from across the state — on a New Business Item proposed by an early career educator from the Upper Peninsula.

Erinn Parker, a seventh-year teacher and president of the Stephenson Education Association in Menominee County’s Stephenson Area Schools, said workplace violence is an increasing concern she’s heard repeatedly expressed since becoming an RA delegate three years ago.

Parker also is a teacher-leader in MiNE — MEA’s program for new educators — and heard the same issues discussed at a classroom management training she led this year for early career educators.

“Overall there’s a lot of hitting and kicking, biting, throwing of items, classrooms being destroyed, especially in the younger grades,” Parker said. “It disrupts the learning environment, and it creates the question in your mind of whether you will be safe — for students, too, not just educators.”

The high school social studies teacher said she was “awestruck” to see her idea win passage from hundreds of elected delegates who conduct the union’s business at the annual two-day MEA RA. “It’s amazing, and I don’t want it to stop here.”

In other RA action, longtime MEA leader Roy Freeman, a custodian in Dowagiac, was honored with MEA’s Paul Blewett Friend of Education Award. A member of MEA since 1984, Freeman has been an MEA board member for 15 years and has led the Education Support Professionals (ESP) Caucus since 2018.

MEA Southern Zone and ESP Director Gezelle Oliver said Freeman has been a passionate advocate for education support professionals through his commitment to pushing for not just a living wage but a “thriving wage”: “He aims to not only make their work life better but their whole life better.”

In accepting the award, Freeman became emotional and said he wasn’t known for being speechless. “This is breathtaking,” he said from the podium. “I never in my life thought I’d be standing up in front of colleagues in the numbers that are here today receiving a great award like this is.

“Everything I do is for the union… No accolades ever need to come our way. We are here to do what’s right for us, for the MEA, and for everybody that comes behind us.”

The honor comes with a monetary award endowed through the trust of Blewett, a longtime educator and leader from Region 17 in the U.P.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel joined the annual meeting to share an update on lawsuits challenging the Trump administration’s unilateral cuts to the U.S. Department of Education and funding threats aimed at quashing diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

Filed in coalition with other states and education groups, the lawsuits have so far secured preliminary injunctions in U.S. district courts which halted the administration’s actions.

In a short address on Friday, Nessel shared touching stories from her background as the granddaughter of impoverished immigrants and as the parent of a son with a learning disability to illustrate the power of public education to change lives.

“Throughout history public education has been the great equalizer for everyone,” Nessel said. “You provide opportunities that children would never have if it wasn’t for you. So keep on doing your job to teach children and give them a fighting chance in this very difficult world they’re growing up in, and I’m going to continue doing my job.”

MEA President Chandra Madafferi in her remarks urged delegates to wield the “soft power” of diplomacy by coming together around shared values to build trust and credibility in their circles of influence across their communities.

“Your students and their success are the shared values that align all of us in our communities,” Madafferi said, “from PTAs to principals, teachers, support staff, and the people that sit alongside of you at your kids’ athletic events. It’s about bringing people together, and it’s about persuasion.”

In addition, MEA Senior Executive Director Erik Edoff introduced himself to RA delegates after starting in the top staff role in September. A former teacher, administrator and superintendent at L’Anse Creuse Public Schools, Edoff defined collaboration and relationship-building as tools for creating a strong future.

He offered updates on MEA priorities including the state budget, House Bill 6058 to lower educators’ health costs, building a rapid response team for federal threats, and securing instructional-time relief for storm-damaged school districts in northern Michigan.

“I’m thankful to be here and honored to be part of this journey of making MEA the center of all things education in the state of Michigan,” Edoff said.

Among other actions, the RA approved the 2026 MEA budget and development of an educational campaign directed at MEA members ahead of the next statewide election to highlight the devastating impact that Gov. Rick Snyder and other elected officials have had on public education and union rights.

Several resolutions were adopted outlining MEA positions on topics ranging from parental involvement to literacy skills acquisition, artificial intelligence, and the importance of agriculture education and social studies instruction.