The state Senate has scheduled an unusual Saturday session for this weekend, and while nothing is yet certain, early indications are that the goal will be to pass measures related to the return to school this fall. Less clear is whether the agenda will include bipartisan solutions to pandemic-related challenges or partisan schemes that use…
DetailsEAST LANSING — At an emergency meeting Tuesday evening, the MEA Board of Directors adopted the following motion regarding the association’s stance on a safe return to learning for students and educators this fall amidst the COVID-19 pandemic: MEA stands with all educators, who must be a part of creating and implementing return to school…
DetailsOn Tuesday, Sept. 1, the Michigan Court of Appeals will consider the state’s appeal of a 2018 ruling that school employees were owed additional interest on the 3% of their earnings illegally withheld by the state. In December 2017, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled in favor of returning to educators their 3% withheld from 2010-2012 to fund…
DetailsDelegates to MEA’s Representative Assembly met virtually on Saturday to finish the business of the association’s annual meeting, adopting changes to MEA dues, staffing policy and other business introduced when the meeting first convened in April. In an effort to reduce dues for members who earned less and hopefully increase membership, the RA adopted different…
DetailsListen to a recording of Friday morning’s telephone townhall for MEA and AFT Michigan members with Michigan Chief Medical Executive Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, Detroit Chief Public Health Officer Denise Fair, and Health Department of Northwest Michigan’s health officer Lisa Peacock.
MEA members, If, how and when we safely return to school is the topic at the forefront of everyone’s minds. Last week, I recorded a video message making clear that if medical experts say it’s not safe for us to return to buildings to teach students face-to-face, then we can’t — and we won’t. This weekend, the…
DetailsNext Tuesday, Aug. 4, is Primary Election Day – don’t forget to vote, especially if you’re one of the 1 million Michiganders who have applied to vote from home but haven’t returned your ballot yet. MEA has resources to help you at www.mea.org/VoteFromHome, including information about how to get an absentee ballot and a way to…
DetailsThe U.S. Senate is poised to finally begin taking action on the next round of COVID-19 federal relief, which needs to include additional funding to help states and schools navigate this crisis. The U.S. House passed the HEROES Act in May, and since then NEA and MEA have been calling on Congress to pass $175…
DetailsThe State House has passed – and now the State Senate is considering – a series of Republican-introduced education bills that contain a variety of concerning measures, including allowing the outsourcing of virtual instruction. “This legislation uses the cover of a pandemic to push extreme ideas that are straight from the playbook of Betsy…
DetailsBy Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor As president of the Grandville Education Association, Blake Mazurek knows that in normal times many members of his local union don’t notice what he and the leadership team do to bargain contracts, advocate for members, and navigate challenges. But everyone is paying attention now that he’s “getting into the…
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