Opinion: Union protects mothers’ right to breastfeed
October 16, 2019
By PAULA HERBART/President – Michigan Education Association
“It’s not just about the mother, it’s about the health and well-being of her child.”
That is how Amy Urbanowski-Nowak, president of MEA’s Birch Run local association, explained her fight for one of her teacher members to get the time needed to express breast milk for her baby.
The superintendent of the Birch Run Area Schools, David Bush, had denied this teacher an extra 15 minute morning break to express breast milk for her newborn daughter. In an attempt to resolve the problem, fellow teachers offered to cover her class, but that was denied. The teacher was willing to take sick time or personal time, which was also denied. The union filed a grievance as well as a “demand to bargain” to reach a solution. All have been rejected by the superintendent.
