Organizing

ESP Caucus Chair and Dowagiac custodian Roy Freeman was honored with the MEA’s Paul Blewett Friend of Education Award at the MEA Representative Assembly with fellow ESP leader Jennifer Shelito making the award presentation. 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.…

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 six broad reforms to recognize…

By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor An image out of Dr. Seuss: Educators and their families — including the littlest ones — were joined by friends and community members in a Day of Action along Woodward Avenue in Oakland County last Thursday. In Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss, only the kindly elephant with his enormous ears can hear…

By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor Candice Ridley and Fred McFadden, presidents of the Pontiac Educationand Paraprofessionals associations, are collaborating to build strength. 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…

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 Working Families Party, the goal…

Ron Furgeson enjoys a lunchtime chat with third‑grader Emma. Working as a custodian in Petoskey schools has been a rewarding career for 28 years — thanks to union pay and benefits, he says. When Ron Furgeson first joined Petoskey Schools as a custodian nearly 30 years ago, he subbed on nights for nearly a year before a longtime employee retired…

By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor Monday’s event at Orchard View High School in Muskegon looked like a party, but it was the annual general membership meeting of a wall-to-wall support staff union representing custodians, office staff, paraeducators, maintenance employees, transportation workers, and food service staff. Goodies for giveaway lined the front of the community meeting room where dozens of…

By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor In the past two years, Christine Rushlow surveyed members of the Plymouth Canton Education Association (PCEA) with two questions: what problems are you confronting in your school role, and what expertise do you offer which could help others address issues they’re facing? As the PCEA vice president for elementary, Rushlow has led a popular…

By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor United Teachers of Flint VP Trishanda Williams In January when seven school board members of Flint Community Schools voted down a settlement agreement between the district and its teachers, their move sparked a crisis which spun into a dramatic three-month showdown culminating in a huge win for United Teachers of Flint. But the historic…

By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor Award‑winning teacher Valerie Hopkins spoke out and worked with other staff unions to address damaging behavior by two school board members in Evart. For two decades Valerie Hopkins has faced challenges and celebrated joys of teaching early elementary school in Evart Public Schools northwest of Mt. Pleasant. Four years ago she became president of…