Organizing
MEA’s power is in the collective strength of our 120,000 members. From local school boards to the State Capitol and beyond, our collective action can advocate for the change our students and our colleagues need.
Want to organize with MEA? – If you work in a school employee group not represented by MEA but are interested in organizing with us, please call us at 800-292-1934 and ask for Organizing Consultant Jacob Louks (jlouks@mea.org).
Organizing News
Finding Strength in Solidarity
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor MEA member Eric Curtiss thought he had a high number of students in his English classes last year when his numbers topped out at 144. This year he has 168, although the number fluctuates. Eric Curtiss Last year he had five preps, the most in his 22-year career. Now he has eight different courses…
Higher Ed Unions ‘Building a Bridge Over a Chasm’
In February, Martin McDonough became president of one of MEA’s largest local units—the Administrative Professional Association (APA) at Michigan State University. The next month, pandemic-related closures hit higher education in Michigan. Martin McDonough Formerly a shop steward in the pipefitters union and vice-president of the APA, McDonough knew that in times of crisis people feel especially grateful for the union.…
Virtual Schools Seek Digital ‘Foot in Door’
Kathy Bommarito worries that a decision this spring by the Avondale School District where she is union president could represent a foot in the door for online school vendors seeking to displace educators in the classroom. In May the Avondale School Board agreed to close Avondale Academy—named Michigan’s Alternative School of the Year in 2018—and replace it with a fully…
MEA Board of Directors on safe return to school
EAST 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 plans as well as bargaining…
MEA Locals Keep Safety at Forefront in Return to School Discussions
By 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. Blake Mazurek But everyone is paying attention now that he’s “getting into the weeds” alongside administrators…
Educators Tap Robotics Knowledge, Connections to Aid in Coronavirus Battle
When MEA member Lisa Weise first volunteered to coach a robotics team at Holt High School, she knew little about building a robot but was game for a challenge. Now just five years later, her experience and connections are helping to combat the coronavirus outbreak in Michigan. A biology teacher and 2004 Michigan Science Teacher of the Year now in…
Member-Organizers Make A Difference
Why I wanted to participate: My mother was a bus driver. My aunt’s a teacher. My grandmother’s a bus driver. They were all part of unions, so I’m from a union family. I believe in the strength in numbers, and I believe in advocacy. When I was a first-year teacher, I had some issues where the Minority Affairs Committee came in and helped me by observing me and giving me…
From Discouraged to Empowered: My Story of Union Advocacy
We have a big problem in Michigan schools, folks, and it has nothing to do with test scores or differentiated instruction. It has everything to do with treating teachers like professionals and human beings. Most recently, this came to the forefront for me as a union president assisting an employee who had requested additional time to express milk at work for her…