Connecting MTA members to their work as educators and to their activism as unionists was the central theme of this year’s Winter Union Skills Conference — a series of virtual workshops focused on core priorities such as negotiations, collective action and organizing.
MTA educators from preK through higher education took part in discussions and connected with their colleagues to discuss ideas, strategies, and their vision for the future of public schools and colleges.
A plenary session geared toward collective action and solidarity that featured panelists from the documentary "The Big Scary ‘S’ Word" — with the "S" referring to socialism — kicked off the conference on Feb. 26.
The film follows the story of Stephanie Price, a beleaguered public school educator in Oklahoma City and a member of the Oklahoma Education Association. The filmmaker for the documentary, Yael Bridge, is the brother of Rami Bridge, president of the Somerville Educators Union.
In 2018, OEA educators walked out after experiencing many years of public education being starved for funding.
Price, a panelist in the MTA plenary session, told attendees that she had to work two jobs as a single mother to pay her bills and cover her student loans while also taking care of her child. Tax breaks were given to oil companies in Oklahoma while funding for public education was slashed year after year, she said.
"Watching opportunities for Oklahoma to do something right for education just fell to the wayside," Price said. "I was just done — I was done waiting for something to happen."
The OEA strike was a key moment in the "Red for Ed" movement that ultimately spread across the nation.
MTA educators attending the virtual session commented that collective action and solidarity among members across different bargaining units are important when fighting for funding, respect, and the ability to provide the education all students need and deserve.
"Collective action helped remove that separation between teachers and Education Support Professionals," said Susan Greco, an instructional assistant in Andover. "When our teachers and paraprofessionals stood together to not enter buildings in September 2020, that’s when I felt that we were equals."
MTA President Merrie Najimy said that collective action among preK-16 educators is the key to winning fights to advance the common good.
"It’s through collective action that we win," Najimy said. "That’s where there’s hope in times that are our hardest. Hope and joy always come through collective action.
"That, however, doesn’t mean we’re not afraid sometimes or that it’s not hard," she added. "It means that we are in it together."
In some regions of the Commonwealth, such as the Merrimack Valley, regional bargaining councils now include locals affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts as well as MTA locals.
Union solidarity is highly effective when the MTA locals show up for fellow unions — whether they are affiliated with AFT Massachusetts or another labor organization — and vice versa.
"When we show solidarity within our locals and other preK-12 locals — and across different bargaining units that are not just MTA and AFT, but when we show up for AFL-CIO locals — they show up for us," Najimy said. "That’s how we work through joy. That’s how we work through fear and the challenges. And that’s how we win."
Following the plenary session, online workshops continued through February and March. Locals were encouraged to have groups of members participate in the sessions based on their roles and interests, and many did so.
At one workshop — which featured representatives of locals that had gone on strike or taken other actions in prior years — members learned about the foundational needs and campaign components required to set a local on a successful path toward collective readiness.
Dedham Education Association member Amy Lydon said that before her union went on strike in October 2019, educators had prepared themselves for what was ahead.
Lydon, who at the time was a member of the local’s Contract Action Team, said the DEA prioritized one-on-one communication with its members, assembled contact information, and took numerous other steps.
"We found it was really, really important to have personal emails and cellphone numbers," she said, adding that local leaders also used a text messaging application that enabled the DEA to communicate instantaneously with members. "It was really helpful," Lydon said.
Among other issues, the virtual workshops attracted MTA educators for discussions about bargaining fundamentals, legal strategies, communication skills for union leaders and school committee election involvement. Another focus was building momentum for the Fair Share Amendment campaign — which seeks to pass a ballot measure this November that would add a 4 percent tax on annual income over $1 million to help fund public education and transportation.
For information on upcoming professional development opportunities, visit massteacher.org/tpl.
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