Two years ago, I was elected as the vice president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association on a promise to dismantle the high-stakes testing regime. I pledged, in unison with Max Page, to advance the passage of the Fair Share Amendment and the right for a debt-free higher education for all. Together, we ran on a platform dedicated to educational, economic, racial and gender justice. We made a commitment to organizing and expanded bargaining because we know that when we fight, we win. We promised to seek the working conditions that are our students’ learning conditions, to resist the privatization of our public good, and to preserve educator autonomy and our freedom to teach. We vowed to achieve the dignity to retire, the right to earn a living wage, and our inherent right to withhold our labor. Together, we delivered on the promises that we made.
On Nov. 8, 2022, voters passed the Fair Share Amendment, a constitutional amendment that allocates almost $2 billion annually to public education and public transportation. On Dec. 6, 2023, 135,000 signatures — more than any other ballot campaign of the legislative cycle — were delivered to the Secretary of State’s Office for certification. Besides these legislative victories, under my and Max’s leadership, we have actualized the direct benefits from an organizing model of expanded bargaining. In Malden, Melrose, Haverhill, Woburn, Andover and Newton, educators withheld their labor and won the contracts that they deserved. In places like North Andover, Braintree, Wellesley, Middleton, Weymouth, Quincy and Avon, to name a few, because the members were strike-ready, they won the contracts that they deserved. Max and I joined these educators on the line and in their fights, as they achieved historic contractual wins that advance the professionalism and rights of an education workforce.
I am proud of the work that I have done to promote and enhance the work of Raising Multicultural Kids. It has been an honor to stand in solidarity with educators in places like Great Barrington and Pembroke, unwavering in the commitment toward diversity and inclusivity. Our students need to see themselves represented in their educators and in their curriculum. Our schools need to be spaces that are nurturing, safe, accepting and diverse.
In two years’ time, I have met education workers who are unable to retire, who are unable to escape poverty wages, and who are unable to access PFML benefits. As I learn each of their stories, I have become intimately connected to their struggles, and my passion for the fight has deepened. The relationships that I have formed with rank-and-file members are as important to me as the relationships that I had with my students. They are fueling my desire to continue in a state leadership role. When you vote for ‘Max and Deb’ on April 27, you will be voting for a movement of member-driven, rank-and file union educators who have created the power and the strategies to win the working and learning conditions that we all deserve.
