For the second consecutive year, the 2023 MTA Annual Meeting of Delegates will be held in person with virtual participation for those who choose to do so because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The two-day event will be held on Friday, April 28, and Saturday, April 29, at the MassMutual Center in Springfield. This marks the first time the Annual Meeting has been held in Western Massachusetts, after many years in Boston, and the event will return to Springfield in 2024.
The Annual Meeting is where essential MTA business takes place each year, including union elections and approval of the association’s operating budget. The new budget year for fiscal 2023-2024 begins July 1. The meeting is also an occasion for educators to get together and recognize leaders in education, labor and professional practice. The awards section will highlight the agenda on Saturday.
The opening session will begin at noon on Friday, April 28. The following day, the meeting will resume at 9 a.m. The election of candidates is scheduled to start at 11 a.m., after action on the proposed annual budget. If action on the budget goes beyond 11 a.m., elections will begin immediately afterward.
All delegates will vote to decide At-Large races; Region F will vote to elect its Executive Committee member, and District 21G will vote to elect its Board of Directors member. Retired delegates will vote to elect members of the Retired Members Committee.
New this year at Annual Meeting is a child care stipend of up to $100 for members who have children age 12 or under and who need child care to attend the meeting. The application deadline is April 18.
For detailed information on the two-day agenda, please visit massteacher.org/annualmeeting.
———
The awards recognition portion of the meeting will include presentations on Saturday.
The Debt Collective, a union of debtors that has led a national effort to cancel student debt and advocate for free college education, will receive the MTA Friend of Education Award. The organization, which originated in the Occupy Wall Street movement, is committed to public funding of college education, universal health care and guaranteed housing. It has used organizing and innovative digital tools to change the narrative on student debt.
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont will receive the MTA Friend of Labor Award. A civil rights activist and labor supporter, Senator Sanders recently introduced federal legislation that would set a minimum public school salary of $60,000 for teachers. A proponent of workplace democracy, union organization and worker cooperatives, he has long advocated for tuition-free higher education.
Two recipients will be recognized with the MTA President’s Award. The honors will go to the nonprofits City Life/Vida Urbana and Springfield No One Leaves.
City Life/Vida Urbana is a grassroots organization, based in Boston, that fights for racial, social, economic and gender justice by building working-class power.
Among other principles, the organization believes in housing as a human right and enabling people to develop their own understanding of their situation and tell their own stories.
Springfield No One Leaves, a grassroots organization based in Springfield, is dedicated to organizing residents who have been most impacted by the housing crisis and economic inequality to build collective power. Its direct-action campaigns are building community solidarity and empowering residents to become leaders and organizers in social justice movements.
Paula Higgins, the 2023 MTA Education Support Professional of the Year, also will be recognized. Higgins, an ESP and member of the Malden Education Association, has worked with students with significant educational needs for 29 years. She received the honor at a celebration in March.
Dani Charbonneau, the 2023 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year, will receive an award from MTA, as well, recognizing her contributions to education. Charbonneau is a member of the Martha’s Vineyard Educators Association.
———
The delegates will consider a proposed MTA operating budget of $52,221,525 for the coming fiscal year, which begins July 1.
A vote is scheduled for Saturday morning, April 29. The Advisory Budget Committee, the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors have proposed annual dues of $503 for full-time active members, which is a $20 increase over this year. Dues for clerical staff and custodians would be $302 under the proposal, an increase of $12, while dues for Education Support Professionals, including food service personnel and paraeducators, would be $151, an increase of $6. Annual retiree dues would remain unchanged at $30.
In addition, the proposed Public Relations/Organizing Campaign budget of $1,822,200 will be considered.
The recommended general dues assessment for the PR/Organizing budget is $20. For clerical staff and custodians, the assessment would be $12. Paraeducators, food service personnel and other ESPs would be assessed $6. These assessments are the same amounts as this year.
