It was inspiring Monday as hundreds of MTA members came together at the first Labor Day parade in Boston – and hundreds more joined parades in Holyoke and Lowell and elsewhere. We’ve posted photos of the Boston and Holyoke marches, which were part of the MayDayStrong.org national movement.
I was so proud of how our members anchored the School Street site on the parade route, where the first public school in the United States once stood. We greeted workers from every sector of our society, reminding all of us that without workers, nothing works.
This year felt different, and not just because the Boston celebration left the confines of a hotel ballroom. We were doing more than celebrating the ways that organized labor has built a better world, one of fairer and safer workplaces, wages and benefits that allow families to live more comfortably, and public investments that benefit everyone, including those made in public schools and colleges, hospitals, transportation systems, parks, museums and decent housing.
This year, we took to the streets to confront an existential crisis for working people and their unions, and, quite frankly, for our democracy.
Labor Day 2025 was the latest gathering to defend our democracy against billionaire oligarchs and their political enablers who are attempting to dismantle the laws and agencies designed to create a fair playing field for workers and management.
Labor Day 2025 also was a day to remind ourselves as workers and unionists that when there is backsliding from democracy into authoritarianism, it is the labor movement – and perhaps only the labor movement – that can save us.
On Monday, we marched through Boston to declare our commitment to fighting for workers, for families, for students, for immigrants, for the LGBTQ+ community, and for anyone being marginalized or harmed during this grotesque assault coming from the federal government. It is directed at the public good and intended to enrich and further empower billionaires who hold only contempt for our values.
You’ve probably seen that bumper sticker – “The Labor Movement: The Folks Who Brought You The Weekend.” And of course, it’s true. Going back to the 1830s, and the Lowell women millworkers who fought for better working conditions, it is the labor movement that has secured a measure of dignity and fairness for the people who do the work to make society work.
This year, union members asked both friends and allies with new urgency another old union question: “Which side are you on?” It’s time to choose. Are you with working people or the billionaires?
MTA Events, Opportunities and Solidarity Actions
What’s Your Vision of a Graduate?
As you may be aware, Governor Maura Healey created a Statewide K-12 Graduation Council to recommend a new vision for graduation requirements and how we set up high school graduates up for success. As the foundation for a new statewide graduation requirement, the Statewide Graduation Council is supporting the development of a brand-new Massachusetts Vision of a Graduate. We need your input! Please fill out this survey. We will be bringing MTA members’ recommendations to the governor and Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler.
Legislative Hearing: Adjunct Bill of Rights
When: 1 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 11
Where: Room A-1 (or remote), Massachusetts State House
An Act Promoting an Adjunct Bill of Rights makes adjunct faculty who teach half-time or more at one or more public institutions of higher education eligible for a state pension (and the Optional Retirement Program) and health insurance. Learn more, submit testimony and get a link to watch the hearing live.
Education Hearing: Urge Legislators to Listen to Educators on Literacy
When: 11 a.m., Tuesday, Sept. 16
Where: Joint Committee on Education, Gardner Auditorium, State House
Legislation before the Joint Committee on Education would mandate the use of specific literacy curriculum and place in state law a flawed definition of “evidence-based literacy instruction” that would restrict educators from implementing effective practices. Please write to your legislators today to urge them to listen to educators in their district and oppose this legislation. The Education committee is holding a hearing on the bill on Sept. 16, so we also ask that you complete this form to let us know if you are interested in testifying on the bill, either in person, virtually or in writing.
All Presidents’ Meeting
When: Saturday, Sept. 20, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. (Breakfast starts at 8 a.m. Lunch will follow when the meeting ends.) Where: Sheraton Framingham Hotel & Conference Center, 1657 Worcester Road, Framingham
Please join us as we celebrate some recent victories and continue to build stronger locals and a stronger MTA! Register before Tuesday, Sept. 16.
Note: Each local president should have received a unique registration link — please email MTAGovernance@massteacher.org if you have not. The link allows you to add guests of your choice – we urge you to invite a few local leaders/activists. If you are a member who would like to attend, ask your local president.
Fiscal Crisis Action Team Meeting
When: 5 - 6 p.m. on Sept. 15, Oct. 20, Nov. 17 and Dec. 8
Where: Virtual
Join MTA members, parents, students, community activists and municipal leaders from across the Commonwealth as we take strategic action to win legislative and budgetary fixes to the growing fiscal crisis impacting public schools and colleges across the Commonwealth. All are welcome! Registration is open now.
Attend a Raise Up Massachusetts Town Hall
When: Sept. 18 through Oct. 28
Where: Regional meetings
Our Raise Up Massachusetts coalition is convening town hall meetings around the state this fall to discuss how we can fight back against federal cuts. These meetings will bring together unions, community leaders and legislators to strategize about how we can tap the state’s rainy day fund and pass Corporate Fair Share legislation to protect education and other key public services. RSVP to attend a town hall in your area. Meetings begin Sept. 18 in Hyannis for the Cape and Islands region, and continue through October.
MTA Benefits’ $500 Back-to-School Giveaway
MTA members have the chance to win $500 in the MTA Benefits Back-to-School Giveaway! Log in to the MTA Benefits website and enter to win by Sept. 15. You must have an account on the MTA Benefits website in order to enter. Two winners will be chosen.
Interested in Attending 2025-2026 National Conferences?
The MTA is accepting applications for members to request funding to attend national conferences through this academic year. This is a great opportunity for members to immerse themselves in union education and job-specific education while engaging with members across the country. National conferences provide an opportunity to learn from renowned leaders, share stories with other members and learn from one other. Limited funding is available. Space is limited. If interested in applying for funding for one or more educational conferences, please fill out the survey form:
https://forms.office.com/r/vSr9iGibkT
Show Solidarity With the People of Washington, D.C.
On Aug. 25, President Trump issued executive orders to end cashless bail, detain people who have not been convicted of any crime and establish new militarized police forces in Washington tasked with “quelling civil disturbances and ensuring the public safety and order whenever the circumstances necessitate." Our friends in the District of Columbia . need our help. Free DC is the renewed campaign to protect DC Home Rule and win lasting dignity for the people of the District of Columbia. Learn more and get involved at FreeDCproject.org.
Political Education
We should all wrestle with what historian Erik Loomis writes about the necessary fight back we need to engage in, in this New York Times op-ed on Labor Day.
Then read this interview with the likely next mayor of New York City, who has successfully laid down an agenda for working people.
In Solidarity
Max and Deb
