Tell Lansing: We will not go away!

Tell Lansing: We will not go away! http://www.mea.org/june-7-day-action

Wednesday, January 18th, 2012

House Committee hears testimony restricting union dues collection, union activities

The House Oversight, Reform and Ethics Committee heard testimony Tuesday from union members who oppose HB 5023-5026, bills restricting union activities and punishing union members. And all of them pretty much said the same thing--the legislation is punitive, unnecessary, irrelevant and unconstitutional.
HB 5025, probably the most damaging piece of anti-union legislation in the package, requires an employees' annual written authorization to have their union dues deducted from their paychecks. Supporters say this bill gives workers more opportunities to control whether money is collected for political activities or other functions--control workers already have, making this legislation just another attack on unions.
Union members repeatedly testified that PAC contributions do not come from dues; they are a voluntary contribution. They also stressed that no worker in Michigan is forced to join a union. Workers can opt to pay their fair share which only pays for the salary and benefits the union has negotiated for all workers.
The other bills are an attempt to legislate problems that don’t really exist and impose stricter punishment when there already are consequences for an action. HB 5023 fines striking public employees one day’s pay and their union $5,000 for each day of the strike. HB 5024 sets fines on members and their unions for mass picketing which disrupts an employer’s daily business. HB 5026 makes it easier for employers to hire replacements for striking workers.

John Duffy, MEA Local 1 President and 6-E Coordinating Council Chairperson, questioned how any of this legislation was conducive to creating jobs. Committee Chair Rep. Tom McMillin (R-Rochester Hills) challenged Duffy by telling him that if unions followed the law there would be no negative impact. Duffy responded, "Since union members follow the law, there is no negative impact, but at the same time, there is no positive impact that creates jobs or improves the lives of the people of Michigan."
Rep. Timothy Bledsoe (D-Grosse Pointe) and Rep. Lisa Brown (D-West Bloomfield) joined representatives from the Professional Firefighters, the UAW and the AFL-CIO questioning the need for this legislation when Michigan is facing an economic crisis and needs to be focused on creating jobs.
The Committee will hear more testimony next week.

Senate education reform package still alive in House Education Committee

The Senate’s so-called education reform package (SB 618-624) is still being debated in the House Education Committee. On Wednesday, the Committee took up SB 621, 622, 709 and 710.
SB 621 expands the list of providers of classes to private and home-schooled students beyond an ISD to a contiguous district or charter school. SB 622, 709 and 710 expands dual enrollment provisions under the Post-Secondary Enrollment Act.
Supporting testimony praised the legislation for offering more educational opportunities to all Michigan students and being fiscally prudent--all at the same time. Committee members, however, repeatedly questioned the financial aspects of the bills--especially the rate being charged students by community colleges and universities.
John Duffy, MEA Local 1 President and 6-E Coordinating Council Chairperson, spoke in opposition to the bills, but with a focus on SB 619 which expands cyber schools. Criticizing them for being motivated solely by profit, Duffy used a local example to make his point.
"Republicans and the Mackinac Center criticize the Utica superintendent for the $300,000 salary she earns for overseeing the district and its students and administrators. They claim it's a waste of taxpayer dollars. Yet, the CEO of K12, the largest for-profit charter school management company in the country, earns $5 million and for supervising fewer students and taking in record profits at the expense of tax dollars and state aid. And that's not a waste?"
Duffy went on to criticize the other pieces of legislation for subsidizing the education of home-schooled and private school students with public school money. "It's an assault on public education.”
When asked how much money is needed to fund public schools, Duffy replied, "How about we start with the $1 billion that was taken away from them?"
MEA President Steve Cook submitted written testimony on SB 619 prior to the holidays, which can be read at here.

Bits of Capitol Comments

• Follow along with tonight's State of the State address -- and social media commentary about it -- at www.progressmichigan.org/2012SOTS. The site will feature a live stream of the speech starting at 7 p.m., alongside a running commentary from Twitter and Facebook. If you want to share your thoughts, use the hashtag #MISOTS.
  
• On Thursday, Jan. 19, at 6 p.m., Gov. Rick Snyder will be holding an online town hall with Michigan residents after his State of the State address on Wednesday. The town hall will be streamed live on Facebook on the Governor's Rick for Michigan page. Residents can submit questions in advance or through Facebook and Twitter once the meeting has started.
  
• Your help is needed to make sure Tim Greimel--a proven friend of education--is elected on Feb. 28 to the House District 29 seat left vacant by Tim Melton. Time has been set aside to make phone calls to MEA members living in House District 29 and volunteers are needed. Here's the schedule:
  
• Monday, Jan. 30, 5-8 p.m.
  
• Tuesday, Jan. 31, 5-8 p.m.
  
• Thursday, Feb. 16, 5-8 p.m.
  
• Saturday, Feb. 18, 1-5 p.m.
  

Contact Mark Walton at markwalton@comcast.net to give some time to this important special election. Do it for all MEA members. It's all part of the effort to take back the House in 2012.


Wednesday, April 13th, 2011
Thank you for packing the house at the general membership meeting tonight! Check out the member's only page...upper right hand corner...click it!
We ARE the People! - a diverse coalition of students, seniors, workers, families and organizations fighting to protect Michigan's middle class. Click here to sign up for updates.

Greetings Colleagues,
Please take a moment to read this month's Bite of the Apple Page 2. On the front page there is a history of unions that is continued below with more "specific detail to support the thesis". It's worth a read if you've ever been unsure or skeptical of unionism. It is presentably unbiased, as it presents both negative and positive historical findings. As a history teacher, I approve.
Click to learn.


Greetings GHEA Members,
The following is a note from your president, Amy Cahalan. To show solidarity and support for our colleagues in Wisconsin we strongly urge you to participate in wearing red on Tuesdays and encourage you to attend the rally in Muskegon, Tuesday, March 15th. More info is found in this month's Bite of the Apple (page 1, page 2). And now a word from Amy Cahalan...

...Thoughts on School Reform By Amy Cahalan ...

        Last week, I attended an Education Reform Symposium with a group of educators from our district sponsored by the Michigan Education Association, the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice, and the National Education Policy Center.  This group of sponsors are genuine education researchers, and unlike the Mackinac Center that we are all too familiar with, have actual research data to support their claims.  The series of panel speakers who presented their research are associated with many accredited universities across our nation, on various topics surrounding education, education reform, teacher quality, effective teachers, and teacher evaluation. 

        What I learned from this symposium was that our teaching profession does need to adapt and change, but that the reform should be lead by teachers, not legislators.  I was reminded that we are public servants.  A public servant is someone who is willing to work for the public for lower salaries but decent benefits.  They are reliable, dependable professionals willing to serve the needs of our communities.  I also was reminded that the state of our economy is not the fault of public servants.  We did not single handedly tank the economy, as the media would have you believe.  This economic crisis was created on Wall Street, not Main Street, but some how we public servants have become the scapegoats, especially teachers, while the Wall Street CEO’s still collected their enormous bonuses.
     
      The legislative answer to educational reform is to tear apart our education system and they are starting with the Midwest states.  This is not only an attack on our collective bargaining rights, but on the middle class across our state.  While all eyes are focused on Wisconsin, our own legislature passed a series of bills last week for an emergency financial manager (EMF) to take over, nullify contracts that are in place and strip bargaining rights for years to come if a school district or municipality finds itself in dire financial condition.  In the past year, they have also passed the Race To The Top Legislation, which basically requires annual evaluation based upon student scores and is tied to merit pay.  All of this legislation has been of course mandated without funding.  In fact, they are slashing school budgets at record amounts and I am sure, hoping districts will qualify for the EMF programs.  Yes, they will start in the larger, urban, “failing” school districts in our state, but it will not be long before they come for the successful school districts like Grand Haven. 

       What can we do about this attack?  First, be aware.  Read the updates.  Ask questions and be informed.  Second, become an activist.  Look for opportunities to demonstrate when you are unhappy about how public servants are being treated.  Take the busses to Wisconsin to support collective bargaining rights, attend the rallies in Lansing, protest mistreatment of public servants in Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, etc.  Attend town-hall meetings with local legislators.  Third, writing letters to the editor.  The recent letter by Karen Flanigan is a perfect example of telling our story.  We don’t want to whine and complain, just make sure that our side of a story gets out there.  Fourth, share your story with your friends, family, and neighbors.  Let them know what is going on, and how it will affect their public schools.  Lastly, please know that you are appreciated.  The parents and kids in our community value our public school teachers.  Sometimes we lose sight of that because of the negative media.

Happy Holidays members!
Please have a safe and enjoyable holiday break. Be sure to take advantage of your MEA membership. Click here for the endless possibilities!
_______________________________________________________________________
Greetings GHEA members,
Your GHEA thanks you for continuing to do an outstanding job teaching, coaching and 'inspiring our students. Share EVERY accomplishment within your buildings, communities and families...keep "tootin' horns"!
If you haven't checked out the GHHS lip dub click here
There has been a lot of productive publicity offered by supporters of public education against Guggenheim's Waiting for Superman. Below are resources and quotes that offer more insight and inspiration.
NEA's Waiting for Superman resources click here
As always, please feel free to send in anything you'd like to see added to the website to the webmaster.
For now, keep up all of your great work!



Mark your calendars:

Pre-Retirement Seminar for MEA members on Saturday, November 13, 2010.

 Get your retirement questions answered by someone who is not only trained to answer them, but has also survived the process.  We will also have a representative from Social Security present to answer your questions.  If you are planning to retire in the next year or two, this is a workshop you cannot afford to miss.

WHERE: Muskegon Community College, Stevenson Center

221 S Quarterline Road, Muskegon, MI 49442

WHEN: 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 Noon, Saturday, November 13, 2010

PLEASE RSVP to the Spring Lake MEA office no later than Monday, November 8, at

616-846-2770 or (toll-free: 1-800-458-9213 (Ottawa County), or 1-800-303-0112 (Muskegon County) or email Gayle at gvoss@mea.org.         (Spouses welcome only if space allows.)

September 13th, 2010
Hello GHEA members! Please take a moment to watch the following video concerning "Right to Work". We will be hearing more about this in the near future and your GHEA will be presenting articles important to our cause.
"In our glorious fight for civil rights, we must guard against being fooled by false slogans, as 'right-to-work.' Its purpose is to destroy labor unions and the freedom of collective bargaining... We demand this fraud be stopped." MLK
(Please jump down to the "September 12th, 2010" for the beginning of the year welcome message.)

September 12, 2010
Welcome back from your GHEA! We hope you're off to a great start. The GHEA stands ready to serve you in maintaining the best possible conditions for our students' learning. What we do is absolutely BIG...locally, on a state and national level, and globally. Please contact your building/area representative if you have any concerns AND if you'd like to "Toot Your Own Horn"...
...more on horn-tooting to come...stay tuned, er, uh, logged in.
NEW Weblink Note: A link has been added to the right to MEA Financial Services. Our representative is Eric Nienhuis and can be contacted at 1800 428 1307 or enienhuis@mea.org OR by clicking the link to the right and using the "Find My Financial Services Representative" tool.



IMPORTANT:
If you signed up to take a bus to Lansing on June 24th please read the following message...
The charter buses will leave the Spring Lake MEA office (17200 Van Wagoner Rd., Spring Lake, MI 49456) at 8:30 am sharp.  The rally will last from 11:00 am until approximately 12:30 pm.  On the way back we will stop at a park just outside of Lansing and have lunch, which will be provided.  We will return to the Spring Lake MEA office at approximately 3:30 pm.
Please wear your Union Pride T-shirt!  If you don’t have a Union Pride T-shirt please wear RED.

June 1st, 2010
...one of the recommended candidates for Pete Hoekstra's open seat...
Fred Johnson
and one of the other candidates running to get you started on your research as an active citizen/voter...
Field Reichardt
Thank you for a great turnout at the May 24th Rally!

Thanks to the Grand Haven Tribune for the picture!
May 9th, 2010
IMPORTANT Notice! Please attend the rally on May 24th and join with educators from around Michigan who love our profession and want to make a difference!
Read the flyer and turn in the form to one of your reps ASAP!
(Here's some background music to listen to while you are reading the flyer and filling out the form...turn those in to one of your reps when you're done.)

April 12th, 2010

GHEA
Thanks to all of you who came to speak with Arlan at Spring Lake Library.  It was encouraging to see so many educators help fill the room to capacity, although the Mr. Williams in me still wished just one more person could be there.  I reflected on the meeting on the way home and thought of several things.  I thought there is no reason Alran should not understand the perspective of educators on some of these issues; however, I also think we need to stay on point. So, where can we connect?  We need to emphasize … local control…this point resonated the most with the community members I spoke with.  We need to talk about the economic impact this will have on the local community. Small business will continue to struggle with…loss in spending.  Keep the argument simple - local control is very important.  Let's not have Lansing dictate our budgets when they can't handle their own. 

Brian Williams

GHAPS has requested MESSA to do a dependant audit to determine if all of the dependants on the insurance roles are accurate and up to date. They are asking for verification on our tax forms.  They are not interested in any numbers on your tax forms. This needs to be completed by the April date that they have listed or GHAPS could drop all dependents coverage.

Amy Cahalan

MEA
…MEA is rolling out a plan for sustained, strategic, collective action among our members. Our goal is simple: to stop the constant efforts to balance the budget on the backs of public school employ­ees by securing adequate, equitable and stable funding for public education.
You may have already taken part in a local activity supporting this statewide effort. A series of events are planned throughout the spring, ratcheting up the pressure in advance of an MEA rally at the state Capitol on June 24.

Your participation is crucial in all these activities—from wearing a red ribbon to coming to Lansing in June.
In order for us to make it clear to our Legislature… we need every one of our 155,000 members to stand up and say enough is enough. We need the strength of our collective voice to fight back against those who propose to fix Michigan’s budget problems by attacking your salaries, pensions, and health benefits and those who believe that layoffs, privatization and program cuts are the answer.
We urge you to lend your voice to MEA’s strategic collective action.

MEA Voice
NEA

Important Reminder: The NEA website (www.nea.org) has a very useful web tool available for everyone to use that makes communicating with your government really convenient. At the NEA website, click on “Issues and Action”. Then, in the middle of the page click on “Legislative Action Center”…this will take you to a page that allows you to quickly and conveniently compose a statement to send via email to most any politician.
March 15th, 2010
GHEA www.myghea.org
Enough is Enough! It’s time to take action. GHEA General Membership Meeting Wednesday, March 24, 2010 @Porto Bello Restaurant Grand Ball Room. Two Sessions Offered: 4:30pm – 5:30pm and 6:00pm – 7:00pm Come hear the latest news from your union leaders. Your
GHEA Rocks... Your GHEA has received your responses! Your actions and efforts are truly about teaching and reaching students. As you continue through your year full speed ahead, send your pictures, stories, projects, and what you do in general to enhance your classrooms and students’ lives to myghearocks@gmail.com or talk to your AR today. We recognize the sacrifices you make and want to listen.
MEA www.mea.org The following is an excerpt from a statement from Iris Salters, our MEA President… You must also be a cheerleader for what works in Michigan schools. You must stand up and recognize the innovations and methods and programs that we know make a positive difference in our students’ lives. You must urge collaboration and the sharing of ideas so that struggling schools can turn themselves around. And you must demand that education become a priority for our Legislature so that our state can do the same. …read more at MEA.org
NEA www.nea.org ESEA reauthorization is heating up. The Obama Administration has a blueprint for reauthorization that NEA believes has significant problems and raises serious concerns. Tell Congress to rip out the pages of the blueprint that don't work for kids and replace them with better solutions.
AND...
The Grand Rapids Griffins and MEA are teaming up one final time during the
2009-2010 season for an affordable night of entertainment and recognition at
the Griffins game on Friday, March 26th. This MEA Member Appreciation
Night will offer a great discount to allow for MEA Members to enjoy a fun and
affordable night out with friends, family and other MEA members!
Tickets $9, Beer/Hotdogs $1
February 8, 2010
Welcome GHEA members...BE informed, BE active. Take a second to browse these useful links.

A "suite" deal for MEA-PAC!

Make an online contribution to MEA-PAC in February and you can get in the running to win a pair of luxury suite tickets for the Detroit Piston's March 7 game against the Houston Rockets. Getting into the contest is quick and easy – and your contribution will go a long way to helping elect friends of public education this fall.

Your health insurance remains under attack!
Though lawmakers had not passed a mandatory state-run health plan for public employees by press time, the attacks on health benefits aren’t dead in Lansing, where some lawmakers are mulling other options. In late December, Rep. Mark Jansen, R-Gaines Township, and Sen. Alan Sanborn, R-Richmond, introduced legislation that would require public workers receiving health care benefits to contribute either 15 percent or 20 percent toward the cost of the plans. ....
Read more in the award winning MEA Voice
A brief history of the MEA...The Michigan Education Association is headquartered in East Lansing. MEA started in 1852... Read more at MEA.org
TWEET ‘EM: More than a dozen Michigan lawmakers are on Twitter, a free social networking and micro-blogging device that allows users to send and receive text messages
known as tweets. Using social media to lobby lawmakers can be effective. Check to see if your legislators are tweeting—go to www.mea.org/gov and click on “Legislators on Twitter.”

Your GHEA also tweets...follow us on Twitter, myGHEA...
While we're on the subject we also have a Facebook group and a blog at...
myghearocks.blogspot.com