On the cusp of potentially beginning an initiative petition process to end the MCAS graduation requirement, the MTA is not the organization it once was — the increasingly larger, stronger union is transitioning into an ever-more active legislative agent.
“Our evolution more recently, in the last decade, the MTA has become a central actor in helping advance policies for public schools and colleges as well,” said MTA President Max Page. “Doing that by fighting for educators’ voice at work, their working conditions, as well as fighting for the broader common good to support our students and their families.”
In the last few years, Page pointed out, the union has been active in the successful fights for the Fair Share Amendment, Massachusetts millionaire’s tax passed by ballot measure in 2022; the Student Opportunity Act, an influx of education funding passed through the Legislature in 2019; and a state bill expanding paid family medical leave and raising the minimum wage in 2018.
This year, the union has taken aim at removing the long-embattled MCAS graduation requirement — first with the Thrive Act proposed in the Legislature and now as a submitted ballot question — and growing funding for Massachusetts’s public higher education with the Cherish Act.
If the MCAS question receives approval from Attorney General Andrea Campbell, a decision due by Sept. 6, the union leadership is gearing up for an enormous campaign to collect around 75,000 signatures by mid-November to get it on the November 2024 ballot.
Numerous groups have lined up to fight the change, and a legal memorandum arguing that proposed ballot question should be ruled invalid, was filed with Campbell’s office earlier this month.
That letter was drafted by the Pioneer Institute, a Boston-based advocacy organization, and signed by leadership of 19 organizations and public figures, including the Massachusetts High Technology Council, Retailers Association of Massachusetts, Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, Democrats for Education Reform, two former Massachusetts Secretaries of Education and former BPS superintendent Michael Contompasis.
The Massachusetts Teachers Association started in 1845 with 85 members, though did not become a union with collective bargaining rights until 1965. Within two years, according to a timeline published by the MTA, over 200 teachers contracts were signed across the state.
The MTA is now the largest union in New England, Page said, with 117,000 members across 400 local unions representing both K-12 schools and higher education.
In addition to collective bargaining strength, the union president said, part of that growth is the educator’s shared priorities.
“The MTA has only grown,” said Page. “That’s no accident. It’s our careful efforts to connect with members, make sure they know how to join. But more importantly, I feel very pleased over the recent years that what we are fighting for at the state level aligns with what our members care about.”
The state has also seen a rise in educators’ strikes in recent years, with the MTA playing a key role in supporting and funding strikes in Haverhill, Malden, Melrose and Woburn in just the last school year. The union has also recently suggested the idea of legalizing teachers’ right to strike.
In just the last year or two, Page said, many of the contract fights have seen increased focus on wages and benefits of education support professionals, like teachers assistants and paraprofessionals.
“As this Labor Day comes, it’s just nice to pause and reflect on all that’s been gained,” Page said.
Going forward, Page noted, the organization is looking into legislative campaigns focused on mental health and behavioral issues in schools and pushing forward debt-free public higher education, especially in the wake of the Supreme Court’s rulings against affirmative action and student loan forgiveness this summer.
“It’s no accident where there are strong unions, there are stronger policies for public schools and colleges,” said Page. “There’s a lot of work to be done here, of course, but there’s a direct connection between outstanding public schools and unionization.”
