John Bracey, Denise LaPolla, and John Sullivan spent the past week at the National Education Association’s annual Representative Assembly in Portland, Oregon. Nearly 6,000 delegates gathered to debate over a hundred new business items, the annual budget, bylaw amendments, resolutions, and legislative proposals, and to elect representatives to the NEA Executive Committee. You can find a full recap in the RA Today.
In addition to conducting the official business of our national union, we participated in a day of learning designed to equip us with the tools and resources to protect public education in our home communities – NEA Today.
On July 4th, we heard from Ashlie Crosson, the 2025 National Teacher of the Year, who spoke powerfully about the importance of our collective work. She reminded us that “the best way to advocate for our students truly is to advocate for ourselves.”
Ashlie’s favorite question to ask educators is; “What’s your union origin story? That moment when an educator goes from being an active dues payer to an active participant in the movement.”
If you haven’t had your origin story moment yet or want to take a first step, join the Contract Action Team next Monday at 11:00. We also have four bargaining dates this summer, and we’d love to have you with us as a silent representative at BHS from 5:00-8:00:
- July 17 – Unit C
- July 24 – Unit A
- July 29 – Unit D
- August 27 – Unit B
Your story might start this summer.
PS – Help Get a Fair Fix for RetirementPlus on Wednesday, In-person or remote July 16, at 1 p.m. You can do that by registering here our visit MTA’s RetirementPlus page at massteacher.org/retirementplus for more information.