Thursday, March 11, 2010

A Message from Lu Battaglieri, Executive Director, MEA

This is a lobbying report from Lu Battaglieri, the MEA's Executive Director, regarding yesterday in Lansing. I believe this report is significant when it is considered that SOS (Save Our Schools - the group lobbying for loss of teacher pay, benefits, and bargaining rights) was in town!
From Lu-
March 10, 2010

Good afternoon,

I want to tell you of a lobbying event that took place today.

We had gotten wind that management groups belonging to SOS were going to meet this morning and lobby this afternoon. I asked Government Affairs and Field Services to bring a group of staff and leaders to Lansing this morning to counter lobby. It was fantastic. A big thank you to all who participated on such a short notice. It worked – I’m getting phone calls.

They are just now getting to legislators who are asking them (administrators) the questions we suggested legislators should ask of the administrators. (i.e. Are school administrators here today lobbying on their own time, or are they being paid with public funds today? Do you believe school districts should be forced to use up the $1.7 billion in their fund surpluses before cutting program, charging students to play sports, and cut busing? Should school districts be allowed to spend public dollars to hire attorneys to do administrators' jobs for them?)

It was the definition of strategic, collective action.