Check out new PRO-Union Commercial

From Capitol Comments:

MEA member Karen Koch shares the last name of the infamous Koch brothers who are using their vast wealth to "buy" the election of Republican candidates supporting their conservative agenda. But that's where the similarity ends. And that's why Karen is co-starring in in a new national advertising campaign  sponsored by the AFL-CIO. 

Karen is a business instructor at Mott Community College and she's featured in the ad with Joyce Koch, a retired New Jersey teacher. The two ladies aren't related. However, they do share opposition to the Koch brothers' unlimited spending that pushes an anti-democracy and anti-union agenda.

Karen and Joyce were chosen because they represent the middle class. In the ad, Karen says, "We're just two average women who've raised families and worked hard here all of our lives." 

This is the first in a series of ads which will run nationally, but will also be seen in the Lansing area. The Koch brothers and their political arm, Americans for Prosperity, have spent more than $4 million here in Michigan attacking Gary Peters, MEA's recommended candidate for U.S. Senate. Last month, they also put big money behind ads encouraging MEA members to opt-out of the union.

Click HERE to see the commercial!

Stand up for KIDS!! Not CEOs!

Follow the link below to the "Stand up for Kids, Not CEOs" website.  There you will find the third installment of the "Kids, not CEO's" Commercials!

Click HERE!

Gov. Snyder gave a $1.8 BILLION tax break to rich CEOs and corporate interests, paid for by cuts to local schools. These cuts have forced cuts to music and sports programs, and left parents picking up the tab for everything from arts the athletics.

What Mackinaw Center Policies have COST you!

Please view the video recently done by Rick Trainor, the MEA Secretary-Treasurer.   He addresses what the anti-teacher policies of the Mackinaw Center have meant to your pay check and why they might want you to not join or pay dues to your union.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE VIDEO!

Information for August 5th Election

The MEA has published a list of recommendations for the August 5th election.

Here are the directions for accessing that information through the "Members' Only" log in section of www.mea.org

Your sign in name and password should be the same as the one you've set up in the past year through mea.org.   You can also establish your account through the site, if you have not already done so.  (It will ask for your city of residence and perhaps other information to double check their membership data bank).

Directions:
1)  go to:  www.mea.org
2) Click on "members only" at the very top of the page
3) Near the bottom of this next page is a headline called "Political Action"
    Click on this link and it will prompt you to sign in.
4)  Once on this page, you will see the story regarding August 5th.  A link is provided within this story to the recommendations page.

Event in Keego Harbor, July 14th!

Click on Image for Larger Version

MONDAY News!!!

Good morning WLEA Members,

Some news that can’t be sent through email…..

**** We haven’t received 4 building’s PAC envelopes yet, but our WLEA members have broken last year’s record for donations to PAC already!   Daryl Szymanski, our PAC chair and Vice President, reported to me over the weekend that as of Friday 442 members have contributed $18, 641!  That beats last year’s total of $17, 118 in contributions to PAC.

Needless to say, as our profession is attacked by very rich individuals and groups in the name of “reform” and “improvement”, our contributions to PAC become even more important to help elect our next set of leaders who understand that educators are some of the best educated and knowledgable people in our state.

I would love to see us top $20,000!!!!  If you still want to donate, contact me at tfitzprez@yahoo.com

*** An update on the addition of 5 days to the calendar next year -  

We received this information from Ruth Beier, the MEA’s Economist:

“The School Aid Supplemental for this year, HB 4295, includes the language at the end(in Section 101).  This language passed the House and Senate (today), so it will be in the final version of the bill.

” IF A COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT THAT PROVIDES FOR AT LEAST 170 DAYS BUT LESS THAN 175 DAYS, AND AT LEAST 1,098 HOURS, OF PUPIL INSTRUCTION IS IN EFFECT FOR EMPLOYEES OF A DISTRICT AS OF OCTOBER 1, 2013, THEN UNTIL THE SCHOOL YEAR THAT BEGINS AFTER THE EXPIRATION OF THAT COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT THE DISTRICT SHALL PROVIDE AT LEAST THE NUMBER OF DAYS OF PUPIL INSTRUCTION IDENTIFIED IN THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT, AND AT LEAST 1,098 HOURS OF PUPIL INSTRUCTION.”

If this passes both houses of the legislature, it would mean that we would not need to change the 2014-2015 school calendar.  We can make changes to the 2015-2016 calendar through our regular contractual talks.

***  The EAA legislation has passed the House and is going on to the Senate.  It does include stipulations for a failing school to first work through their ISD.  There are also provisions for ways for a failing school to leave the EAA and return to their home district.   Two democrats actually casted the passing votes for this version of the bill because their amendments were included in the bill.   (The vote was 56-54).  Cynics, as you can imagine, are saying that those amendments could easily be stripped when the bill gets to the Senate.  So, this is a bill to still keep your eyes on.

EAA to be voted on today! TAKE ACTION

FROM FITZ:  Below I have posted an email I received from the TriCounty Alliance this morning.  I am asking everyone to take action today by contacting their state representative regarding the EAA vote expected to be taken today.

 

A tremendous amount of research has been done on the EAA through Ellen Cogen Lipton who is a Democratic representative from Huntington Woods.  The EAA has been anything but successful.  Despite the shortcomings of the EAA that have been sited and proven, the Legislative Majority at the state are intent on passing the bill below (read the problems sited). 

 

With the amount of accountability required of public schools these days, why would our legislature allow this type of school be allowed to continue?  Call me a conspiracy theorist if you like, but I believe I am not.   This is yet another way to erase public education.  As they continue to set even more unattainable goals for school as well as severely limits funding, schools will continue to fail and will be put into the EAA.......and guess who runs the EAA?

 

Please take action by clicking on the "Take Action" below.  It is quick and easy with preconstructed responses.  Just fill in your information. 

 

EAA Expansion Happening TODAY  Take Action

Urgent Action Needed

 

Late yesterday afternoon, your State Representative was quietly slipped a new version of House Bill 4369, legislation to set into statute the failed EAA experiment and expand it into a statewide district.

Three important things to know about this bill:

1. The EAA will be a statewide district with full chartering authority.

2. There is no meaningful alternative to the EAA for low performing schools (temporary ISD control, etc).

3. There is no 'exit strategy' for returning an EAA school back to its home district, even if its improving.

We need your help NOW. 

Please click TAKE ACTION above to send a message to your Representative and Senator urging them to strongly oppose any legislation that places the EAA experiment into law and expands it statewide.

Despite repeated pleas from parents, educators and experts in the field, the Legislature has tried to ram EAA expansion through the process during Lame Duck in 2012, December of 2013 and now AGAIN before the 2014 election season heats up.

Unfortunately for them, parents and advocates alike have not forgot that the EAA has been swaddled in controversy from its inception.  From well-documented teacher turmoil to the mass exodus of students that abandoned it last fall, we all know the EAA is not working.

Please TAKE ACTION and urge your Representative and Senator to oppose House Bill 4369 or any legislation that furthers the abilities of the failed EAA.