The MEA Advantage
35 reasons why membership matters
Reasons 1-10
Your contract.
The school district may give you a copy of your contract, but don’t assume it’s a gift from management. The local contract is a document fought for and won by your local association, an affiliate of MEA. Your con-tract details your working conditions—and the learning conditions for your students. Pictured here is the bargaining team from Hillsdale ESP, (seated, from left) Barney Traylor, Janet Lum, UniServ director Diane Langan and Karen Balcom; (standing, from left) Charlie Agar, Randy Shannon and Hillsdale ESP President Kevin Moore.
Contract maintenance and enforcement.
Do you receive sufficient planning time for the classes you teach? Do you receive necessary training to perform your job? Are you paid for the hours you work? Your working conditions are important—and when your employer violates the terms of your contract, you need someone to step in to resolve the problem. Your local association and MEA can help. Every local association receives direct service from an expert trained to defend your contract rights. Check with your local president to find out who your UniServ director is—your UniServ director is a key MEA contact for you and your local union.
Duty of fair representation.
MEA must represent all employees fairly, in good faith and without discrimination,
just like all other labor unions that are the exclusive bargaining representative of workers
in a particular group.
Just cause and due process.
You cannot be disciplined or fired without just cause or without due
process pursuant to your contract language and/or state law.
Good faith bargaining.
When local associations must enforce a
school district’s obligation to bargain in good
faith, MEA provides legal counsel to file and
prosecute claims of unfair labor practices.
Adequate resources and support to delivery a quality education.
MEA fights for the money schools need so you can do your job effectively. Linden teacher Julie Peake, pictured here with a student attending a summer program, is one of more than 160,000 MEA members who depend on the association’s support to do their job.
Guaranteeing services for students with special needs.
MEA advocates on behalf of school staff who serve the diverse needs of students. MEA staff provides oversight and analysis of special education issues as well as training to help you better serve this important student group.
Closing achievement gaps.
MEA, its members and staff have led efforts to close these gaps—and we continue to work to maximize student learning.
Small class size.
Your students need manageable class sizes and we’re working to make sure that
your students get them. While MEA bargainers negotiate class size limits into contracts,
MEA lobbyists support legislation to reduce class sizes.
Leading the way on education reform.
You can credit MEA members for nearly every positive reform that has improved
students’ learning conditions and school employees’ working conditions over the past
several decades, including laws to ensure that all students receive a quality education.
Public education is a basic right for every child, regardless of gender, ability, race or
ethnicity, and MEA has worked to ensure that all children receive a good one.