Chuck Herring, Uniserv Director - Deb Larson, MEA Intern - Harriet Poch, Uniserv Associate Staff
Where’s Chuck?
| Dec. 8 |
- Meeting with APS Administration re Alpena EA
grievance (APS offices) - Rogers City Board of Education Meeting (Rogers City) |
| Dec. 9 |
-Alpena ESP II Crisis Committee Meeting (MEA Office) -14A Coordinating Council Meeting (MEA Office) |
| Dec. 10-12 | - Office Closed - Staff at Northern Zone Staff Meeting (Traverse City) |
| Dec. 15 |
- Meeting with Alpena ESP II - Alpena Board of Education Meeting (Alpena) |
| Dec. 16 | - Johannesburg-Lewiston ESP Bargaining (Johannesburg) |
| Dec. 17 | -MESSA Meeting with Alpena EA (MEA Office) |
| Dec. 18 | - NMEA (BJ’s – Gaylord) |
| Dec. 22-23 | - Alpena MEA Office Closed – staff on leave |
| Dec. 24 - Jan. 1 | MEA Offices Closed – Christmas Break |
| Jan. 2 | - Alpena MEA Office Closed – staff on leave |
| Jan. 6 | - Meeting w/CC Chair re Agenda |
| Jan. 7-8 | - Crisis Training for Traverse City Office in Traverse City |
| Jan. 9 | - Chuck in Lansing |
| Jan. 13 | - 14A Coordinating Council (MEA Office) |
| Jan. 16 | - 14A President/CC Delegate Workshop (ACC) |
Ramblings from the Stump
It was great to get away for two weeks and think about nothing but wind direction, outside temperature and the type of precipitation to prepare for.
One note of interest, while in Quebec, the days were substantially shorter. Dark at 8 a.m. and dark again at 4 p.m. At 1 p.m. it actually "felt" like it was 4 or 5 p.m. The sun was so low in the south it felt like 6-7 in the a.m. or 5-6 in the p.m. all day—weird! So what does all this have to do with education? Two things.
First, hunting is hunting no matter where it takes place. The same applies to education. Education is education. No matter where it takes place, no matter what the political climate, no matter who the players are. Education is one-on-one—whether it be teacher/parent, teacher/student, custodian/student, bus driver/student, bus driver/parent, teacher aide/student, and so on. Education takes place in spite of the outside influences—it may be easier with more money and time and harder with less money and time, but dedicated educational employees will still demand excellence from their peers, students, administrators, and themselves.
Secondly, hunting can be hard work. It can mean hours in the elements with little or no moving, the ability to navigate with no street signs, and the instinct to realize where the game is and be able to successfully harvest same.
Education likewise presents us with varying outside pressures (legislation, dollars, public opinion, etc.) While we, as educational employees, still stand in the classroom, sit in front of the bus, work in front of a hot oven, or deal with dirty buildings despite lack of money, reduction in personnel, and a general opinion that we are under worked and overpaid.
We still provide knowledge/service whether trained properly or provided with the curriculum. We are always held accountable—whether given the proper tools to complete the project or not. We must make the "grade".
Interestingly enough, rather than quit as is seen in the private section, educational employees, hunker down and do everything they possibly can to complete the project for "the good of the kids". That in a nutshell sums the perseverance of educational employees. There is always that satisfaction of knowing "I" taught him to do long division, or to respect the kid sitting next to him on the bus, or demonstrated the correct way to hold a fork.
Keep up the great work—we’ll try to provide you with the rain gear, compasses, and other gear necessary to make your hunt successful.
MESSA Attack
House Bill 5310, currently in legislative committee hearings, is a direct attack on MESSA and the way it does business. The bill would require rating school districts individually instead of pooling districts as MESSA does currently. Other employers using this system have experienced skyrocketing health coverage, forcing them to drop coverage for their employees or substantially reduce benefits to save costs. Those supporting the bill admit this is also their purpose. See your local president for talking points to support MESSA and contact your local legislator immediately.
Draft Retirement Legislation
A plan to reduce pension benefits to school employees surfaced in October and is being discussed by administrative groups with the legislature. This proposed legislation would force new school employees to switch from the current defined benefit retirement system to a defined contribution plan which is a cap on the insurance (BAD). It would increase the pension multiplier to 1.75% from 1.5% (GOOD). However, tie barred to this multiplier clause are a required district ERI contribution of $15,000 per employee to the pension fund (with no additional retirement incentives possible)(BAD), a minimum increase of $100 per month for retirees’ health care coverage (BAD), a minimum of 20 years of service for vested health benefits with a maximum benefit in 30 years of a 90% subsidy versus the present 30 years with 100% subsidy (BAD), and a requirement of 10 years of service to purchase service credit years(BAD). MEA strongly opposes this plan.
Bah Humbug—Still No Contract
The Alpena ESP II unit, without a contract since July, 2002, is in the third month of crisis planning. They are preparing for fact-finding on Saturday, January 24. Fact-finding is a public process and all are invited to attend the hearing on the date above. Information on place and time will be released as it becomes available to us.
HAVE A HAPPY AND SAFE HOLIDAY BREAK!
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