Uniting to Protect Our Schools, Colleges, Communities and Democracy
The MTA Board of Directors has drafted a platform to create a shared vision and set of demands for our public education system, to protect it at this moment of unprecedented threat, and guide our organizing at the local, state and federal level to secure the best public education for our communities.
We are living in tumultuous times when billionaires and their enablers seek to divide us while stripping away the rights and other public goods that are the bedrock of our democratic society. As a diverse union of education workers, the MTA is committed to fight for a thriving public education system, an economy that works for everyone, and the inclusive democratic society that working people deserve.
Power for Working People, Say ‘No’ to Billionaire and Corporate Rule
At a moment when billionaires and corporations are dictating the policies that shape our lives, we must leverage our roles as educators and unionists and join with all working families to build a secure economic future for everyone. The MTA believes in a world where educators and all working people can lead a dignified life working one job, spend time with their families in a home that they can afford, enjoy the security of affordable health care as a human right, and have a voice in all decisions that impact their lives — from their workplaces to the state and federal government.
Fully Fund and Protect Our Public Schools, Colleges and Universities
Educators see the many ways that a robust and high-quality public education enriches our students and communities. We also have witnessed the damage left by cutting corners on students’ education. We believe a well-rounded public education should include small classes, direct support that meets students’ needs, diverse curriculum and access to high-quality, debt-free public higher education. This requires funding that allows students to thrive. Federal threats to disrupt IDEA, Title I, grants for higher education and other funding sources impede the educational and research missions of our schools and colleges. This would be especially devastating to our ability to serve our most vulnerable students, including those with disabilities or from lower income families. Additionally, siphoning public dollars to fund private schools drains resources and hurts all students. In a time when the federal administration seeks to undermine public education, Massachusetts must draw on its resources to maintain the finest public education system in the country.
All Students and Families Are Welcome
As educators, we are experts in creating a culture of belonging in our classrooms and in our campus communities. We address societal challenges in our work every day, including hunger, poverty and prejudice. We know how important it is to build communities where everyone is welcome, including those who are most vulnerable. We must ensure that our diversity and civil rights are defended, and we will continue to fight for safe learning and living conditions inside and outside of our schools and colleges.
Protect Public Workers and Defend the Public Good
As public workers who make a difference in the lives of their students every day, educators understand the value of the public good. Whether it’s the people that advocate for and protect our civil rights and civil liberties, keep our national parks open, deliver our mail, help our communities rebuild after natural disasters, support our veterans, provide health care, or find cures to diseases, public workers serve all of us.
MTA Educators Demand
Economic Security for All
- Ensure multimillionaires, billionaires and wealthy corporations pay their fair share of taxes at the federal level and in the Commonwealth, starting with the Corporate Fair Share tax.
- Guarantee a living wage for all workers, including every educator.
- Protect and advance worker and union rights.
- Defend Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid.
- Provide affordable, quality health care and housing in Massachusetts and throughout the country.
Full Funding and Protection of Public Education
- Secure full and equitable funding for all Massachusetts public schools, colleges, and universities, including making up for any cuts to federal funding, and achieving debt-free public higher education for all.
- Restore the U.S. Department of Education’s full role in supporting public education.
- Protect federal funding for preK-16 education, including Title I, IDEA, Pell and research grants, and all other forms of federal investment.
- Reject all forms of privatization of public education, including school vouchers.
Protection for Vulnerable Communities
- Pass local resolutions protecting undocumented students, and at the state level pass the Safe Communities Act to protect our students.
- Safeguard academic freedom and free speech on our college and university campuses and in our schools.
- Defend the rights of LGBTQ+ members of our community, especially transgender individuals.
- Protect programs that promote diversity, equity and inclusion in our colleges and schools.
- Maintain and expand diverse curricula and the library resources that allow all students to see themselves represented in their schools and colleges.
- End practices of unlawfully detaining and deporting students and their families. Free those currently held.
Commitment to the Public Good
- Protect and invest in the federal agencies that provide essential public services, including the U.S. Postal Service, the National Institutes of Health, and all others.
- Halt the mass layoffs of federal workers and immediately return laid-off workers to their positions with the full restoration of their collective bargaining rights.