Whitman-Hanson Education Association

"Together We Can Make a Difference"

MTA Union News – 🎯 Historic Victory! Celebrating A Monumental Win For Our Retired Educators

 

Dear MTA Board of Directors and Local Presidents,

 

Please share this week’s MTA Union News with your membership so that members can stay on top of important news, events, political education, and other opportunities. We will forward these updates each week to encourage you to share with your members.

 

Additionally, you and your members can always find this week’s Union News, along with past Union News emails on this page of our website.

 

In Solidarity,

Max Page and Deb McCarthy

 

 

 

 

SOLIDARITY ACTIONS MAP

Check out our new solidarity action map! The more we show up for one another, the greater the power we generate for local and statewide campaigns.

 

Greetings, MTA members,

 

It was thrilling to be at the White House, with union leaders from across the country, accompanied by our legislative allies (such as Senator Markey and Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio), and President Joe Biden, who signed into law the Social Security Fairness Act on Sunday.

 

The 40-year-long steal of well-earned retirement benefits from public servants across the country, including tens of thousands of MTA members, has been repealed!

 

What does this mean for you?

 

If you are retired – you will likely see an increase as the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) are no longer in effect. The Congressional Budget Office estimated in September that eliminating the Windfall Elimination Provision would boost monthly payments to the affected beneficiaries by an average of $360 by next December and ending the Government Pension Offset would increase monthly benefits in December 2025 by an average of $700 for 380,000 recipients getting benefits based on living spouses.

 

This increase will be retroactive to January 1, 2024. You should see a lump sum check in the not-too-distant future. If your spouse who had social security benefits has died, you will now get those full spousal benefits.

 

If you are an active member, take a look at your social security statement , which is mailed to you annually, or which you can view at SSA.gov.

 

Yesterday was a great day for our members, for more than 2.5 million other public servants across the country, for our union, and for the simple idea that everyone deserves to retire from a lifetime of work in the public service with dignity.

 

 
 

MTA Events, Opportunities and Solidarity Actions

 
Update on RetirementPlus Bill
We are disappointed to report that the legislature failed to pass this MTA priority bill before the session ended on December 31, which means it will need to be refiled in January and start the legislative process from the beginning. This legislation made great progress and was passed by the House of Representatives in large part because of the advocacy of MTA members who sent over 4,600 messages and made countless phone calls. But in the end it did not make it to the floor of the Senate for a vote. The MTA has made the passage of this bill a priority for the upcoming 2025/2026 legislative session and once the bill is refiled, we will be asking members to redouble their advocacy.

 

DESE Survey on the Agency’s Effectiveness
The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has partnered with Public Consulting Group LLC (PCG) to conduct an Organizational Diagnostic Review. The goal of this review is to help us understand DESE’s current organizational strengths and opportunities for improvement as they relate to the agency’s effectiveness and efficiency. As part of the review, PCG is administering this anonymous community-wide survey. The survey is expected to take 5 minutes and will remain open until January 22nd.

 

MTA All Presidents’ Meeting

When: Saturday, Jan. 11

  • 8 a.m. Registration, Breakfast, and Exhibitors
  • 9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. (meeting concludes with lunch)

Where: AC Hotel Worcester, 125 Front St.

 

Please join us as we celebrate some recent victories and continue to build stronger locals and a stronger MTA. Our own U.S. Senator Ed Markey will be joining us via Zoom to celebrate the passage of the Social Security Fairness Act! Register today for the January 2025 All Presidents’ Meeting.

 

Online registration has been extended to Friday, Jan. 10, at 12 Noon. If you are unable to register online before the deadline, you can still register onsite in Worcester for the meeting.

 

Note: This meeting is intended for local presidents, leaders and activists. If you’d like to attend, ask your local president. Please note that Zoom will not be available for participants. The meeting is in-person.

 

PreK-12 Bargaining Summit and Winter Skills

When: Friday, Jan. 24, (Bargaining Summit) and Saturday, Jan. 25 (Winter Union Skills)

Where: Hilton Boston Park Plaza, 50 Park Plaza

 

PreK-12 bargaining teams are encouraged to join the Bargaining Summit on Jan. 24, and all members are encouraged to attend the Winter Union Skills Conference the following day. This free event includes a variety of workshops related to local unions’ core activities. Register now.

 

 
 

Political Education

 
The timing of the holidays meant that many of us had a good break to recharge for a new year.  Part of that break was spent reading some good books!

 

One of those was a disturbing but absolutely essential one – Matthew Desmond’s “Poverty, by America.” In devastating detail he shows how all of us – and especially the uber rich – who are not poor have benefited from policies that have left tens of millions of our fellow citizens impoverished. Even as the United States has become wealthier and wealthier over all, poverty has remained a reality for ten to fifteen percent of our country. And this is an education issue – there is a direct correlation between a family’s income and the ability of a student to succeed in school.
 

In solidarity,
Max and Deb