Good Reasons to Belong to MTA
There are 117,000 good reasons to belong to the MTA — the 117,000 women and men who make up the strongest force for public education in Massachusetts.
Plus, these ten good reasons.
Our Collective Voice
Speaking in one voice strengthens our power on the issues that matter most.
The MTA:
- Supports your local in building power and solidarity through internal organizing.
- Provides opportunities for leadership development.
- Influences education policy through member engagement with legislators, policymakers and coalition partners.
- Provides legal protection of your First Amendment rights to speak freely.
- Connects you with your community.
- Puts the MTA and you, our members, in the media — and the public eye.
Professional Support and Growth
We are committed to supporting the schools our students deserve, increasing and protecting educator autonomy and assisting our members as they grow from novice to experienced practitioner.
The MTA:
- Supports collective bargaining — with an emphasis on professional development opportunities, time to share and develop practices, and professional autonomy.
- Offers information and support for members on licensure, educator evaluation and assignment.
- Engages the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to include member voices in education policy decisions.
- Brings members together to learn, connect, network at our annual Summer Conference as well as regional and statewide professional development conferences addressing current trends in teaching, learning and education policy for preservice teachers, new members, higher education professionals, veteran educators and education support professionals.
Teachers' Working Conditions Are Our Students' Learning Conditions
We work with you to advocate for conditions that foster student learning, growth and engagement, creating the public schools our democracy needs.
The MTA:
- Advocates for full funding of public schools, colleges and universities.
- Demands that attention is paid to the broader socioeconomic conditions of our students and their communities.
- Supports members in becoming teacher leaders and activists to develop and realize a vision for the schools our students and communities deserve—including small class sizes, well-rounded curricula and qualified educators.
Stronger School Funding and Political Power
We are committed to the principles of high-quality, universal, free and fully funded public education for the more than one million Massachusetts students, from preK through graduate school. The MTA:
- Assumes the role of the pre-eminent voice on Beacon Hill in support of public education, adequate funding of public education at all levels, and equal educational opportunity for all students.
- Organizes for the schools our students deserve in coalition with like-minded education, labor, parent, student and community groups.
- Protects your classrooms and the ideas flowing through them. We work with members to firmly oppose legislative attempts to censor curricula, narrow curriculum through high-stakes testing, limit educator autonomy, drain public funds through charter schools and privatization, or provide public aid to private institutions.
- Recommends candidates for state and national office who are committed to students, educators and education.
Enhance and Protect Your Pay and Benefits
Our top priority is to enhance and protect your compensation and benefits by:
- Supporting collective bargaining that protects and advances working conditions, including salaries, hours, sick and parental leaves, health care, transfers, promotions, performance reviews, class sizes, teacher performance standards and evaluation procedures.
- Ensuring that you and your students have a safe and healthy environment to teach, work and learn.
- Fighting to protect your hard-won benefits in the courts and before the Department of Labor Relations.
- Organizing around and resolve local crises, enlists parental and community support and helps develop strategies for municipal budget overrides in support of local preK–12 education.
Standing Up for Your Rights
As a public employee, you have certain rights, and we are here to defend them. We support you with legal counsel and organizing efforts.
- We work with you and your local to understand and make strategic choices to defend — legally and through organizing — educator autonomy, workplace democracy and union power within the local.
- Provides you with a $1,000,000 liability policy that covers you if you are sued in connection with your employment.
- Offers support with licensure, audits and assignments, and protects contractual rights in layoffs and transfers.
Opportunities to Make a Difference
Our collective voice — approximately 400 local associations statewide representing 110,000 of your colleagues across Massachusetts — is our strength. Our voice is strengthened further through our affiliation with the National Education Association NEA.
Get involved:
- Locally, by volunteering for committees or other assignments, becoming a building representative or running for office.
- At the state level, by volunteering for a committee or running for Annual Meeting delegate or MTA office.
- At the national level, by becoming a state delegate to the NEA Representative Assembly or running for office as an NEA director from Massachusetts.
Shaping the Future of Education
Public education is at a critical juncture. It is up to us as educators and union members to protect public education and workplace democracy.
That’s why the MTA:
- Reaches out to new members to hear their views and concerns in order to guide programs and services.
- Offers a New Member Program, designed by and for new members to introduce them to the MTA and its role in their professional careers.
Money-Saving Benefits
MTA Benefits, a wholly owned subsidiary of the MTA, provides members with access to money-saving programs and services to help with life outside of work. Enjoy everyday savings from more than 350,000 online and in-store merchants, as well as 220,000 mobile coupon locations nationwide: museums, retail stores, restaurants, parks, ski areas, theaters, bookstores and many others — all available just by using your MTA member card.
Stretch your paycheck with these discount programs:
- Insurance: car, homeowners, renters, life, dental, disability and long-term care.
- Financial: mortgages, auto loans, credit cards and checking/savings accounts.
- Leisure: travel, cruises, hotel, car rental and theme park discounts.
- Everyday discounts: wireless services, home heating oil, propane, an interest-free purchasing program, and magazines.
Smart Retirement Planning
Whether you are a beginning educator or a veteran, it is reassuring to know that the MTA will actively assist with retirement planning.
The MTA:
- Provides retirement consultations across the state and retirement workshops at your school.
- Publishes a retirement guide that explains the law and includes a full schedule of benefits.
- Provides opportunities for educators to remain active in the MTA and in supporting public education.