Press Release: 5/5/2025

Delegates meet at 2025 MTA Annual Meeting in Springfield

 

May 4, 2025

Delegates at the Massachusetts Teachers Association Annual Meeting on Saturday approved a new operating budget, elected representatives to regional and statewide director positions and set new policies for the union.

The 180th Annual Meeting was held at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, the third consecutive year at this location. More than 1,000 delegates attended the two-day meeting, which included in-person as well as virtual participation. 

Led by MTA President Max Page, the delegates approved several business items and set an operating budget of $58,968,786 for the fiscal year that begins in July.

The budget authorized by delegates sets annual dues for full-time active members at $553. Dues for custodians, secretaries and clerks will be $332. Education Support Professionals, including paraprofessionals, will have dues of $166. Retired members have annual dues of $30.

Delegates also approved a Public Relations/Organizing Campaign budget of $1,844,860. This budget is funded through $20 in annual dues for full-time, active members, $12 for custodians, secretaries and clerks, and $6 for ESPS.

On Saturday, the MTA recognized several national and statewide leaders in public education and labor with its annual awards.

The 2025 MTA Friend of Labor was awarded to Chrissy Lynch, president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO. Lynch was elected unanimously to lead the labor organization after a long career in organized labor. She ran the AFL-CIO’s political and legislative departments for 15 years.

Addressing the delegates, Lynch identified herself as a proud union member and a mother of two children in Massachusetts public schools. “What I see firsthand is how hard you work, how much of your own time and money you spend to make our children’s classrooms the best they can be. The learning conditions of my kids are your working conditions.”

“What I see firsthand is how hard you work, how much of your own time and money you spend to make our children’s classrooms the best they can be. The learning conditions of my kids are your working conditions.”

Chrissy Lynch, president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO

Work connects all of us. In the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, we try to be the glue between unions, representing workers in every sector and the values we all share, growing the middle class and creating an economy that actually works for the working class. Corporations and the super-rich have always known how to game the system. Now they have the keys to the most powerful government and the most powerful economy in the world.”

… The role teachers’ unions play is more critical than at any other time in my life. This is not just an attack on teachers’ unions, it’s an attack on democracy, it’s an attack on critical thinking, it’s an attack on every person who wants a shot  at the American dream.”

The 2025 MTA Friend of Education was awarded to Stacy Davis Gates, president of the Chicago Teachers Union and a vice president of the American Federation of Teachers. As president of the Chicago union, Davis Gates led her 30,000 members to a strong new contract that strengthened all school libraries and provided 12 weeks of paid parental leave for all members.

“The only way we can do that is if we teach the truth. … We cannot let workers, citizens, immigrants, be deported and sent to Central American prisons. … We cannot allow for teachers in Florida to be fired for honoring the pronouns of their students. It’s time to show ourselves, to amplify our voices and to live our values.”

Stacy Davis Gates, president of the Chicago Teachers Union and a vice president of the American Federation of Teachers

In a video message, Davis Gates said she was honored and humbled to receive the honor.

 

She said union solidarity is an anecdote to all of the challenges facing public education, including privatization, budget cuts, school closures and consolidation.

“Children should learn the entirety, the complexity, the dimension of our American history,” Davis Gates said. “The only way we can do that is if we teach the truth. … We cannot let workers, citizens, immigrants, be deported and sent to Central American prisons. … We cannot allow for teachers in Florida to be fired for honoring the pronouns of their students. It’s time to show ourselves, to amplify our voices and to live our values.”

Delegates also recognized U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with the 2025 MTA President’s Award. Ocasio-Cortez represents a diverse district in New York and is a leading voice for public education, environmental protection and the rights of workers. She was first elected to Congress in 2018 and recently re-elected.

Katherine Monteiro, the 2025 MTA Education Support Professional of the Year, also received recognition at the annual meeting. Monteiro, a member of the Weymouth Educators’ Association, was celebrated in April at the annual conference for ESPs, where she was awarded $1,000 by the MTA Benefits Board of Directors.

As a leader of her union, Monteiro helped to negotiate an historic increase for ESPs in Weymouth, who gained a 35 percent increase in pay over their three-year contract.

Speaking to delegates, Monteiro said she had always identified her most important work as advocating for people who cannot advocate for themselves.

She encouraged delegates to use the MTA PreK-12 ESP Bill of Rights as a starting point for negotiations on contracts for ESPs. “We took those key bullet points, and we made our proposals out of them,” Monteiro said. “Think about using that in your next negotiations process. Get involved now. Get involved often. Mentor those who need help. Mentor those who need support. I wouldn’t be here today without the support of my local.”

In elections, Christy Nickerson, a member of the Woburn Teachers Association, was elected as the District 16G representative to the MTA Board of Directors. She is the co-president of the Woburn local. 

Retired members Bonnie M. Page and Robert “Bob” Miller were elected as statewide Retired District representatives to the Board of Directors.

In other action on new business items, delegates voted to:

• Extend legal services to members who are threatened with detention, deportation and expedited removal for exercising academic freedoms. The MTA also will secure discounted immigration legal services for all MTA members as soon as possible.


• Host an in-person summit during the 2025-26 school year focused on LGBTQ+ topics impacting educators, students and the broader community. The conference will increase visibility for LGBTQ+ issues at a time when many of the community’s rights are under national attack.


• Provide professional learning opportunities to help union members build essential dialogue skills, foster community and cultivate respectful and open exchange of ideas. Up to 150 members may participate and this will be open to any interested member or leader.