A Message from President Cheryl Bost
The Power of Our Union Voice
OUR UNION VOICE continues to grow stronger!
I’m extremely proud of our continued membership growth as MSEA realizes our highest level of members on record. Our voice is as strong as our members and you’ve turned up the volume on advocacy for our
students and each other. Thank you!
I’m excited to report that education support professional (ESP) membership is growing in Maryland and that’s not just by chance. Instead, it’s through the MSEA ESP Bill of Rights (ESP BoR) campaign—an effort led by MSEA’s ESP Organizing Committee using the ESP BoR, a 10-point platform of support staff job priorities that’s been endorsed by every ESP local. Members are speaking up and speaking out on living wages, career advancement, safe and healthy work sites, staffing, and more, setting the stage for a powerful presence at the bargaining table. Our campaign is working so well bringing support staff to center stage that other states are adopting it.
Adding to the powerful membership-building ESP BoR toolkit are the current year-round ESP member-organizers and the upcoming ESP union summer programs that NEA grants and MSEA funding support. Both are member-led outreach that use the Bill of Rights as a conversation starter with potential members in their local. Both programs are all about building membership from the ground up for a powerful presence in local negotiations.
This is hard work, and ESPs are stepping up to the challenge in big ways. We must all use the strength of our voices and our unity as a union to advocate for justice for all employees. Together we are stronger!
As you read this issue of ActionLine, you’ll see our impressive wins in the General Assembly on MSEA’s priority bills. Be sure to review the progress we made to protect the freedom to read, address the
educator shortage, and more here.