Inside MSEA with Sean Johnson
ESP Priorities Front and Center
The General Assembly session is in full swing and debates about fair tax reform, budget cuts, and Blueprint adjustments are part of many headlines. MSEA’s commitment to education support professionals is front and center in our legislative advocacy, collective bargaining strategy, and organizing focus.
First, as it relates to the legislature, MSEA will continue to advance the conversation in Annapolis about ESPs being essential to the success of our students and schools. Our Blueprint school funding advocacy is about ESP wages and positions—more funding for schools means more ability to fund ESP positions and strong ESP contracts. Our tax reform advocacy, in part, is to help pay for improvements like a minimum starting wage for ESPs. And knowing that ESPs should be on decision-making bodies, MSEA is leading on legislation to make a dedicated ESP seat on the State board of Education. The ESP Lobby Day in Annapolis will take place on February 10, and I hope ESP members and ESP allies show out in force.
Next, MSEA is hosting our biannual Collective Bargaining Conference. This signature event is an opportunity to bring bargaining teams together from all over the state to coordinate on important contract improvements and new initiatives that we seek to accomplish at the bargaining table. This coordinated bargaining includes sessions related to ESPs, including bargaining when budgets are tight, writing strong contract language, and bargaining for racial, social, and economic justice.
Finally, on the organizing front, the ongoing year-round organizing in ESP locals has been a great example of recruiting, training, and supporting members to recruit and engage new members—especially ESP to ESP. This has included substantial membership gains. MSEA saw an increase of 1,500 members last school year, with the greatest percentage growth coming from new ESP members. Building strong locals is a cornerstone of our strategic plan and seeing the growth of ESP locals means our entire union is getting more powerful. ESPs are essential in our schools and in our union movement and will continue to be front and center in all aspects of our organizing and advocacy.