To say that I am a supporter of unions is an understatement. Unions are responsible for providing workers with so many things, including weekends, overtime, safe working conditions, protection from discrimination, and so many other things. I've always been a union supporter, and when I began teaching I was more than happy to join the MEA, and even became a union leader. For over a decade, I was a union rep, on the executive board of my local EA, organized political campaigns, and engaged hundreds of teachers in the political process. I have never considered WHY I supported unions, I just always knew it was the right thing to do.
The year was 1973, and a teacher's union had to stand up for a young kindergarten teacher who had been fired for being pregnant in 1972. Her union sued the district and they won. This case set a precedent for women in Michigan, and no longer allowed employers to fire women for being pregnant. This was a win for women's rights, as well as for teachers.
It has been roughly 48 years since this incident. And the baby born during the lawsuit of Shamey v. Taylor Schools, grew up to be a teacher too. And like her mom, she grew into quite a fighter in her own right. She unapologetically challenged authority whenever kids were being mistreated. She spent her entire career fighting for the underdog. She fearlessly stood up to racists, and corrupt administrators, who would sacrifice the safety of the children for the comforts of the white adults.
The young woman that was fired in 1972, when she was 25-years-old, is my mom. And the baby that was born in 1972? Well, that was me. I've always been proud to say that my mom and I set a precedent in Michigan, and that women had more rights because of us. No woman should be fired for being pregnant! But that was a time when things like that happened. But my mom was a fighter, so there was no way her 25-year-old self was going to go quietly. She loved her job, and loved being a teacher, even when she got in trouble for wearing a pants suit instead of a dress to work. I got in trouble too. But for me, it happened when I reported to central office that four little girls in my class were uncomfortable with the principal touching them. That was the end for me. But in the beginning, I was just the baby born in 1972.
I set a precedent in the State of Michigan, with the help of my mom and the teachers union, to ensure fair and equal treatment for women. And today? The MEA, my former teachers' union, is suing me. If I could go back in time, I would have done things so differently. I believed in the good of people. I believed in the good of unions. After all, they saved my mom, who went on to have an amazing career in her district, saving more kids than anyone can possibly count. She became a legend in her own right, fighting for kids that were living in poverty, or homeless. She never rested, and always fought for what was right, and taught me to do the same. I followed in her footsteps, and am proud of my own accomplishments.
But I was forced out of teaching. By the UNION and the corrupt administrators they were friends with. I loved being a teacher, I was so damn good at it. It was who I was for so long, and I was grateful to make the salary I did, I never once complained. The union had done well in protecting those of us that made the most money. But my union leadership allowed the district to illegally investigate me, spending over $400,000.00 on lawyers, in hopes they could prove I asked my young 11-year-old girls to lie about the principal touching them. I left teaching because my union and everyone else, let me down in every way possible. The MEA has lost their way, and they need to be reminded of why they exist. Upon leaving my district, and becoming a central office administrator in another community, I learned that the MEA was suing me. Must be a mistake, right? Nope. Over the last few years of my teaching experience, I stopped paying my union dues. The President of my union had set me up to take a pretty big fall with my colleagues, and then allowed my district to investigate me after I reported a principal for touching the kids. He even expressed his disdain for me, and his intent to "knock me down off of my pedestal." It was far more important to the union leadership to make the white power structure, which included my principal, comfortable. It didn't matter that kids suffered, as long as the white adults were comfortable.
I called for help. I called and wrote to the Board of education. I begged for help from my former friend, the superintendent. I called the MEA when the threats started. Nobody responded. I begged for help, thinking that if they only knew the truth, they would stop this madness. I believed someone would stop the union from protecting racists and from protecting those that mistreat children. I believed in the good of people, and learned the hard way that a lot of people are more interested in themselves, and their comforts and privilege. MEA leaders across the state have done very well financially, considering the teachers in the state of Michigan have been hit hard, and some have lost everything. I really believed that if they just knew...
But they DID know. They knew our local EA hadn't had a legal election in 17 years. They knew that our local EA allowed teachers of color to suffer needlessly, being fired, dismissed, and mistreated. The MEA KNEW that the union leadership was in cahoots with the district central office admin, and they had a mutual arrangement to protect their own comforts. They knew that our EA leaders used the professional development funds for their own personal travel needs, attending conferences all over the country, while most teachers have had no decent PD in years. They knew.
A month ago, the "MEA" made their endorsements for the Board of Education in my community. We are a community suffering racial strife. They selected the white people, those that are endorsed by the current Board members and central office leadership. I used to wait for the MEA endorsements, so I knew who to research and usually vote for. But now, I would never trust an endorsement from the teacher's union. They let grown people call young kids things like the N-word. And they don't do anything. They don't help the kid. They choose to be silent. They protect the racist adults. Time and time again.
I want to go back to being a union supporter. After all, I am the baby that was born in 1972 that made it illegal to fire a woman for being pregnant. Unions did that, and the possibilities are endless.
