My GHEA Website

We ARE the People! - a diverse coalition of students, seniors, workers, families and organizations fighting to protect Michigan's middle class. Click here to sign up for updates.

Please take a moment to read this month's Bite of the Apple Page 2. On the front page there is a history of unions that is continued below with more "specific detail to support the thesis". It's worth a read if you've ever been unsure or skeptical of unionism. It is presentably unbiased, as it presents both negative and positive historical findings. As a history teacher, I approve.

The following is a note from your president, Amy Cahalan. To show solidarity and support for our colleagues in Wisconsin we strongly urge you to participate in wearing red on Tuesdays and encourage you to attend the rally in Muskegon, Tuesday, March 15th. More info is found in this month's Bite of the Apple (page 1, page 2). And now a word from Amy Cahalan...

Last week, I attended an Education Reform Symposium with a group of educators from our district sponsored by the Michigan Education Association, the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice, and the National Education Policy Center. This group of sponsors are genuine education researchers, and unlike the Mackinac Center that we are all too familiar with, have actual research data to support their claims. The series of panel speakers who presented their research are associated with many accredited universities across our nation, on various topics surrounding education, education reform, teacher quality, effective teachers, and teacher evaluation.

        What I learned from this symposium was that our teaching profession does need to adapt and change, but that the reform should be lead by teachers, not legislators. I was reminded that we are public servants. A public servant is someone who is willing to work for the public for lower salaries but decent benefits. They are reliable, dependable professionals willing to serve the needs of our communities. I also was reminded that the state of our economy is not the fault of public servants. We did not single handedly tank the economy, as the media would have you believe. This economic crisis was created on Wall Street, not Main Street, but some how we public servants have become the scapegoats, especially teachers, while the Wall Street CEO’s still collected their enormous bonuses.

      The legislative answer to educational reform is to tear apart our education system and they are starting with the Midwest states. This is not only an attack on our collective bargaining rights, but on the middle class across our state. While all eyes are focused on Wisconsin, our own legislature passed a series of bills last week for an emergency financial manager (EMF) to take over, nullify contracts that are in place and strip bargaining rights for years to come if a school district or municipality finds itself in dire financial condition. In the past year, they have also passed the Race To The Top Legislation, which basically requires annual evaluation based upon student scores and is tied to merit pay. All of this legislation has been of course mandated without funding. In fact, they are slashing school budgets at record amounts and I am sure, hoping districts will qualify for the EMF programs. Yes, they will start in the larger, urban, “failing” school districts in our state, but it will not be long before they come for the successful school districts like Grand Haven.

What can we do about this attack? First, be aware. Read the updates. Ask questions and be informed. Second, become an activist. Look for opportunities to demonstrate when you are unhappy about how public servants are being treated. Take the busses to Wisconsin to support collective bargaining rights, attend the rallies in Lansing, protest mistreatment of public servants in Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, etc. Attend town-hall meetings with local legislators. Third, writing letters to the editor. The recent letter by Karen Flanigan is a perfect example of telling our story. We don’t want to whine and complain, just make sure that our side of a story gets out there. Fourth, share your story with your friends, family, and neighbors. Let them know what is going on, and how it will affect their public schools. Lastly, please know that you are appreciated. The parents and kids in our community value our public school teachers. Sometimes we lose sight of that because of the negative media.

Please have a safe and enjoyable holiday break. Be sure to take advantage of your MEA membership. Click here for the endless possibilities!

Your GHEA thanks you for continuing to do an outstanding job teaching, coaching and 'inspiring our students. Share EVERY accomplishment within your buildings, communities and families...keep "tootin' horns"!

There has been a lot of productive publicity offered by supporters of public education against Guggenheim's Waiting for Superman. Below are resources and quotes that offer more insight and inspiration.

As always, please feel free to send in anything you'd like to see added to the website to the webmaster.

PLEASE RSVP to the Spring Lake MEA office no later than Monday, November 8, at

616-846-2770 or (toll-free: 1-800-458-9213 (Ottawa County), or 1-800-303-0112 (Muskegon County) or email Gayle at gvoss@mea.org. (Spouses welcome only if space allows.)

Hello GHEA members! Please take a moment to watch the following video concerning "Right to Work". We will be hearing more about this in the near future and your GHEA will be presenting articles important to our cause.

"In our glorious fight for civil rights, we must guard against being fooled by false slogans, as 'right-to-work.' Its purpose is to destroy labor unions and the freedom of collective bargaining... We demand this fraud be stopped." MLK

(Please jump down to the "September 12th, 2010" for the beginning of the year welcome message.)

Welcome back from your GHEA! We hope you're off to a great start. The GHEA stands ready to serve you in maintaining the best possible conditions for our students' learning. What we do is absolutely BIG...locally, on a state and national level, and globally. Please contact your building/area representative if you have any concerns AND if you'd like to "Toot Your Own Horn"...

NEW Weblink Note: A link has been added to the right to MEA Financial Services. Our representative is Eric Nienhuis and can be contacted at 1800 428 1307 or enienhuis@mea.org OR by clicking the link to the right and using the "Find My Financial Services Representative" tool.

If you signed up to take a bus to Lansing on June 24th please read the following message...

The charter buses will leave the Spring Lake MEA office (17200 Van Wagoner Rd., Spring Lake, MI 49456) at 8:30 am sharp. The rally will last from 11:00 am until approximately 12:30 pm. On the way back we will stop at a park just outside of Lansing and have lunch, which will be provided. We will return to the Spring Lake MEA office at approximately 3:30 pm.

Please wear your Union Pride T-shirt! If you don’t have a Union Pride T-shirt please wear RED.

and one of the other candidates running to get you started on your research as an active citizen/voter...

IMPORTANT Notice! Please attend the rally on May 24th and join with educators from around Michigan who love our profession and want to make a difference!

(Here's some background music to listen to while you are reading the flyer and filling out the form...turn those in to one of your reps when you're done.)

GHEA
Thanks to all of you who came to speak with Arlan at Spring Lake Library. It was encouraging to see so many educators help fill the room to capacity, although the Mr. Williams in me still wished just one more person could be there. I reflected on the meeting on the way home and thought of several things. I thought there is no reason Alran should not understand the perspective of educators on some of these issues; however, I also think we need to stay on point. So, where can we connect? We need to emphasize … local control…this point resonated the most with the community members I spoke with. We need to talk about the economic impact this will have on the local community. Small business will continue to struggle with…loss in spending. Keep the argument simple - local control is very important. Let's not have Lansing dictate our budgets when they can't handle their own.

GHAPS has requested MESSA to do a dependant audit to determine if all of the dependants on the insurance roles are accurate and up to date. They are asking for verification on our tax forms. They are not interested in any numbers on your tax forms. This needs to be completed by the April date that they have listed or GHAPS could drop all dependents coverage.

MEA
…MEA is rolling out a plan for sustained, strategic, collective action among our members. Our goal is simple: to stop the constant efforts to balance the budget on the backs of public school employees by securing adequate, equitable and stable funding for public education.
You may have already taken part in a local activity supporting this statewide effort. A series of events are planned throughout the spring, ratcheting up the pressure in advance of an MEA rally at the state Capitol on June 24.

Your participation is crucial in all these activities—from wearing a red ribbon to coming to Lansing in June.

In order for us to make it clear to our Legislature… we need every one of our 155,000 members to stand up and say enough is enough. We need the strength of our collective voice to fight back against those who propose to fix Michigan’s budget problems by attacking your salaries, pensions, and health benefits and those who believe that layoffs, privatization and program cuts are the answer.
We urge you to lend your voice to MEA’s strategic collective action.

Enough is Enough! It’s time to take action. GHEA General Membership Meeting Wednesday, March 24, 2010 @Porto Bello Restaurant Grand Ball Room. Two Sessions Offered: 4:30pm – 5:30pm and 6:00pm – 7:00pm Come hear the latest news from your union leaders. Your

GHEA Rocks... Your GHEA has received your responses! Your actions and efforts are truly about teaching and reaching students. As you continue through your year full speed ahead, send your pictures, stories, projects, and what you do in general to enhance your classrooms and students’ lives to myghearocks@gmail.com or talk to your AR today. We recognize the sacrifices you make and want to listen.

MEA www.mea.org The following is an excerpt from a statement from Iris Salters, our MEA President… You must also be a cheerleader for what works in Michigan schools. You must stand up and recognize the innovations and methods and programs that we know make a positive difference in our students’ lives. You must urge collaboration and the sharing of ideas so that struggling schools can turn themselves around. And you must demand that education become a priority for our Legislature so that our state can do the same. …read more at MEA.org

NEA www.nea.org ESEA reauthorization is heating up. The Obama Administration has a blueprint for reauthorization that NEA believes has significant problems and raises serious concerns. Tell Congress to rip out the pages of the blueprint that don't work for kids and replace them with better solutions.

The Grand Rapids Griffins and MEA are teaming up one final time during the
2009-2010 season for an affordable night of entertainment and recognition at
the Griffins game on Friday, March 26th. This MEA Member Appreciation
Night will offer a great discount to allow for MEA Members to enjoy a fun and
affordable night out with friends, family and other MEA members!

Welcome GHEA members...BE informed, BE active. Take a second to browse these useful links.

A "suite" deal for MEA-PAC!

Make an online contribution to MEA-PAC in February and you can get in the running to win a pair of luxury suite tickets for the Detroit Piston's March 7 game against the Houston Rockets. Getting into the contest is quick and easy – and your contribution will go a long way to helping elect friends of public education this fall.

Though lawmakers had not passed a mandatory state-run health plan for public employees by press time, the attacks on health benefits aren’t dead in Lansing, where some lawmakers are mulling other options. In late December, Rep. Mark Jansen, R-Gaines Township, and Sen. Alan Sanborn, R-Richmond, introduced legislation that would require public workers receiving health care benefits to contribute either 15 percent or 20 percent toward the cost of the plans. ....

A brief history of the MEA...The Michigan Education Association is headquartered in East Lansing. MEA started in 1852... Read more at MEA.org

TWEET ‘EM: More than a dozen Michigan lawmakers are on Twitter, a free social networking and micro-blogging device that allows users to send and receive text messages
known as tweets. Using social media to lobby lawmakers can be effective. Check to see if your legislators are tweeting—go to www.mea.org/gov and click on “Legislators on Twitter.”