Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act

YOUR DISTRICT MAY NOT BE PROTECTING YOU AND YOUR STUDENTS FROM EXPOSURE TO ASBESTOS!

Exposure to airborne asbestos fibers is known to cause a number of diseases, including mesothelioma, cancer and several other debilitating respiratory ailments. In August 2011, the Massachusetts Department of Labor Standards (DLS) requested that all school superintendents comply with the requirements of the federal Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA). DLS expected to receive more than 2,600 school-based reports, but it received roughly 1,600. DLS characterized the majority of reports received as either “severely deficient” or “deficient” in some way. Almost 1,000 schools ignored DLS’s request altogether.

WHERE DOES YOUR DISTRICT STAND?

MTA’s Division of Training and Professional Learning and the MTA Environmental Health & Safety Committee are offering seven workshops around the state for health and safety activists on the essentials of addressing the asbestos issue. We will also provide information on general health and safety concerns, as well as establishing and running an effective Health & Safety Committee.

EVERYTHING THAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO PROTECT YOUR MEMBERS AND THEIR STUDENTS

• Learn which schools are non-responding in your district and receive information on how to make your district comply with the law.
• Learn the legal requirements of AHERA and what constitutes adequate compliance.
• Learn how to form a Health & Safety Committee to educate and organize your members to become involved in finding solutions to asbestos and other health and safety issues.
• Learn how to evaluate asbestos and other health and safety concerns such as mold, indoor air quality and new construction. Determine the appropriate balance of legal and self-help remedies.
• Learn how to write contract language and bargain over the contents of AHERA reports.
• Receive electronic health and safety survey tools in order to produce reports for your local.

All workshops scheduled for 4:00 – 7:00 PM. Dinner will be served.

DATE	SITE
Tuesday, December 2	MTA Lynnfield Office
Thursday, December 4	MTA Raynham Office
Thursday, December 11	MTA Auburn Office
Tuesday, December 16	MTA Braintree Office
Tuesday, January 6	Cape Cod Community College
Monday, January 12	MTA Holyoke Office
Tuesday, January 20	MTA Pittsfield Office

Presenters:    George Luse, MTA Division of Training and Professional Learning

Michael Sireci, MTA Affiliate Services

Sarah Gibson, Law Office of Sarah Gibson

REGISTER NOW

Ethnic Minority Affairs Conference

SUMMARY: All MTA members are invited to this year’s EMAC conference, which will celebrate the Ethnic Minority Affairs Committee’s 35th anniversary. Standing on a Great Foundation is the theme of this year’s conference, which begins Friday night with a 35th anniversary dinner.

New this year is a free interactive workshop, The Skin that We Speak: Exploring Culture and Language in the Classroom and Beyond, presented by Beau Stubblefield-Tave, a principal in the Center for Cultural Fluency. This “bridge” workshop links the Just For New Teachers (JFNT) 13th Annual Conference to the EMAC conference.

This year’s special honoree is Louise Gaskins, who was instrumental in establishing MTA’s Minority Affairs Committee — the forerunner of EMAC — as well as the Human and Civil Rights Council and MTA’s Minority Involvement Plan. Over the years, Gaskins became a leading spokesperson for minority affairs at the MTA, and she is still active today.

This will be a memorable 35th anniversary celebration.

DATE: Friday-Saturday, December 5-6, 2014

LOCATION: Sheraton Four Points, 1125 Boston Providence Turnpike, Norwood, MA

WHO CAN ATTEND: All MTA members are invited to this year’s EMAC conference. Those attending the Just For New Teachers Conference are issued a special welcome. Members of the Student Education Association of Massachusetts (SEAM), are also invited to attend at no charge.
REGISTER NOW

MTA’s Just For New Teachers Conference

SUMMARY: MTA’s Just For New Teachers (JFNT) 13th Annual Conference presents the perfect opportunity to meet with fellow educators. This one-day conference, brought to you by MTA’s New Member Committee, will offer workshops on classroom management and instruction, teaching English language learners and legal basics.

New this year is a free interactive workshop, The Skin that We Speak: Exploring Culture and Language in the Classroom and Beyond, presented by Beau Stubblefield-Tave, a principal in the Center for Cultural Fluency. This “bridge” workshop links the JFNT Conference to this year’s EMAC conference, which will celebrate the Ethnic Minority Affairs Committee’s 35th anniversary.

DATE: Friday, December 5, 2014

LOCATION: Sheraton Four Points, 1125 Boston Providence Turnpike, Norwood, MA

WHO CAN ATTEND: Just for New Teachers is open to MTA teachers in their first four years of practice. Members of the Student Education Association of Massachusetts (SEAM), are also invited to attend at no charge.
REGISTER NOW

BEA at the Celtics vs Lakers

The Belmont Education Association night at the Celtics

Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles

Friday, December 5, 7:30 PM

TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts

Tickets are $30

(If are enough people are interested, we can hire a school bus.

The price for game and ride will be $50)

Contact: Cecile at CMS - Cecile.Moskowitz@gmail.com

BEA SCHOLARSHIP FUND - GROUP #: 990070880

   

Performance-Based Licensure Email

 

Please send an e-mail TODAY to let state education officials know you oppose the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's dangerous "performance-based licensure" proposal to link your state license to your school-based evaluation and/or student test scores.

The MTA is strongly opposed to this plan and has sent a letter to Commissioner Mitchell Chester and the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education calling for them to rescind it immediately. If enacted, this plan would drive excellent current and prospective teachers out of our public schools.

The "performance-based licensure" issue is currently in the policy "options" phase. "None of the above!" is our response to all of the options proposed. Let us gather our strength as a union and tell DESE to end the disrespect, stop wasting time and money, and reject this idea now.

Act now to tell state education officials, "None of the above!" The sooner we kill this idea, the sooner we can focus on initiatives that will actually help our students succeed in school and in life.

Thank you,

Barbara and Janet