It’s Election Day! Please don’t forget to vote! Polls will be open today from 7 AM to 8 PM. Find out where you vote on the Massachusetts Secretary of State’s website. See this Political Action post for all of our endorsed candidates who are fighting with us for public education and all of our priorities. Thank you to BTU Political Director Johnny McInnis, our COPE Committee and all our educators who have been working hard on campaigns, have gone out door knocking, have made phone calls and have participated in our important civic work.
Last Wednesday was an important reminder of why elections matter. One of our schools was the victim of an inexcusable hate crime. In response, the school community pulled together for their students and their school, and many community members have also come out to support the school. This is very much what the BTU is about — when faced with a challenge or difficulty, we come together as a union and a community to reaffirm what we stand for.
While the Tynan School has been in the press for negative news this past week, we wanted to take moment to highlight a positive story. This past summer, Special Ed Teacher Corey Edmiston’s class was featured in this Caught in Southie article. At the beginning of the school year, Edmiston organized monthly trips with his 10 students to Joseph’s Bakery to help his students, most diagnosed with autism, learn life and community engagement skills. Then this summer, Mayor Walsh announced that June 25 would be recognized as Joseph’s Bakery Day in the City of Boston in recognition of their partnership with Boston schools and students.
In other union updates:- Our BTU All-In Food Drive has started! Please drop off your non-perishable items at the BTU anytime before November 15, when we’ll be donating our collected food to the Greater Boston Food Bank.
- Yesterday our Negotiation Team met with BPS for another five-hour interest-based bargaining session. We continue to word towards a timely resolution for a new contract.
- Our next Membership Meeting is Wednesday, November 14, so please sign up for childcare if you need it.
- Finally, be on the lookout for the upcoming BTU Digitizing Day on Saturday, November 17!
Happy Election Day! Have a good week