The Massachusetts Teachers Association vs. Pension Money
...and Jews (this is the last MTA post for now, promise!)
The MTA is becoming our favorite subject, because they collectively suck more than our own Supreme Leaders, which says a lot. We already reported on their shenanigans here, here and here. Even the Boston Globe reported on it, but we were first.
In this post (last for now, but we’re sure they’ll keep delivering) we have good news and bad news. Which is the good and which is the bad depends on your views.
At first, a dissident faction was able to pass a motion, number 06, that implores the union to… you know… do its job:
The MTA Board of Directors shall not take positions on matters of international conflict. The MTA will keep our focus on our core mission which is to work collectively with all our members to defend their rights and responsibilities in our collective agreements.
The rationale was:
The MTA’s core mission is to work collectively with all our members to defend their rights and responsibilities in our collective bargaining agreements. The MTA should refrain from commenting and taking sides in geopolitical conflicts that are divisive to its members. Instead, the MTA should focus on wages, class sizes, safe schools, health and safety, and student and teacher mental health. Taking positions on international conflicts will risk alienating students and faculty and could lead to creating a hostile learning and work environment. When the MTA weighs in on contentious international conflicts, it undermines their standing as a professional union for all members. Since the executive board is not elected on their expertise in international policy, they do not have the qualifications to represent the membership in complex issues of international law and diplomacy. It would be impractical to educate all of MTA’s members sufficiently to obtain an adequate mandate to establish an MTA position on every international conflict.
Oh, the Chutzpah. What do they think? That a worker’s union is ACTUALLY about workers and their rights?
13 motions later, the MTA came back to its senses and started talking about what’s really important.
The Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) shall divest all MTA staff pension funds and other investments from businesses that provide arms or other forms of military assistance to the state of Israel. The MTA shall likewise demand that the Pension Reserves Investment Management (PRIM) Board divest all pension funds from those businesses that provide arms or other forms of military assistance to the state of Israel.
The rationale was, among other reasons:
… no fewer than 28 Palestinian labor unions, including the General Union of Palestinian Teachers, the General Union of Kindergarten Workers, and the Federation of Unions of Palestinian Universities Professors & Employees have issued a call for international trade unionists “To take action against complicit companies involved in implementing Israel’s brutal and illegal siege, especially if they have contracts with your institution.” Heeding this urgent call from our international union siblings aligns with the MTA’s stated commitment “to human and civil rights and … quality public education in an environment in which lifelong learning and innovation flourish.” It also recalls the precedent of the Mass Divest coalition, when the MTA joined with other labor and community groups to successfully pass legislation in 1982 divesting the Commonwealth of Massachusetts from companies that did business in apartheid South Africa.
…
Successful passage of this motion reasserts the MTA’s position within a global labor movement taking material action for sustained peace.
Sustained peace? Interesting. We thought the labor movement’s actions were geared towards globalizing the intifada and overthrowing evil empires via a bloody revolution. But we now know that “peace”, just like “woman”, “colonizer”, “racist” and “merit”, are up for interpretation. We don’t even bother to ask whether the MTA has made similar statements about other countries involved in warfare.
If we were MTA staff members we’d think decisions pension funds should be made by financial experts. But we also think that positions, opinions and actions about international conflicts should be taken by experts. On the other hand, it doesn’t matter because capitalism is evil and in the brave new utopia, envisioned by our union leaders, there will be no need for money and we will all share everything and live together in a Marxist peace.
Oy vey.
Well, a “Marxist Peace” until the Islamofascists no longer find the black clad, pink haired “revolutionaries” useful of course.