For the first time since 2019, the MTA Retired Members Gathering was held in person this year, generating enthusiasm for passing the Fair Share Amendment and recognizing those who have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to union activism.
Hosted by the Retired Members Committee, the event featured workshops presented by MTA members that focused on issues including why ending the use of MCAS exams is important for public education, the impact of a wave of new union organizing taking place at large corporations such as Amazon and Starbucks, and the social and political motivations that underlie the ongoing campaign to restrict reproductive rights.
State Representative Erika Uyterhoeven (D-Somerville) led a session on legislative issues and called for greater transparency in the workings of Beacon Hill.
The 21st annual MTA Retired Members Gathering was held on Sept. 29 at the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in Westborough. As always, the presentation of the Honor Our Own award was a highlight of the event.
The award process begins with fellow members nominating retirees who have done outstanding and ongoing work for their locals and the MTA.
The 2022 Honor Our Own awards recognized Beverly Saccocia and Mary Cowhey, neither of whom was able to attend.
Saccocia, who retired following a career as an Education Support Professional, was active in her local, the Bridgewater-Raynham Education Association, as well as in the MTA and the NEA. She served on the MTA Board of Directors and several committees and has been a longtime advocate for ESPs. Saccocia’s daughter, Julie Saccocia-Augustine, and granddaughter, Vanessa Augustine, accepted the award on her behalf, reading a statement that the honoree had prepared.
"I feel very strongly that the ESP members should be represented on all MTA committees," Saccocia’s message stated. "Please continue to encourage all ESP participants, both as retirees and at any course they may have with their membership.
"We have a lot to offer, and we are so ready to serve," Saccocia added.
Cowhey is retired from the Northampton school district, where she taught math to students in the first and second grades and was active both in her local, the Northampton Association of School Employees, and in the regional WeMEAN union group. She also served on the MTA Board.
Dale Melcher, who belongs to the Retired Members Committee, nominated Cowhey for the award and accepted it on her behalf. Melcher noted how Cowhey connected union activism to family engagement.
Cowhey was a leader in the creation of Families with Power, a grassroots community organization of multicultural families. The group brings together educators and families to create schools that address the needs of often-marginalized students, many of them from low-income families. Cowhey recently wrote a book, "Families With Power: Centering Students by Engaging with Families and Communities," to share her experiences.
"Mary is the whole package — a teacher, grassroots community organizer, parent, union activist, writer, community gardener and winner of numerous awards for teaching. She has been a strong influence on my thinking about inclusion and community power," Melcher wrote in her nomination. "She is one of our own and deserving of our recognition and honor."
Judy Babb, who won the Honor Our Own award in 2020, and Craig Slatin, who won the award along with Richard Liston in 2021, were also acknowledged in person at this year’s Retired Gathering. They all first "received" their awards virtually, in the years when in-person events were not held because of the depth of the COVID-19 pandemic.
MTA President Max Page and Vice President Deb McCarthy praised the retirees for their dedication to the union and to public education.
Page, who called in to the event, said that retired members provide a crucial link in the union for new members to understand what has changed for the better — and worse — over the past decades.
"Many of you taught before receivership and charter schools, and you had greater autonomy. But you also know what is achievable in the future," Page said.
He connected the upcoming Fair Share vote — the so-called "millionaires’ tax" is Question 1 on the statewide ballot — to the fight for better learning conditions for students, increased pay for paraeducators and debt-free public higher education.
Retiree Jane Lynch-Gilbert succinctly framed the essence of Question 1, which would apply a 4 percent tax to annual income above $1 million to generate revenue for public education and transportation, explaining to the audience that the measure "levels the playing field for all of us."
