Two MTA Retired members have been selected to receive the "Honor Our Own" Award for their outstanding influence on students, new educators and other association members.
Craig Slatin, a retired professor of public health at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, and Richard Liston, a retired special education teacher and former president of the Everett Teachers Association, are dedicated unionists — and both have been busy activists in their retirement.
Slatin and Liston will be celebrated for their accomplishments at the 2021 Virtual Retired Members Gathering, which will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 19. As is true each year, the honorees are nominated by fellow educators.
Rafael Moure-Eraso, who serves on the MTA Retired Members Committee, nominated Slatin for the award. He praised Slatin’s advocacy as an organizer for public education.
Moure-Eraso went on to note that he has found Slatin "in the middle of many good fights," among them the effort to stop the trend of austerity that has harmed Massachusetts public colleges and universities, as well as preK-12 schools.
"Craig Slatin is an example of the politically engaged educator who can show results for his years of organizing and advocating for an effective public education," Moure-Eraso wrote. "He has educated a generation of students to address those challenges and been an effective activist in public education policy."
Everett Teachers Association President Kimberly Auger, who nominated Liston, said that even though he is retired, he remains a mentor to many teachers and students.
Liston, an MTA activist for decades, led two Everett strikes in the late 1980s to win fair and equitable working conditions for present and future educators. Even after retirement, Auger said, Liston regularly works to help fellow educators and lift up public education.
In addition to volunteering at schools and remaining an activist, Liston serves as a board member of the ETA and until June 30 was on the Retired Members Committee. "The impact he made on his students still resonates today, as many reach out to express their appreciation for all of his encouragement and support, long after they were students in his classroom," Auger wrote in Liston’s nomination form.
Further information on registering for the 2021 Virtual Retired Members Gathering will be posted soon on massteacher.org/retired.
Jump with joy for savings!
- 15-25 cents off per gallon
- Free full-service contract
Let HEAT USA help you save this year on heating oil bills.
1.888.432.8872
