MTA President Merrie Najimy and MTA Vice
President Max Page have an ambitious agenda.
M TA President Merrie Najimy and Vice President;Max;Page;took;office;on;July;15.;Najimy;is;a;28-year;elementary
school;teacher,;most;recently;teaching;kindergarten
in;Concord.;She;was;president;of;her;local;for;11
years and served on the MTA Board of Directors.
Page;is;a;professor;of;architecture;and;history;and
the director of the Historic Preservation Program at
UMass;Amherst.;He;formerly;served;as;president;of
the;Massachusetts;Society;of;Professors;and;was;a
member;of;MTA’s;Executive;Committee;and;Board
of;Directors.;Detailed;biographies;of;both;are;posted
on;the;MTA;website.;Najimy’s;first;MTA Today
editorial;as;president;—;which;appears;on;Page;4;of
this;issue;—;outlines;the;leaders’;policy;platform.
This;interview;with;MTA;Communications;Specialist
Laura;Barrett;focuses;on;what;led;Najimy;and;Page
to;run;for;positions;of;leadership;in;the;union;and
their;vision;for;the;future.
Q: Why did you become involved in union work?
Najimy:;When;you;are;dissatisfied;with;something,
you;either;disconnect;or;you;get;more;engaged.;I;was
dissatisfied;with;decisions;being;made;in;my;local;20
years;ago.;I;decided;to;get;more;engaged.;Ultimately,
I;became;president.;It’s;a;very;hard;job.;I;was;a
full-time;teacher;with;no;release;time.;Being;a;union
president;is;also;a;full-time;job.;But;it;was;also;a;job
that was in my heart.
Page:;I;became;active;in;the;MSP;as;part;of;a;group
of;members;who;wanted;to;make;the;union;a;lot
more;relevant;to;members’;lives.;We;found;out
what;really;mattered;to;members;and;refocused;the
union’s;work.
Q: How did your family backgrounds influence your
decision to do this kind of work?
Najimy: My grandparents were immigrants from
Lebanon.;My;dad;and;his;sister;were;educators;
my;uncles;were;factory;workers,;all;protected;by
unions.;We;were;a;working-class;immigrant;family
able;to;have;a;comfortable;life;because;of;unions
and;I;had;access;to;affordable;higher;education.
My;father,;Norman,;who;started;his;career;as;an
elementary;school;teacher;in;Pittsfield,;became;a
curriculum;coordinator;and;then;a;principal;in;the
most;racially;diverse;school;in;the;district.;In;1985,
he;won;a;Human;and;Civil;Rights;Award;from;the
MTA.;I;believe;it;was;for;his;organized;resistance
to;closing;his;school.;The;atmosphere;at;his;school
had;been;explosive,;but;he;was;able;to;bring;about
more;racial;harmony,;and;the;school;had;strong
community;support.;He;held;organizing;meetings
in;our;dining;room,;where;I;got;my;first;exposure
to;people;coming;together;to;take;collective;action.
My;mother;also;played;a;critical;role;in;our;family.
She;supported;my;father’s;decision;to;keep;fighting
the;school;closure;even;though;it;eventually;cost
him his job.
Page:;I;grew;up;in;an;academic;and;pro-union;family.
My;father,;Alex;Page,;a;refugee;from;Nazi;Germany,
was;an;English;professor;at;UMass;and;a;founding
member;of;the;MSP.;My;mother;was;an;elementary
school;principal.;I;moved;away;for;college;and
work;but;came;back;to;teach;at;UMass;in;2001;—;I
even;moved;with;my;family;back;into;the;house;I
grew;up;in!;And;I;married;a;union;organizer;—;Eve
Weinbaum,;who;was;director;of;the;Labor;Center;at
UMass Amherst and is the president of the MSP.
Q: Can you describe some successes you had as
leaders in your local unions?
Page:;We;won;a;paid;parental;leave;policy;that;is
one;of;the;most;far-reaching,;progressive;policies
anywhere.;It;provides;for;a;full;semester;of;leave;for
a;father;or;mother;for;births;or;adoptions.;It;is;one
of;the;most;popular;benefits;we;have;won.;We;have
also;worked;hard;to;raise;up;the;pay;and;benefits
of;our;adjunct;faculty;members,;including;winning
per-course;pay;parity.;As;MSP;president,;I;also
became;engaged;in;fighting;for;funding;for;public
education;statewide.;The;MSP;was;involved;in;the
founding;of;the;Public;Higher;Education;Network
of;Massachusetts;—;PHENOM.;We;wanted;to;help
launch;a;nonprofit;that;would;involve;faculty,;students
and;staff;from;across;the;29-campus;public;higher
education;system.;PHENOM;has;done;great;work;and
this;past;year;celebrated;its;10th;anniversary.
Najimy:;When;I;became;president;in;Concord,
everybody;was;looking;to;me;to;solve;things.;But
over;a;period;of;11;years,;we;had;begun;to;change
what;we;thought;of;ourselves;as;a;union.;Victories
we;had;fighting;a;bullying;superintendent;and;a
bullying;principal;were;transformational.;We;had
to;turn;to;each;other;because;we;all;felt;we;were
under;attack.;After;we;got;through;the;worst;of
times,;we;opened;up;our;bargaining.;The;district;did
everything;it;could;to;try;to;stop;us;from;bringing
our;members;to;bargaining;sessions,;but;on;the;third
day;of;negotiations,;we;brought;50;people;into;the
room. When they saw that we had the capacity to
mobilize;that;large;a;group,;they;agreed;that;both
parties;could;have;non-participatory;guests.;We
talked;to;our;members;about;the;things;that;brought
us;joy;in;our;work;and;the;things;that;sucked;joy;out
of;our;work;that;we;wanted;to;change.;We;translated
that;into;a;platform;of;our;aspirations;and;turned;that
platform;into;bargaining;proposals.;Open;bargaining
changed;how;our;members;understood;both;the
negotiating;process;and;their;role;in;that.;And;then
something;unanticipated;happened.;They;went;back
to;their;buildings;and;started;to;talk;to;each;other
about;what;was;going;on.;They;started;to;be the
union.;We;won;the;strongest;contract;we;had;ever
won.;We;made;public;all;of;the;problems;we;were
having;in;the;district;—;and;all;of;the;obstacles.;We
changed;public;opinion;about;unions;and;changed
the;narrative;about;who;the;teachers;were.
Q: What is your vision for the future?
Page:;There’s;no;daylight;between;Merrie;and;me
in;terms;of;our;vision.;That’s;why;we;ran;together;as
one;team.;What’s;clearer;than;ever;if;you;want;a;more
equal;society;and;more;equality;of;opportunity;is
that;you;have;to;have;strong;unions.;And;if;you;want
strong;unions,;you;have;to;have;strong;educators’
unions.;And;if;you;want;to;have;strong;educators’
unions,;you;have;to;have;a;strong;MTA.;People;look
to;Massachusetts;because;of;our;deep;commitment
to;outstanding;public;education;here;and;our;broader
commitment;to;a;just;society.;We;set;the;bar.;That’s
why;it;is;our;obligation;that;we;fight;the;persistent
inequities;and;make;sure;we;provide;outstanding
public;education;to;all;students,;no;matter;what;their
ZIP;code.;What;we;do;reverberates;around;the;nation.
Our;Commonwealth,;and;our;union,;matter.
Najimy:;We;need;a;broader;social;movement;in
order;to;think;big.;We;need;to;create;a;community
platform;that;says,;“These;are;the;schools;that;our
communities;deserve,;and;these;are;the;communities
that;families;deserve.”;When;students;don’t;come;to
school;physically;and;emotionally;well,;that;impacts
their;learning;conditions.;It;is;incumbent;upon
educators;to;build;bridges;that;help;solve;the;ills
of;society.;We;have;to;ask,;“What;kind;of;working
conditions;and;wages;do;the;families;of;our;students
need;so;that;they;can;have;a;relationship;with;the
school?;What;kind;of;health;care;do;they;need;so
they;can;come;to;school;healthy?”;We;know;that;our
students;need;neighborhoods;free;of;gun;violence.
We know that they need to be free from the fear that
Immigration;and;Customs;Enforcement;agents;might
raid;their;homes;and;separate;their;families.;When
we;raise;up;the;living;conditions;of;our;students;and
their;families,;we;actually;raise;up;their;learning
conditions.;That’s;what;our;campaign;was;about.
Photo by Laura Barrett
