Massachusetts Teachers Association

“The association has two membership classes which are eligible to participate in governance matters - affiliate membership and individual membership - active. Affiliate membership is available to any professional and/or educational organization in massachusetts that: 1. Is organized with bylaws, 2. Has officers, dues, regular meetings, 3. Complies with these bylaws; and 4. Except in the case of education support professionals, has the approval of the local affiliate, provided however, that the local has offered membership to that unit. Individual membership - active is available to: 1. Persons who are: a. Employed in work of a professional nature in the field of education, including employment in public schools, in public charter schools, in institutions of public higher education, and by public and private employers providing early childhood education. (i) who, as new applicants for membership after august 31, 1965, hold a baccalaureate degree or higher; and who hold a certificate, or are eligible to hold same, from a proper certifying authority where such is required, or (ii) who are appropriately licensed, or (iii) who are qualified and approved as teachers by the division of occupational education in the department of elementary and secondary education, or (iv) who are school nurses. B. Educational support employees employed in public schools, in public charter schools, in institutions of public higher education, and by public and private employers providing early childhood education. 2. Members who have been granted a leave of absence by their employer. Such member shall be considered to be employed by the employer that granted said leave. 3. Members laid off due to a reduction in force and members who are on an unpaid leave of absence due to a waiver signed in connection with reduction in force. Eligibility shall continue for as long as such persons are eligible to be recalled or for three (3) years, whichever is longer. During this period, said member shall be considered to be employed by the employer from which he/she was laid off or is on an unpaid leave of absence in connection with reduction in force. 4. In the event that a unit determination decision results in the creation of a collective bargaining unit, some of whom are eligible for active membership and others of whom are not, the latter group shall be eligible for active membership. 5. Members who are involuntarily terminated and who are litigating the termination under the mta legal services policy.”

“Delegates are determined based on membership class and other factors as listed below. The delegates elect the officers and directors of the association. Delegate allocation: 1. Each local affiliate and the statewide retired electoral district shall be entitled to two delegates and one additional delegate for every fifty members over fifty, or major fraction thereof. 2. Each region and the statewide retired electoral district shall be entitled to ethnic minority representation of delegates equal to the number of district directors from that region. No more than one delegate from each district within a region shall be elected to fulfill this allocation. 3. Each state and county affiliate shall be entitled to two delegates, provided that such affiliates require mta membership where such membership is available. 4. Members of the board of directors shall be delegates. 5. The electoral review committee shall determine the delegate allocation for locals affiliated after the membership cut-off date. 6. Each affiliated chapter the student education association of massachusetts (seam) shall be entitled to two delegates.”

“The delegates have the following additional governance powers: 1. Adopt the annual budget of the association. 2. Establish the level of annual dues. 3. Amend the bylaws of the association. 4. Act on new business items brought before it. 5. Enact all other such measures as may be necessary to achieve the goals and objectives of the association which are not in conflict with the bylaws. 6. Exercise final authority in all matters of the association, except as otherwise provided in the bylaws or by statute.”

“Management does the initial review of the form 990. A copy of form 990 is provided to each board member allowing them an opportunity to address any questions regarding the return.”

“The conflict of interest policy covers the following individuals: mta executive officers, members of the mta executive committee, members of the mta board of directors, members of an mta committee, and any other persons designated by mta governance to represent mta. Under the policy, no mta official shall, directly or indirectly, have any interest or relationship, take any action or engage in any transaction, or incur any obligation which is in conflict with, or gives the appearance of a conflict with, the proper and faithful performance of his or her mta responsibilities. The mta vice president shall serve as the conflict of interest officer ("ci officer"), and shall in that capacity be responsible for the implementation of the ci policy. The ci officer shall monitor the implementation of the ci policy, and make periodic reports regarding its implementation to the mta executive committee. The mta executive committee shall recommend to the mta board of directors such modifications in the policy as it may from time to time deem appropriate. If an mta official believes that he or she may be engaged or about to become engaged in an activity that is prohibited by the ci policy, he or she shall consult with the ci officer. The mta official and the ci officer shall attempt to deal with the matter informally. If they are unable to do so, the ci officer shall submit to the mta official a written opinion indicating whether the activity in question is prohibited by the ci policy, and, if so, what should be done to correct the situation. If the mta official disagrees, in whole or in part, with the conclusions of the ci officer, he or she may appeal to the mta executive committee by filing a written notice of appeal with the mta president within ten (10) calendar days after receiving the opinion of the ci officer. The mta executive committee shall decide the appeal as expeditiously as possible, and the decision of the mta executive committee shall be final and binding. The mta official shall comply with the opinion of the ci officer pending the outcome of the appeal.”

“The process for determining the compensation of the organization's executive director-treasurer is as follows: the committee to evaluate the executive director-treasurer (ceed) is elected at the june meeting of the board of directors and is responsible for working with the executive director-treasurer to set goals and evaluate performance. In a year when the executive director-treasurer's contract is under consideration for renewal, ceed presents to the board negotiating team copies of the previous two year's evaluations and a preliminary report on the current year's evaluation process. With respect to the current executive director-treasurer, the board negotiating team made a recommendation regarding compensation for a one- year contract based on a comparison of salaries within the organization. The recommendation was then voted on by the board of directors. The process for determining the compensation of the organization's other officers and key employees is as follows: an ad hoc committee of five members elected by the board of directors is responsible for determining the compensation for the president and vice president. Compensation for those positions is based on the massachusetts average salary of classroom teachers in the public elementary and secondary schools and is reviewed every three years. Management performance evaluations of the cfo and general counsel are completed by the executive director-treasurer and presented to the executive committee on an annual basis. The evaluations include two components: performance evaluations and intended salary increases.”

“Copies are available upon request.”

“Pension adjustment 2,443,728. Post retirement health adjustment 217,376. Current year subsidiary operating income 203,300.”