Our Pillars & Goals

• Share out accessible information
  • Members should have reasonable access to non-confidential information. GUSA members from the Bargaining Team and Negotiations Committee fought to have a Bargaining HQ section included on the union website that includes bargaining proposals and updates. We believe a democratic union and accessible information go hand-in-hand and this level of information should continue to be shared with you, so you can be well informed in advance of votes regarding dues increases, contract ratification, and budget approval.
• Re-establish the Judiciary Committee
  • The Judiciary Committee is meant to provide oversight and accountability for union leaders. It operates independently of USA leadership as a “checks and balances” protection of our union.
    As the USA Constitution is written now, any complaint must go through the Executive Committee: a small group of four members on the USA Board. If it makes it past that step, it gets to a Judiciary Committee which is appointed by those same members of the Executive Committee – the same people they’re supposed to be holding accountable, which creates a massive conflict of interest. That’s not accountability.
    If you have a concern about an individual in a leadership position, you need someone you can turn to. By re-establishing the Judiciary Committee as a separately elected body, we can ensure that leaders are working in good faith to serve all our members.
• Create a participatory budgeting process
  • Union leaders have a responsibility to answer your questions regarding the budget and involve members in the budgeting process. As union members, we all have a shared responsibility to represent our own interests when it comes to voting for our contract and on our budget – and it’s important that we are all informed as best as possible to ensure the union is running with efficiency and accountability. Put simply: you should have a say in how our dues money is spent. A budget is a moral document, and you should have an opportunity to weigh in on budgeting priorities well before it’s finalized for the year. 
• Post board meeting minutes on website
  • Meeting minutes are an important part of holding leaders accountable. Members should know what topics are raised at meetings, how each individual votes on a given topic, and what actions are taken in support of our goals. We will keep robust notes of all meetings and post them on our website.
• Reduce hierarchy in the union structure
  • Unions should not replicate the hierarchical and bureaucratic organizational structure that management uses to keep our members down. In practice, certain key USA leaders routinely keep information and discussions to themselves, and dictate which messages should be communicated to our membership, thereby reducing the transparency of our union. By reducing the hierarchy in USA’s structure, we can empower leaders to work to their full potential and center members’ talents and ideas as we work toward our shared goals without being stopped by unnecessary bureaucracy. We believe fostering, mentoring, and developing emerging union leaders is necessary for sustaining our union’s strength. 

• Modernize the constitution
  • A union contract outlines how the union interacts with management and a union constitution outlines how union members interact with their elected leaders. The current USA constitution impedes member involvement and stands in the way of member-led changes by concentrating all decision-making power and vacant board member appointments to the President and Executive Committee. These decisions are made behind closed doors. Re-writing and modernizing our constitution is important to sustaining a democratic union and ensuring USA’s growth as leaders and the union changes over time.
• Build a strong bargaining team for 2027
  • Bargaining every three years is one of the most crucial and important duties of a union. Management will always try to undermine our contract and strip away the protections and benefits it gives us. Unions must be the most unified and active during bargaining, and that starts with a dedicated and hardworking bargaining team that is directly elected by you, the membership. It’s the bargaining team’s job to be in touch with your needs and represent them in the proposals and counters they bring to the bargaining table. This work needs to begin well before we sit down across from management. Grassroots USA aims to start building the next bargaining team well ahead of the contract’s expiration and take full advantage of the Massachusetts Teachers Association’s robust training opportunities and resources. All of Grassroots USA members have their MTA Bargaining Certificate, or are in the process of obtaining it.
• Strengthen the Silent Bargaining Representative program
  • Spearheaded by members of GUSA and inspired by other MTA locals, the Silent Bargaining Representatives (SBRs) have changed the face of bargaining for USA. SBRs provide accountability for management as well as USA’s Bargaining Team by bringing members directly into the room as bargaining happens. After only four months of SBR involvement, they have provided invaluable feedback to the Bargaining Team, given testimony to management, stepped up to work on proposals and counters, and joined the Contract Action Team. When we bargain again in 2027, we aim to drastically increase SBR involvement by removing barriers to access and integrating SBRs directly with the Bargaining Team and Negotiations Committee. 
• Develop the Steward’s Council
  • Your steward should be your first point of contact in the union. Stewards help members by answering general questions about the contract, representing members in disciplinary meetings, and helping union leaders spread the word by having one-on-one conversations in their districts. Stewards also serve as a first line of contact for union members, spreading the responsibility of quick, reliable union communication among a larger group of people. There are around 830 members in USA, and it takes a team to ensure that all members can be helped and represented when needed. Grassroots USA envisions a stronger and engaged Stewards Council that receives the training, resources, and support necessary to accomplish these tasks.

• Give advance notice for union meetings
  • USA members have never been busier! We all care about participating in our union, but we need advance notice, especially if the meeting includes topics important to you as an individual, ratifying the contract, and voting to approve the budget. Members need to be given all relevant information in advance as well, so they can make the most informed decision. GUSA will prioritize accessibility by making sure every in-person meeting will have a hybrid option.
• Streamline inbox workflow
  • Members in crisis cannot wait while their emails go unread. Even members with ordinary, non-emergent questions deserve a timely, accurate response. USA leaders can better serve our members by sharing responsibility for responding to member queries. Currently, that capability is limited to the president and the office manager (currently vacant).
• Use social media to engage membership
  • USA is working on exciting things for our members and we would love to share our struggles, our victories, and our calls to action with members in a variety of ways, including on social media. Our Communications Committee can better communicate if they are allowed to use every tool available to them. GUSA will bring USA into the 21st century with active social media accounts.