About the SEA

The mission of the SEA is to organize for the professional and economic interests of educators through collective bargaining and to advocate for policies that promote the common good for students, educators, families, and the community as a whole.

We are an affiliate of both the state and national organizations - Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) and National Educators Association (NEA).

Massachusetts Teachers Association The Massachusetts Teachers Association is a union dedicated to improving the workplace and the quality of life for all education employees and to protecting their hard-won rights. Equally important, we are an association of highly qualified professionals, committed to establishing and maintaining optimal conditions for student learning from preschool through graduate school.


National Education Association

The National Education Association (NEA), the nation's largest professional employee organization, is committed to advancing the cause of public education. NEA's 3 million members work at every level of education—from pre-school to university graduate programs. NEA has affiliate organizations in every state and in more than 14,000 communities across the United States.


The SEA Executive Board's goal is to increase member activity through communication/listening so that SEA membership develops and shares power to obtain and ensure the working conditions necessary to guarantee a quality public education for all students in Springfield. 


Click here to learn more about the SEA Executive and Legislative Boards.

The Legislative Board is responsible for voting to adopt or amend general policy recommended by the Executive Board, implementing general policy, and approving or amending the Executive Board's recommended budget. The Legislative Board meets monthly.



Click here to learn more about the SEA Executive and Legislative Boards.

Bargaining Team

The Bargaining Team (BT) engages in collective bargaining with Representatives of the School Committee (District/ISSPS Schools) or Representatives of the Springfield Empowerment Zone Partnership (Zone Schools) all changes to the contract.


The BT is formed the year prior to contract expiration and is supported by the organizing work of the Contract Action Team, utilizing a democratized bargaining model.


Click here to learn more about the SEA Bargaining Team.

Committees

  • Organizing Committee

    The purpose of the SEA Organizing Committee is to identify strongly-felt and widely-felt issues among members or subgroups of members and engage them in esclating campaigns to build power and win positive changes to working conditions.


    Committee Chairs: Declan Kennon, Amelia Mitter-Burke, Julia Maloof


    Contact: 

    Email: seamemberorganizing@gmail.com

    Phone: 413-560-3164


    Click here to navigate to the Organizing Committee page to learn more.

  • ALANA Committee

    ALANA stands for African, Latino/Latina, Asian, and Native American.


    ALANA is a committee committed to organizing for diversity, inclusion, and racial equity.


    Committee Chair:


    Contact: 


    Click here to navigate to the ALANA Committee page to learn more.


  • Political Education Committee

    The COPE Committee functions as the liaison between Association members, School Committee, City Council, and state representatives and senators. They lobby for educational issues and keep members informed about important political decisions being made in education.

  • Immigration Committee

    The SEA immigration committee is committed to organizing around issues related to the immigrant student population and greater immigrant community is Springfield.


    Committee Chairs: Amelia Mitter-Burke


    Contact: 


    Click here to navigate to the Immigration Committee page to learn more.

  • Health and Safety Committee

    The SEA Health and Safety committee is committed to organizing around issues related to the health and safety of our staff and students in Springfield Public Schools buildings and campuses.


    Committee Chair:


    Contact:



    Click here to navigate to the Immigration Committee page to learn more.


  • Retirees Committee (Tools 4 Teaching)

    The SEA Retirees Committee meets once a month to promote and strengthen our mission of demonstrating what our  unions (SEA, MTA, NEA) are doing for teachers. Our team has created Tools 4 Teaching, a recycling store for teachers. We accept classroom resources from retiring teachers, organize them, and distribute them at no cost, to current teachers. During this process, retirees listen, empathize, and validate through action, the importance of the union/teacher connection at all levels of our profession.

  • Communications Committee

    The purpose of the SEA Communications Committee is to foster a more interconnected union to build worker power. 


    The primary functions of the Communications team is to coordinate and support the activities of all committees, legislative and executive boards, and members by developing and maintaining Signal group chats, creating and posting content for social media platforms, developing graphics for union activities, and maintaining the SEA website.


    Communications Chair: Troy Doming


    Click here to navigate to the Communications page to learn more


  • Finance Committee

    The SEA Finace committee meets to create and then recommend the yearly budget of the Association. This recommendation is voted upon by the Executive and Legislative Boards for approval. The Finance Committee is chaired by the Vice President. 



    Committee Chair: Brenda Dunn


    Contact: bdunn@seateachers.com 

  • Scholarship Commitee

    The Scholarship Committee reviews applications for the Meline Kasparian, Peter Dupuis, and Joan Cormack Scholarships, and determines the recipients based on a scoring system. Reviewers are not informed of the identities of the individual applicants until scoring is finalized.


    Committee Chair: Brenda Dunn


    Contact: bdunn@seateachers.com 


    Click here to navigate to the Scholarship page to learn more about the scholarship opportunites available.

  • Professional Development

    The SEA Professional Development Committee is responsible for reviewing requests for PD funds from SEA members and distributing those funds.


    Committee Chair: Caity Welz


    Contact:


    Click here to navigate to the Professional Development page to learn more about how you can receive PD funds from the SEA.

  • Bylaws Committee

    The SEA Bylaws Committee consists of  consist of the Executive Board and up to three volunteers from the general membership that will annually review the Bylaws every January for suggested changes. 


    Committee Chairs: Ramsey Kurdi and Gisella Grimaldi


    Contact:


    Click here to navigate to the Bylaws Committee page to learn more.

  • Grievance Committee

    The Grievance Committee works to defend and protect the working rights of the bargaining unit members. The committee develops Association positions on all matters pertaining to the rights of Association members especially academic freedom, professional and personal leaves, administrative discipline and dismissal, and grievance procedures and complies data for the support of these positions in negotiations. The SEA has a full-time Professional Relations staff person who is also the grievance chairperson. The grievance chairperson oversees all grievances.


    Committee Chair: Mike Pryzbylek


    Contact: contact@seateachers.com

Negotiations (Bargaining) Team

The Negotiations Team bargains with the School Committee, through its representatives, all changes in the Collective Bargaining Agreement, also known as the CBA or the Contract. The team solicits proposals for Contract changes from the membership. Upon reaching tentative agreement on all matters under negotiation, the team prepares and submits its report and recommendations to the membership prior to a ratification meeting.

The Negotiating Team consists of the President and eleven members, representing a cross section of the membership, appointed by the President, and approved by the Executive Board. The Team elects its own Chairperson and Secretary.