Political Action

Since educators are public employ­ees, much of what we negotiate at the bargaining table can be taken away by the county council or state legislature. Virtu­ally every decision made in education af­fecting you, i.e., salary, curriculum, class size, health benefits, certification require­ments, books, supplies, retirement ben­efits, etc., are made by elected officials. To protect our interests, we need to elect those politicians who have a “sense of fair play” and an understanding of educators and education.  Every profession involves itself in politics to protect its interests. Doctors have the American Medical Association to lobby for their interests. Lawyers have the Trial Lawyers Association which serves a similar function. Businesses have local Chamber of Commerce organiza­tions which promote candidates who sup­port their business interests. And, since the interests of others may run counter to those of us in public education, it is imperative that we fully participate in that process for the sake of our students as well as our personal inter­ests as educators.

We encourage you to go to our elections page where you can learn more about our candidate recommendation process and how to get involved with supporting and electing pro-public education candidates to office. 

But political action is not just about elections. Year round, educators need to be involved in the political process to advocate for the best interests of our schools, our students and our members. Whether its lobbying for increased school funding, or just generally educating elected officials about the needs of public education, political action is an ongoing process. Visit our campaigns page to learn more about current campaigns and how you can get involved.

Get updated information about the work of the Maryland General Assembly while it’s in session each year. The 2012 session begins on January 11th and will end on April 9th, 2012. This site allows you to find and contact your legislator as well as track the progress of specific bills. Committee information, hearing schedules and other information about the General Assembly may be found here as well.


To contact your elected officials:

 

Click here for a one-page summary of Montgomery County’s elected officials