President's Corner: August 2025 New contract, Delegate Assembly, civic engagement and Leadership Academy

The end of bargaining always feels like a strange mix of relief and unfinished business. We close one chapter, but the next one is already waiting. That is exactly where we stand today. 

MAPE members voted to ratify the 2025-2027 contract with 79 percent approval. That outcome reflects the work members put in, the takebacks we stopped, and the risks we were willing to take. It also makes clear what we did not win and where the State will push again. Anyone who thinks this contract ends the fight hasn’t been paying attention. 

The telework fight showed the depth of member energy. Thousands of you stood up, and the Governor still slipped in at 4 AM to shut us down. That was not an accident. It was power politics at its ugliest. It tells us the State knows where we are strongest, and it is already planning to hit us there again. We should take that as both a warning and a compliment. 

Retro pay should arrive within six weeks. The TA Toolkit is posted with a redline and FAQ, and the final printed contract will follow soon. That's the paperwork. The real contract is what members are willing to defend every day in their workplaces. If we treat the text as the win, we’ll lose ground before the ink dries. If you’re not already, become a dues-paying member, and help us continue to build the strongest union we can. 

That is why we’re building new muscle. The Union Power Project’s Leadership Academy launches this fall to train and connect members ready to lead. Fourteen locals already stepped up with Civic Engagement Officers who will carry our Working People’s Agenda into caucuses and conventions. These projects are the scaffolding that keeps our union standing. 

Delegate Assembly meets September 19-20. Delegates will set our budget, decide legislative priorities, and vote on governing document changes. It’s an exciting time where hundreds of members come from all corners of the state to decide the direction of our union. 

Thousands of you have already shown what involvement looks like this year. You rallied against health care takebacks, fought for telework, and pushed back on layoffs. That is the power the State cannot write out of a contract. That is what makes us a union. I am proud to stand with you as we move into the next chapter. 

In solidarity, 

MAPE President