DEMOCRACY IN ACTION
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Speakers featuring:
- Important reports from President Barnes and VP Nardoni
- MCCC Organizers
- Guests Maria Hegbloom (MTA) & Adam St. Jean (Mass Society of Professors – Lowell): “How to Secure Big Wins.“
Calling All Members!
How to Secure Big Wins
In this session, Adam St. Jean (MSP Lowell) and Maria Hegbloom (MTA) will share the strategies and lessons from the Massachusetts Society of Professors Lowell’s most recent bargaining campaign. They will highlight how the union organized members to secure strong wins at the table by combining thoughtful planning with the flexibility to adapt as the campaign evolved. The talk will emphasize the importance of engaging members early, building an active communication network, developing a clear bargaining platform, and creating opportunities for meaningful member involvement through initiatives such as a silent bargaining representative program and solidarity actions across campus. Drawing on their experiences, Adam and Maria will reflect on what worked, what they learned, and how these practices might inform best approaches for other locals.
Adam St. Jean is a Teaching Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and has been an active union member and organizer for over a decade. He began his union work in 2014 at the University of New Hampshire, where he helped organize non-tenure-track teaching faculty and later served as contract administrator and co-lead bargainer. After joining UMass Lowell in 2018, Adam became involved in the Massachusetts Society of Professors Lowell, serving as College of Engineering Representative, Clinical and Teaching Faculty Representative-at-Large, and now Vice President. He was also one of the originating members of the MSP Contract Action Team, a rank-and-file–driven group that organized actions and influenced bargaining during the COVID-19 years—work that helped strengthen a more democratic, member-driven approach to the union’s campaigns. Adam also serves on the MTA Board of Directors representing Higher Ed Region 47H and has extensive bargaining experience at both UNH and UML, most recently as Co-Chair of the MSP bargaining team at UMass Lowell.
Maria Hegbloom is an organizer working for the Massachusetts Teachers Association. She comes into this work after 15 years as a faculty member in the English department at Bridgewater State University. In her faculty career she served in a variety of roles within the Massachusetts State College Association (MSCA) including chapter and statewide president, legislative committee chair, and bargaining chair. As a member, she also served in MTA leadership as the Higher Ed representative on the Executive Committee. Most recently, she worked as the Field Representative/Organizer with MSP-Lowell during their past negotiation cycle and supported the team and members as they worked to achieve a more democratic bargaining model, deepened their ability to engage members in bargaining actions, and built their power at the table.