Mat-Su teachers’ union ratifies contract

Late Saturday afternoon, the Mat-Su Education Association (MSEA) union that covers teachers in the Mat-Su Borough voted to approve a tentative agreement reached with the Mat-Su Borough School District (MSBSD) on July 7. The new contract was approved 72.59% to 27.41% with an 85.81% overall turnout. Only active MSEA members were eligible to cast ballots.

“I am incredibly proud of the MSEA bargaining team, and our membership for the hard work put in, to ultimately reach an agreement that is good for students and the community we serve.” said Vicki Hewitt, President of MSEA.

The MSBSD had imposed their contract on May 15, 2023, which stripped MSEA of their preferred insurer. This led to a strike authorization vote which was approved by over 90% of all bargaining unit members.

While details of the new contract have not been made available, the agreement begins to address inflation, but changes healthcare providers for MSEA from the Public Education Health Trust to Premera. This agreement covers FY23-26. The union has previously been without a contract since the end of the 2022 school year.

“We’ve done our part and ratified this agreement,” said Hewitt, “now it’s up to the School Board to do their job and vote to approve the contract so we can all get back to work making sure our students have every opportunity to be successful.”

The MSBSD school board is scheduled to vote on the negotiated agreement during the regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, August 2.

This is a developing story. Continue to see frontiersman.com for more.