The Gaylord Education Association recently agreed to a 3-year contract with its school board for a 3% pay increase each year of the contract, along with health insurance through "AmeraPlan," a company we've never heard of but must be good.

What's unique is the GEA moved away from MESSA and by all appearances, the employees were the beneficiaries of that deal.

The new insurance plan comes with a 25% savings to the district, according to the Gaylord Herald Times, or $500,000 to $1 million a year.

"We sat down at the beginning and established that we would work in a professional manner and listen to each other's concerns. We established a working relationship with the board and that's what led up to a contract both sides were happy with," GEA president Doug Becker said.

In an earlier story, board member Scott Chesley said,

...he feels meetings between the board and GEA have been productive and, while direct negotiations between the two groups may be taking longer than if outside negotiators had been used, he believes the two sides have been able to work through the issues.

We disagree.  Because the two sides were able to work directly together, the MEA, by virtue, was not at the table haggling for their piece, ie. MESSA.  We have been told multiple times, by people all across the state, that UniServ directors, those overseeing negotiations on behalf of the MEA, earn some type of bonus for keeping MESSA in a contract.  Therefore, it's in that UniServ director's interest to keep MESSA.

The MEA and MESSA use all types of scare tactics to keep their members ginned up to keep MESSA, regardless of the impact on the members' compensation.  Here's an example of teachers and their school board negotiating without fanfare or accusations or vested interests to the benefit of the teachers themselves.