An Act to Improve Quality in Early Education Care Centers
S223
H477
Lead Sponsors
Sen. Sal N. DiDomenico
Rep. Jeffrey Sánchez
Decades of research confirms that investment in early education today pays off tomorrow. High quality
early education prepares children for future success in school and in life. An Act to Improve Quality in
Early Education Care Centers promotes high quality early education and care for low-income families by
allowing for the creation of a providers’ organization that can negotiate with the Commonwealth over
issues related to the recruitment and retention of teachers including professional training,
reimbursement rates and compensation. In creating this structure, this legislation supports the lowest
paid teachers who are responsible for caring for and educating the most at-risk children in the state.
What the legislation does:
• It allows for the creation of a providers' organization that would include teachers and directors
employed at child-care centers that serve some of the most vulnerable children in Massachusetts. The
bill is focused on staff at centers that receive state child-care subsidies for at least 10 percent of the
attending children - it covers approximately 5,000 early educators working in 500 of the most
resource- needy centers in the Commonwealth.
• It provides a collective framework for early educators to work with the Commonwealth to improve
the services they provide through a negotiated agreement. The providers’ organization will negotiate
with the Commonwealth on matters related to workforce development, including professional
development and training and conditions affecting recruitment and retention. This organization
would not intrude on the employer-employee relationships governed by federal relations law.
• It supports and builds upon the commitment by the Massachusetts Department of Early Education
and Care to support professional growth for early educators and to remedy inadequate
compensation in the field.
Benefits of a Non-Traditional Union for Early Childhood Educators
* Reduce turnover and stabilize the early education workforce so that children can get the consistent,
quality care they need.
* Support more training for educators to raise the quality of early education and care.
* Improve communication between educators and the Commonwealth to ensure providers’ voice
in policy decisions.
* Enhance program stability.
Massachusetts Early Childhood Educators Union (MECEU), AFT-MA/MTA
640 Page Blvd., Springfield, MA 1-413-732-5266
www.meceu.org
An Act to Improve Quality in Early Education Care Centers
LEAD SPONSORS: Sen. Sal N. DiDomenico and Rep. Jeffrey Sánchez
Senators:
Gale D. Candaras
Harriette L. Chandler
Sonia Chang-Diaz
Eileen M. Donoghue
James B. Eldridge
Jennifer L. Flanagan
Patricia D. Jehlen
Michael O. Moore
Marc R. Pacheco
Anthony W. Petruccelli
Michael F. Rush
James T. Welch
Daniel A. Wolf
Representatives:
Brian M. Ashe
Ruth B. Balser
Carlo Basile
Jennifer E. Benson
Michael D. Brady
Antonio F. D. Cabral
Gailanne M. Cariddi
Cheryl A. Coakley-Rivera
Thomas P. Conroy
Marjorie C. Decker
Marcos A. Devers
Stephen L. DiNatale
Michael J. Finn
02-2014
Representatives, continued:
Gloria L. Fox
Sean Garballey
Anne M. Gobi
Kenneth I. Gordon
Danielle W. Gregoire
Jonathan Hecht
Paul R. Heroux
Louis L. Kafka
Mary S. Keefe
John D. Keenan
Kay Khan
Peter V. Kocot
Stephen Kulik
John J. Mahoney
Elizabeth A. Malia
Paul W. Mark
Paul McMurtry
James J. O'Day
William Smitty Pignatelli
Denise Provost
Angelo J. Puppolo, Jr.
John H. Rogers
Carl M. Sciortino, Jr.
Frank I. Smizik
Benjamin Swan
Cleon H. Turner