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About MSEA > Brief History

MSEA Brief History

The Minnesota School Employees Association (MSEA), is a union representing classified public school employees. MSEA was founded in 1980, due in large part to the efforts of Mike Pirsch, who was named as MSEA’s first Executive Director in 1981.

In November of 1977, eight female employees went on strike against the Willmar Citizen’s National Bank after filing a class action sex discrimination lawsuit and unfair labor practice charges against the bank.

These eight brave women, known as the "Willmar 8", were on strike for almost a year, confronting community hostility, Minnesota's brutally cold winters and hot, sticky summers. Mike Pirsch then hired Glennis Terwisscha, one of the courageous "Willmar 8", as one of the first field representatives for MSEA. Glennis went on to become MSEA's 2nd Executive Director in 1985.

msea leadership history
YEAR	PRESIDENT	EXEC. DIRECTOR
1980	Erika Polansky & Bev Dahlgren, Austin
1980-81	Bev Dahlgren, Austin
1981-82	Bev Dahlgren, Austin	Mike Pirsch
1982-83	Bev Dahlgren, Austin & Lynette Miller, Rochester	Mike Pirsch
1983-84	Lynette Miller, Rochester	Mike Pirsch
1984-85	Lynette Miller, Rochester	Mike Pirsch
1985-86	Lynette Miller, Rochester	Glennis TerWisscha
1986-87	Gayle Morehouse, Centennial	Glennis TerWisscha
1987-88	Sue Ezell, St. Cloud	Nancy Crippen
1988-89	Sue Ezell, St. Cloud	Nancy Crippen
1989-90	Sue Ezell, St. Cloud	Nancy Crippen
1990-91	Sue Ezell, St. Cloud & Merldeen Feuerhak, Austin	Nancy Crippen
1991-92	Merldeen Feuerhak, Austin	Nancy Crippen
1992-93	Merldeen Feuerhak, Austin	Nancy Crippen
1993-94	Merldeen Feuerhak, Austin	Nancy Crippen
1994-95	Merldeen Feuerhak, Austin	Nancy Crippen
1995-96	Donna Michaelis, Willmar	Nancy Crippen
1996-97	Donna Michaelis, Willmar	Rose Roach
1997-98	Donna Michaelis, Willmar	Rose Roach
1998-99	Donna Michaelis, Willmar	Rose Roach
1999-00	Candy Richards, Moorhead	Rose Roach
2000-01	Diane Chapa, Eden Prairie	Rose Roach
2001-02	Diane Chapa, Eden Prairie	Rose Roach
2002-03	Diane Chapa, Eden Prairie	Peggy Byrne (interim)
2003-04	Diane Chapa, Eden Prairie	Peggy Byrne
2004-05	Les Schermerhorn, Moorhead	Kevin Fahey
2005-06	Les Schermerhorn, Moorhead
2006-07	Evan Mapes, Thief River Falls	Mary Kearney
2007-08	Evan Mapes, Thief River Falls	Mary Kearney

MSEA was once part of MAAP (Minnesota Association of Auxiliary Personnel) which was originally organized in 1968 for secretaries and teacher aides under the Minnesota Education Association (MEA) banner. Prior to this time, a category for secretaries only had existed.

In 1978, through the efforts of MAAP President Ericka Polansky, Larry Wicks, Rochester MEA Uniserv Director and other MAAP board members, it was decided that broadening the organization to include all classified personnel in a school district was desirable and necessary.

In order to achieve this goal, a new relationship with MEA was developed and MAAP was removed from direct MEA membership. Through 1984, under a new name, MSEA affiliated with the Public Employees of Minnesota (PEM), an "umbrella" structure which included MEA and MAPE (Minnesota Association of Professional Employees).

At the 1984 Delegate Assembly, MSEA elected to affiliate with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), AFL-CIO. Delegates at the 1995 Delegate Assembly voted to disaffiliate from SEIU, giving MSEA independent status effective September 1995.

The first MSEA Delegate Assembly was held in 1980 at the Normandy Inn in Minneapolis. The Delegate Assembly is the governing body of MSEA. Delegates selected from MSEA's membership convene yearly to determine budgetary matters and the overall direction of MSEA.

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