Work That Matters campaign

Putting a face on public employees. That's the goal of MEA-MFT's Work That Matters campaign. The campaign tells Montanans about public employees and the great work they do.

According to Jill Cohenour, state employee and MEA-MFT Board member, MEA-MFT members love the award-winning campaign. "I've heard great comments about Work That Matters, both from our members and other state employees," she said. "We know we do good work, and we realize our story hasn't been getting out to the people we work for -- the citizens of Montana."

MEA-MFT created Work That Matters in 2003 and invited the Montana Public Employees Association to participate. This public relations campaign shows the valuable work public employees do through postcards, newspaper ads, and radio spots.

During the 2003 Legislature, seven postcards starring Montana state employees were mailed to decision makers, including legislators, agency heads, local officials, and news media. The campaign kept the legislature from freezing state employee salaries.

In the campaign's second phase, MEA-MFT expanded its scope to include county employees along with state and university employees.

Work That Matters is credited with helping pass the first decent salary increase for state employees in a long time during the 2005 Legislature.

In the 2007 Legislature, Work That Matters helped save 37 new probation and parole positions.

"I am very proud of this campaign," said MEA-MFT President Eric Feaver. "Public employees contribute enormously to the quality of life for us all, and we need to get the good word out to Montana citizens."

You can help
"We need a steady drum beat of positive image building when we're not in crisis," notes MEA-MFT Communications Director Sanna Porte. "It's no accident that public employees and the services they provide are discredited by some. It is the result of a long-term national campaign, perpetuated by those who want to privatize and cut public services. We need to fight back in a positive way."

How can you help? Send names of people who would make great Work That Matters "postcard people" to Sanna Porte at sporte@mea-mft.org.