News

Summer Organizing Institute (SOI) is our union’s deep organizing space to build the skills we need to win for our members, students and families in the classroom and beyond. From bargaining strong contracts, building strong school-site union structures and taking our movement to the streets in this critical time— we must be ready. Join us for SOI 2025: Meeting the Moment, Building the Movement, August 13-14th (9-2pm) at the Boston Teachers Union.

Whether you are a brand new building rep or activist learning the basic building blocks of organizing or a seasoned union leader looking to bargaining your strongest contract ever, these two days are for you. If you’d like to build the cross-labor and community power to win elections and fight back attacks in our communities— these two days are for you.

The Summer Organizing Institute works best when attending with a cohort from your union local. Whether that be new building reps, your contract action team and/or bargaining committee, executive committee, etc. So please, send this invitation around and give us a call to talk about how this Institute can work for different groups of your membership. The BTU has plenty of parking and is also conveniently located near the JFK/UMass Red Line. If we’re lucky for some sunny days, bring that beach towel and enjoy Carson Beach and a visit to Castle Island!

In an effort to strengthen our collective power and build upon the tremendous wins we’ve seen at the state and local levels in terms of public education and the labor movement, the AFT Massachusetts hosted its first ever Statewide Advocacy Day at the Massachusetts State House on June 25.

Over 150 teachers, paraprofessionals, librarians, higher ed faculty, and retirees came out for a successful day of advocacy and relationship-building – within our union, with our allies, and with leaders on Beacon Hill. It was a wonderful demonstration of our strength and commitment to strengthening public education throughout the Commonwealth.

AFT President Randi Weingarten welcomed at schools in Lowell and Lawrence by union leaders, educators, students, and local officials!

AFT Massachusetts hosted AFT President Randi Weingarten’s trip to the Merrimack Valley earlier this month, where local leaders and educators highlighted two key priorities of the state federation: community schools and career and technical education.

Through various coalitions and advocacy campaigns, the AFT Massachusetts has been strong proponents for investing in and expanding opportunity for community schools and CTE pathways. The day included on-site discussions with local and national leaders about the unique contributions each school makes to the region and the role they play in lifting up the families and communities they serve.

Advocates and community leaders are sounding the alarm in Lynnfield, where residents are at risk of seeing the Lynnfield Public Library (LPL) stripped of critical programming, staff, and hours, while losing access to the entire Massachusetts network of library materials and resources. 

“Each day, nearly 400 residents walk through our doors at the Lynnfield Public Library knowing that we are there to help and provide all Lynnfield residents with equal access to educational, informational, cultural, and recreational opportunities and services.” said Patricia Kelly, who has worked at LPL for nearly three decades and is currently serving as LPL’s Head of Reference and the President of the Massachusetts Library Staff Association. “Whether it be through creating community spaces to bring people together, connecting residents with outside cultures and histories, or helping people navigate critical services through our ever-expanding digital world, we’ve worked hard to ensure the library serves as a cornerstone of the Lynnfield community.” 

On April 3, 2025, President Tang testified before the Joint Committee on Ways and Means on prioritizing impactful education investments as the state determines how it will spend surplus Fair Share Amendment revenue.

Massachusetts has a unique opportunity to use these funds to protect our kids from some of the damage being inflicted by the federal administration’s ongoing cuts to education funding, while also supporting needed investments in community schools, preschool access, school staffing, and more.  

We’re proud to be part of the Raise Up Massachusetts coalition that helped make these funds possible, and to use this opportunity to advocate for the investments our districts need to better provide a quality, accessible public education to all our students.

The shocking decision of the Department to move the KIPP Academy Lynn Charter School’s expansion plan forward to the Board for a vote completely disregards the very clear, long-standing state regulations governing charter school expansion.

Not only will this have grave implications for our students, families, and schools in Lynn, it sets a very dangerous precedent going forward.

In order for their plan to be considered, KIPP Academy must meet the threshold of a proven provider with proficiency rates similar to state averages for a three year period, across all grades. According to the Department’s own data, KIPP not only does not meet these requirements, proficiency among KIPP students is significantly lower than state averages, especially in English Language Arts and Science. 

AFT Leading the Charge for Access to R+ (Teachers Alternative Retirement Plan)

For decades, AFT Massachusetts and member locals - including the Boston Teachers Union – have helped members navigate their benefits systems, which can be complex.  Whether it be through advocacy, education, or resources, the AFT Massachusetts has been on the frontline of an issue impacting thousands of teachers across the Commonwealth – the Massachusetts Teachers Alternative Retirement Plan, or Retirement Plus.

After working on this for years, we were thrilled when the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed legislation we had been advocating for at the end of last session. Unfortunately, it was not taken up by the Senate in time.

We will be kicking off our advocacy for this legislative session with a Retirement Plus Lobby Day on Tuesday, February 18, 2025. The lobby day is in partnership with the BTU, MTA and the R+ Committee, and will provide members an opportunity to speak directly with legislators about the importance of legislation providing a Second Chance at Retirement Plus.

For decades, the AFT Massachusetts and member locals - including the Boston Teachers Union – have helped members navigate their benefits systems, which can be complex. Whether it be through advocacy, education, or resources, the AFT Massachusetts has been on the frontline of an issue impacting thousands of teachers across the Commonwealth – the Massachusetts Teachers Alternative Retirement Plan, or Retirement Plus.

In 2001, Massachusetts introduced Teachers' Alternate Retirement Plan (TARP) or Retirement Plus, an enhanced retirement option for teachers, school nurses, related service providers and other educators with a deduction rate of 11%. All educators hired after July 1, 2001 were automatically enrolled in the new program, but current educators had only 6 months to opt in. A complicated process and confusing branding meant that many educators didn’t properly enroll, or thought they were enrolled when they really weren’t.