This week is quite busy at the AFT Massachusetts – bringing an eventful month to a close. It’s been a month full of advocacy, organizing, and resistance. There was the April 5th Hands Off Rally, which brought together over 100,000 people to the Boston rally alone. We rallied days later in support of Higher Education on April 8. As we move into May, we are gearing up for May Day (more information later in this edition of the Communicator) and our Annual Convention. There will be over 1,000 actions across the country this May Day as part of a national May Day Strong movement, with over a half dozen just in Massachusetts! Funding cuts and fiscal cliffs have continued to create challenges as we face cuts to our schools, colleges, libraries and hospitals. That’s why this past month we were testifying for legislative budget proposals, including a “corporate fair share” bill that would help fill the gaps while helping small businesses. While we continue to support local campaigns for revenue and overrides to fund public services, we also continue to plan for our first AFT MA lobby day on June 25th for all of our legislative priorities. Today marks the 100th day of the second Trump administration, there is nothing normal about this moment. Trump has spent his first 100 days dismantling public education, attacking universities, firing federal workers, ending vital labor and health programs, and making it harder for retirees to access Social Security. Our need to resist and stand up for the rights of not only our students and educators – but, really, all residents of our Commonwealth and nation – continues. Along with the disturbing mass deportations we are seeing (including of American citizens, student visas, green cards and work authorizations) and repeated attacks on workers and organized labor, the White House is continuing its campaign against public education. This month, we responded to a truly shameful memo from the Department of Education that threatened to withhold Title I funding–funding for low income students–unless schools allowed the federal government to dictate curriculum. We are happy to report that the AFT (along with two other similar cases) were successful last week in winning a preliminary injunction against the US ED from implementing an order they issued in February following the aforementioned “Dear colleague” letter, which threatened that federal funding would be withheld from school districts unless they censured their curriculum by stripping lessons of all discussions of race - prohibiting us from teaching history and lessons about slavery, diversity and inclusion, among other efforts in an accurate and knowledgeable way. Threatening support for some of our most vulnerable students in order for the federal government to take away local curricular control is both hypocritical and illegal. Meanwhile, last Friday at the Moakley Courthouse in Boston, we joined fellow plaintiffs for the first day of oral arguments in the lawsuit the AFT Massachusetts and AFT has filed against the federal government against their attempts to dismantle the US Department of Education. Legal representation from the plaintiffs as well as Democracy Forward argued our case while Department of ED employees who were illegally fired also showed up to observe the proceedings. The hearing went well and we anticipate a decision in a few weeks. We will keep everyone posted. |
Take Action: Organize a May Day walk-ins at your school! Join us for a May Day rally that evening in Boston, Chelsea, Lynn, and other communities!
Upcoming Events: |
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May Day 2025: Union solidarity is union power! After our hugely successful day of action on March 4th, May Day is the next massive day of action for unions across the country. These days of action work. We captured national attention with our walk-ins on March 4th and saw the federal administration roll back and recalculate plans for the Department of Education. It’s not too late to organize a “walk-in” on May 1! You can use this toolkit for ideas and resources. If you are in a hybrid AFT MA and MTA district, you may want to coordinate together as MTA will also be holding walk-ins throughout the state! Please be sure to send any photos to photos@aftma.net with a description of the photos! Whether or not you organize walk-ins, you can still join fellow AFT MA members at a May Day rally near you! Rallies are currently planned for the following cities: |
AFT Massachusetts In The News |
Just as our work at the national and state level continues at a rapid pace, so does our work in the field. On top of cuts to public schools, the White House has made significant cuts to funding that local libraries rely on. Unfortunately, most of these communities cannot step in to make up the difference - meaning our members and AFTMA staff have been on the ground fighting for important local overrides to ensure our libraries can continue to serve their communities. For example, without an override in Lynnfield, residents would see their library staff cut from 24 to 9 and a drastic reduction of services while residents in Stoneham might see their library completely shuttered. Meanwhile, the Northshore Education Consortium Employee Federation in Beverly kicked off their bargaining campaign this month with district-wide walk-ins, showing solidarity with their members with help from our staff as well. Their gold star organizing strengthened their hand at the start of bargaining and earned them attention in multiple local media outlets! |
DESE’s Partnership for Reading Success – Massachusetts (PRISM) II and III grants will help districts evaluate, select, purchase, launch, and implement high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) to enhance literacy outcomes. These competitive grants will empower educators with hands-on support, high-quality instructional materials, and expert guidance to bring to life relevant, real-world literacy learning experiences for every student. A request for proposals will be released soon. To stay in the know about upcoming grants and opportunities, please sign up for the Literacy & Humanities Newsletter and visit the new PRISM website. |
This week, April 28th-May 2nd: Following Earth Day last week, you can continue to address climate justice by celebrating Climate Week in your classroom! BTU’s Climate Justice Committee, in partnership with the MTA Climate Action Taskforce, has built out some amazing resources and lesson plans in advance of Climate Week of Action this week. Climate Week of Action Curriculum Connections contains day-by-day lesson plans for each grade level! In case you missed the national AFT Earth Day webinar co-hosted by President Tang and featuring local leaders across the nation, including BTU President Erik Berg, you can still review the recording and access all of the resources in the AFT Earth Week folder. Sunday, May 4th: Step Up for Colleen 5K Join the AFT for Colleen team to participate in the 2025 Step Up for Colleen 5k! The friends and family of Colleen Ritzer created this 5K Walk/Run to celebrate Colleen’s life and her commitment to helping and inspiring others. The net proceeds go to the Colleen E. Ritzer Memorial Fund, Inc. which benefits charitable activities honoring Colleen’s legacy including the Colleen E. Ritzer Memorial Scholarship for Andover and Danvers high school seniors who demonstrate a passion for teaching, academic excellence, and love of family and plan to pursue a degree in education. Register here. Friday, May 9th - Sunday, May 11th: Educating for Peace, A Teachers' Conference for Nuclear Disarmament Education The Ikeda Center for Peace, Learning, and Dialogue, will be hosting a conference for middle and high school teachers about how to explore effective ways to teach students about the threats and historical legacies of nuclear weapons and instill in them a deep sense of shared responsibility and commitment to safeguarding the future of humanity’s existence. More information available on the Ikeda Center's website. Tuesday, May 13th: Retirement Planning Workshops AFT Massachusetts is continuing a series of retirement planning workshops, and all public sector members are welcome! The financial professionals of Teacher Retirement Solutions (TRS) specialize in providing independent financial guidance, strategies and solutions to educators, school employees, librarians, and their families throughout New England. Join Secretary-Treasurer Brant Duncan and TRS’ John Gregorio, a Certified Financial Planner, for a comprehensive workshop for prospective retirees. The Massachusetts' public employee retirement formula, Social Security, and living in retirement will be among the topics discussed. RSVP for our May 13th session at the Lawrence Teachers Union Wednesday, June 25th: AFT Massachusetts Lobby Day! Join fellow AFT Massachusetts members from across the Commonwealth for our 2025 legislative lobby day! We’ll chat with legislators and their staff to share our experience and expertise as educators, because there is nothing more powerful than your story. Legislators need to hear from our members about exactly how legislation before them this session could transform our lives and our schools. Kids are welcome! Breakfast and lunch will be provided. RSVP today! |
The Union Plus Mortgage program, with financing provided by Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, was designed with union families in mind. Equal Housing Lender. |
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