Tuesday, March 4 is Protect Our Kids Day of Action: the AFT’s nationwide day of action focused on mobilizing across the country in opposition to the Trump Administration’s harmful plan to dismantle the Department of Education. AFT locals, including those in Massachusetts, will be holding walk-ins, flyering at pickup,and more to make sure our communities understand just how disastrous the proposed cuts to the Department of Education would be for our students and communities. In case you missed it, I joined President Weingarten’s webinar last week to discuss the Protect Our Kids campaign, our upcoming day of action and why we need to take action across the nation to march forth on March 4.
We urge you all to take time on March 4 to participate in your local actionsl. Whether wearing red for ed, flyering at drop off or pickup, or doing a walk-in, organizing an action for March 4th can be an easy and effective way of showing solidarity, sharing out information about what’s at stake and strengthening your local organizing muscles.
After a day of actions, we will be coming together on Tuesday evening, March 4th, at 7PM for a virtual town hall. Please be sure to invite community members to join as well! We’ll be partnering with Mass Teachers Association (MTA) , Massachusetts AFL-CIO, Boston Teachers Union, and Massachusetts Education Justice Alliance (MEJA) to discuss how federal attempts to gut the Department of Education would harm Massachusetts students and how we can build a path forward. The town hall will feature remarks from our partners as well as impacted students and educators. As we face down these unprecedented attacks on public education, it is essential that our members and our allies know exactly what’s going on and are ready to fight back together in defense of our students and educators. That’s why I’m asking you to share this virtual town hall far and wide. RSVP here and please reach out to your Field Rep or organizer with any questions or for more resources to help share the event.
While we march into March with purpose, the month of February was full of advocacy, events, and planning for the coming months. From holding a lobby day in support of our R+ legislation to higher ed and federal work rallies to helping our members in Lynn and Salem successfully defeat expansion attempts from their local charter schools - and everything in between.
We are living in unprecedented times as news of federal funding freezes and policy changes continue to threaten the work we do and the services we rely on. The AFT Massachusetts remains vigilant in our fight to protect the programs, services, and rights of all educators and residents of the Commonwealth. We are seeing action from our leaders at the state that we’re proud to support like Governor Healey and Attorney General Campbell’s recently released guidance for our schools and educators in response to the shocking Dear Colleague letter from the Department of Education. The Goernor and Attorney General make it clear - the current billionaire led regime is trying to use threats and fear tactics to make our public schools the latest stage for its overall campaign of the haves versus have-nots. Please take a moment to read and share the guide and the accompanying press release with your members.
In Massachusetts, we’re seeing great leadership from our federal delegation. Secretary-Treasurer Brant Duncan joined Senator Ed Markey at a press conference earlier this month, which brought together education leaders and advocates to denounce the President’s threats to dismantle the Department of Education. Just this week, Senator Markey introduced legislation to protect federal funding for public schools during the length of the Trump administration. The No Cuts to Public Schools Act would safeguard funds that allow public schools to serve low-income students, English learners, students with disabilities, homeless students, and students attending rural schools.
As chair of the AFT’s new Resistance Committee, I am focused on helping AFT members navigate the federal policies that are harmful to working families. Policies that are threatening the basic services that every day working Americans count on–whether it’s public education, health care and community hospitals, to social security and Medicare. For more information on the focus of our work, check WBUR’s All Things Considered’s recent coverage of the Committee. The national higher ed actions, “Know Your Rights” workshops, and March 4th actions are all a part of our growing resistance work, but it’s the local organizing that will help to continue to grow the movement to fight for better lives for all working people. We will continue to lead, both locally and nationally.
Fighting for a Dignified and Equitable Retirement
On February 18th, we hosted a Lobby Day at the State House along with the BTU and MTA in support of two important bills this session that would finally rectify the issues with the original roll out of Retirement Plus for some of the Commonwealth’s longest-serving educators.
As in past sessions, passing these bills are going to be a legislative priority for AFT Massachusetts. For more information, please visit our new R+ Advocacy Info Page on our website.
AFT Massachusetts 2025 Working Groups
We are convening issue-based working groups for 2025 – open to all members. Each group will be member-run and will have an assigned AFT Massachusetts staff member to help facilitate and provide assistance.
In these working groups, participants will be able to connect with members from across the federation on the issues most important to them, their schools, and their locals.
Please consider joining one today and bring your unique experience, expertise, and interest to the table! Those interested in joining a working group should contact their local president today! Learn more about the AFT Massachusetts 2025 Working Groups.
Updates from the Field
- Bargaining teams across the state are preparing to meet with their respective school committees to either start or resume their negotiations now that we are past February break. Will resume or begin after the winter break.
- Congratulations to our Holbrook Public Library Staff Association for teaching a tentative agreement last week that saw increased wages over three years and a restructuring of steps. It’s scheduled to be ratified over the next couple of weeks.
- The Fall River Federation of Paraprofessionals and the Fall River Clerical Employee Federation are planning to take action at the March 10th meeting of the Fall River School Committee, speaking out about their efforts to secure a new contract. The parties are in mediation, with their first mediation session scheduled for March 6th.
Lynn and Salem Stop Dangerous Charter School Expansion Efforts
We’ve been working closely with our locals in Lynn and Salem - both of whom faced significant charter school expansion efforts that would have stripped millions of dollars from their schools each year.
The February meeting of the BESE Board featured the Acting Commissioner’s recommendations regarding the 6 charter school applications they received this year. We were stunned when we learned that - while he was not recommending Salem Academy Charter School’s efforts to move forward - the Acting Commissioner was recommending the Board pass KIPP Academy Lynn Charter School’s application. This was especially egregious because just by moving it forward to the Board for a vote, the Acting Commissioner was completely disregarding the laws governing charter school
Working closely with LTU President Sheila O’Neil and city officials, we are proud to announce that in a vote of 6-to-4, BESE rejected KIPP’s application.
United for Our Future Coalition
The AFT Massachusetts is a proud member of the United for Our Future Coalition, a diverse group of education leaders and civil rights activists working together to address the pressing funding crisis facing Massachusetts public schools.
As educators, we’re constantly trying to meet the shifting needs of our students. The costs of doing so are rapidly outpacing the investment and reimbursement our schools get from the state - which were not adequately funded to begin with. The AFT Massachusetts remains committed to working with our allies in the Legislature and the Healey Administration to ensure all students have access to a high-quality public education and the services they need to thrive. With public education under assault at the federal level, it is even more critical that our state leaders answer this call.
Learn more in recent coverage of the Coalition and please share this with your members.
Common Start Coalition
As a proud partner of the Common Start Coalition, we’re stand with allies across Massachusetts calling on the Legislature to pass an FY26 budget that provides the support we need to deliver on last year’s comprehensive child care legislation. Join us in urging your State Rep to prioritize early childhood education in this year’s budget by increasing the number of families receiving child care financial assistance, increasing funding for the C3 operational grant program to support child care providers, and moving Massachusetts further toward child care reimbursement rates that cover the true cost of delivering high-quality care.
Union Garment Workers
Earlier this month, Teen Vogue wrote an article featuring five members of the fast-growing garment worker activist committee organized by Asia Floor Wage Alliance’s partner unions in Indonesia, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and India. You can help support our siblings in the labor movement by sharing their pledge to support the garment workers, retweeting this post from Global Labor Justice, or sharing this Facebook post on your local’s social media.
Upcoming Events & Workshops
Wednesday, March 4th - Protecting Public Education Virtual Town Hall!
If you do one thing from this Communicator, make it RSVPing and sharing our March 4th virtual town hall! This is a critical moment for us to come together with fellow AFT members, community members, and our allies in the labor movement to make sure we are all informed about just what’s at stake for Massachusetts with these federal threats to the Department of Education, and how we can fight back together. RSVP now!
Wednesday, March 12 and Thursday, March 27 - Student Debt Clinic!
Do you have questions about your student debt? Want to support your members in managing their student debt? The AFT is hosting free virtual student debt clinics at 7pm on March 12th and 27th to help our members navigate their debt. Learn more about Public Service Loan Forgiveness, income-driven repayment plans, how the latest news is affecting these programs, and how you can save with the online resource Summer. Register here to join.
Thursday, March 13 - Communications Workshop: Union Digital Organizing & Communication
Strengthening our locals with simple and effective communications to members and the community, plus free tools from AFT including Action Network and Hustle. Learn about best practices for social media, email, and more, and how to create a communications plan for whatever your locals current goals are -- whether it's winning a great contract in bargaining or engaging members during an off-year. Thursday, March 13 from 4 to 5 p.m. Local presidents and officers are welcome. Contact your local president for details.
Friday, March 21 – On the Frontlines of the School for Democracy Webinar
On March 21st, I’ll be speaking on behalf of AFTMA on a webinar hosted by the City University of New York’s (CUNY’s) School of Labor and Urban Studies tackling “On the Frontlines of the School for Democracy.” We’ll dig in together on why it is so critical that our unions work on democracy defense. Register here to join.
Saturday, March 29 - Annual Paraprofessional & School Related Personnel Conference.
Now, more than ever, paraprofessionals are uniting together and making their voices heard. From winning historic wage increase campaigns, to demanding respect both in the school house and in the community, paraprofessionals and school related personnel (PSRPs) are on the precipice of changing the educational landscape that would improve all our lives. PSRPs are the connectors between educators, parents, students and the community, ensuring we all have what we need to thrive.
Join AFT Massachusetts and the Boston Teachers Union on Saturday, March 29,2025 for the Para/PSRP Conference! This year's conference is centered around us Moving Forward Together and will be held at the Boston Teachers Union on Saturday, March 29. Register today!
Retirement Planning Workshops
AFT Massachusetts is hosting a series of retirement planning workshops and all public sector members are welcome!
The financial professionals of Teacher Retirement Solutions (TRS) have partnered with AFT Massachusetts and 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.
- Retirement Planning Workshop for Public Sector AFT Members - March 25, 2025 @ 3:45 pm at the Lynn Teachers Union
- Retirement Planning Workshop for Public Sector AFT Members - March 27, 2025 @ 4 pm at Medway Middle School
- Retirement Planning Workshop for Public Sector AFT Members - May 13, 2025 @ 4 pm at the Lawrence Teachers Union
Saturday, May 4 - Step Up for Colleen 5K
Join the AFT for Colleen team today and participate in the May 4, 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. Through the Step Up for Colleen Walk/Run, organizers and participants celebrate Colleen and the values by which she lived. The net proceeds benefit the Colleen E. Ritzer Memorial Fund, Inc. which benefits charitable activities honoring Colleen’s legacy including the Colleen E. Ritzer Memorial Scholarship. The Scholarship was established by Colleen’s family to benefit graduating high school seniors, who are Andover and Danvers residents, who demonstrate a passion for teaching, academic excellence and love of family and who will pursue a degree in education.