Fall is officially here, and it brought a chill to the air and a late nor’easter. Despite stormy weather, we do have some sunny news to share that will hopefully brighten your day:
AFT Massachusetts is excited to announce that our newly-organized Berklee College of Music & Boston Conservatory at Berklee Staff Union negotiated a “voluntary recognition”—a critical step in the process toward unionization. That means it’s official: AFT Massachusetts is now recognized as the exclusive collective bargaining representative for these 500 dedicated employees! This is an exciting time for everyone at Berklee involved in this fight, and we’d like to congratulate our organizing team on the ground for making this happen! Want to show our newest members from BCMBCBSU some love? Give them a follow on Instagram!
We’re also excited to congratulate the members of the Milton Library Staff Association for reaching a tentative agreement that includes wage increases over a four year period along with the creation of new steps in the contract. Off to ratification it goes!
Up north, the first professional development day for AFT Amesbury members featured something new: a health and wellness luncheon. AFT Massachusetts Vice President and AFT Amesbury President Cindy Yetman arranged for the free, district-wide lunch featuring meals from Nutre, a locally-based meal delivery system offered to all city employees at a heavily discounted rate. As chair of the city’s MIAA Well Aware Program, Cindy fights hard to ensure all AFT Amesbury members and city employees have access to key health and wellness opportunities and this is just the latest example. Congratulations, Cindy!
Earlier this month, AFT President Randi Weingarten joined us for an important meeting with Governor Maura Healey and Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll about critical areas of concern in our K-12 classrooms. We had a robust and informative discussion around some of these issues, including the dangers of the federal school voucher program, the AFT’s new agreement with Microsoft to provide basic safety guardrails to our educators and students during this rapid expansion of AI in our schools, and the need for state action to address AI in the classroom and the impact it’s having on the developing minds of our students.
AI is here and already in our classrooms. That’s why the AFT Massachusetts has made it a priority to address the issue of AI and education with both short-term and long-term goals. In the short-term, we should be looking to replicate the AFT’s agreement with Microsoft and hold other companies working in our schools to agree to—at minimum—these basic guardrails. Learn more about the AI Safety & Privacy Standards for Schools and if your district works with Microsoft or another tech company, make sure they’re being held to these standards and accountability measures.
For the long-term, there is no question that we need statewide guidance for our districts. That’s why AFT Massachusetts testified before the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education this month calling on the Board and the state to immediately convene an AI in Education Task Force to study the use of AI in the classroom and in public education and inform regularly updated guidance. As with cell phones and screen time, districts are looking to the state for consistent, statewide regulations on AI. Not all have the resources or expertise to establish them on their own.
We need to bring together industry experts, policy leaders, and those impacted by AI in education—educators, students, families, and community members—to help guide the Commonwealth through this and provide recommendations on how districts should address this new technology in ways that do not jeopardize the safety and well being of our students and educators. This is something we will continue to fight for and will keep you posted on our efforts.
The September BESE meeting had a full agenda—and our public remarks to the Board covered more than AI. We urged the Commissioner to not extend a formal invitation to Great Hills Commonwealth Virtual School for its final application because instead of opening new virtual schools, we should be looking to support those currently operating instead of opening up an entire new virtual school, especially considering the financial implications on districts across the state.
We also spoke to the need to step in and help districts need to implement the PROTECT Act to ensure schools remain secure locations, free from ICE activity. BESE’s meeting came one day after ICE was detaining members of the community right outside of one of our New Bedford elementary schools, which was incredibly unsettling for our students, educators, and families. AFT Massachusetts helped secure funding in the FY27 budget to support schools facing immigration-related disruptions and urged the Board to consider using those reserve funds to help districts implement these protocols in their schools and prepare educators and staff for the work we must do to protect our immigrant students during these unsettling times.
Whether it’s threats to academic freedom on college campuses, cuts to grants and funding, or rising gas prices and bills, it’s clear elections have consequences—and that’s no different in our Commonwealth. Stay tuned for our updated 2026 Voter Guide to learn more about the labor champions we’re backing this fall and check out our 2026 Ballot Question Guide to read up on the ballot questions AFT Massachusetts has taken an official stance on. In order to tackle the challenges ahead, we need to elect candidates who will have our backs, and make sure voters are informed about the initiatives before them and whether they will help or hurt our working families and communities.
