While the end of the school year is winding down, the work of our unions is not slowing down! Here, at the AFT Massachusetts, May has been another busy month – one that kicked off with our annual Convention. Our Friday night dinner included our annual Distinguished Services Awards to AFT Massachusetts Members and Retirees, plus we handed out $18,000 in scholarships to children of AFT Massachusetts Members. Under the theme of United for a Better Future, Saturday was a full day of important work, including the unveiling of a framework we’ve put together for what will be the First Statewide Strategic Plan of the AFT Massachusetts to take us through the 2026 midterm elections and beyond. Over the past year, we have hosted retreats for AFT Massachusetts staff and the Executive Board to do an in-depth analysis of our organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Focusing on what brings us together, our staff and our Vice Presidents worked hard to create the foundation for a thoughtful strategic plan that takes into account the diverse needs of our locals and our AFT Massachusetts families. You play a role in this work. Your voice and experience matter. You add to our strength. We look forward to working with all of you going forward as we seek to finalize and implement this plan. Read more highlights and details about our 2025 Convention. Our work on the state level to advocate for important education initiatives – like expanding our network of community schools and pathways to career and technical education - brought out some national support a few weeks ago. We were honored to host President Randi Weingarten and discuss some of the success we’ve seen with community schools in Lowell and with CTE pathways in Lawrence. Our day began with a visit to the Frederic T. Greenhalge Elementary School in Lowell, one of the city’s ten community schools. On hand to welcome President Weingarten were AFT VP Mickie Dumont and a number of distinguished guests including several state delegation members, Lowell School Committee members, the superintendent, parents from the school and, of course, the incredible staff. As you know, we’ve been strong advocates for increasing investment in community schools across the state as well as taking steps to invest in new community schools in all regions of the Commonwealth. President Weingarten also got to see firsthand the strength of the Innovation Pathways program at Lawrence High School, which allows students to access courses and hands-on experiences in high-demand industries. Along with Lawrence Teachers Union President Kimberly Barry and LTU member and Innovation Pathways Teacher Maureen Santiago, President Weingarten heard directly from three LHS students enrolled in the program about the opportunities they’ve had through their internships and expanded classroom options. Members of the Lawrence delegation, along with several school committee members, representatives from the Executive Office of Education and Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, and community partners also attended the visit. Read more about President Weingarten’s Merrimack Valley visit. We also continue to stand in solidarity with our higher education union members and faculty who are facing unprecedented challenges due to funding cuts and other threats from the federal government. The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) is an affiliate of the AFT and we’ve played a role in providing the AAUP chapter at Harvard University extra support in its work to fight against federal overreach. Personally, I’ve been involved with fellow alumni in launching Crimson Courage. This strong and growing group of alumni are committed to working with faculty to preserve the University’s independence and autonomy, defend academic freedom and freedom of speech, and protect higher education as a system and as a pillar of democracy. Additionally, we’re working to preserve the important medical research and programs that benefit residents and patients across the Commonwealth and the nation. To close out, we have some good news on the federal and local level. A federal judge has granted our request for a preliminary injunction in our lawsuit against the Department of Education’s attempts to dismantle it. What that means is that during the trial process, the Administration must halt all attempts to dismantle the Department and must hire back the employees they fired within the Department in an effort to starve the Department of staff and resources to properly function. Read our press release on the Judge’s decision. On the local level, we’re excited that after years of advocacy, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education have established permanent, alternative pathways to licensure for those looking to become teachers in the Commonwealth. This is a critical step forward to address the current teacher shortage we're facing and, as well as increase the diversity of our pipeline of teachers. Read more. Full disclosure: June is going to be just as busy as these last few months. Check out the rest of this month’s Communicator for more details on important upcoming events, including: Graduation Requirement Hearings (6/3, 6/5, 6/9), AFT Massachusetts Summer Town Hall (6/16); and AFT Massachusetts Lobby Day (6/25). |
Take Action: Upcoming Events: |
|
Join AFT Massachusetts’ virtual town hall on June 16th! On Monday, June 16th, AFT Massachusetts will host a virtual town hall to learn more about local union wins across Massachusetts and what we can learn from them, the current state of local and federal legislation and how it may impact our union members, and ways to stay engaged this summer in the organizing and mobilizing work we need to defend democracy, expand opportunity, and build power! Register here to join! Join the Activist List! Want to get more involved with AFT Massachusetts? As we navigate a period of unprecedented attacks on public education, unions, our immigrant students, and more, we’ve heard from members looking for more ways to get involved and make a difference right now. Enter: the Activist List! The Activist List is an email list hosted by AFT Massachusetts to share actions in real time that give members an opportunity to take collective action and show up for public education, our students and schools, and our labor rights and union siblings. You can expect to hear about in-person events, text and phone banks, webinars, and more. If you’re looking for more opportunities to get active and take action, the Activist List is for you! Sign up here to join! Calling all PSRPs! The PSRP Working Group wants to hear from all PSRP locals with current or upcoming negotiations! The PSRP Working Group is an amazing committee of active, organized PSRPs working to advance working conditions and benefits for our PSRP members, and they are eager to lend additional support by joining the actions of any PSRP units in active negotiations. If your PSRP unit/local is currently in or has upcoming negotiations, please email Colleen Hart (chart@btu.org) and Gina O’Toole (gotoole@aftma.net) to let them know so the PSRP Working Group can support you! Stand in solidarity with Macy’s Union Members! Did you know that once a Macy’s Union Member (UFCW Local 1445) reaches a salary of $23.78/hr, their salary will never increase again for the remainder of their employment? No matter how many more years they work! UFCW Local 1445 is asking us as their union siblings to take less than 30 seconds to sign on to a letter demonstrating community support for their effort to eliminate this unfair wage cap. Sign here to support our union siblings at UFCW Local 1445—it’s quick, it’s easy, and it makes a difference! |
AFT Massachusetts In The News
|
We are excited to announce that the newly established support staff unit at Norfolk Aggie has reached a tentative agreement on its first contract! The three-year agreement, which is expected to be ratified early next month, includes excellent wage increases, paid parental leave, paid holidays, and a ratification bonus. Congratulations to our new members! And a special shoutout to Billerica Federation of Teachers, who turned out over 130 silent reps for a May 22nd bargaining session, in addition to a t-shirt day across the district! It was a stunning display of solidarity and sent a bold message to management. Keep it up, Billerica!! |
June 3rd, 5th, and 9th: Statewide Graduation Council Listening Sessions!
Last year, Bay Staters voted to eliminate the MCAS as a high school graduation requirement. Now it’s important for the state to hear from the public about what the next state competency determination should be—especially AFT members! Share your thoughts with the Secretary of Education and state officials at an upcoming Statewide Graduation Council Listening session: - 6/3: Virtual session, 6pm-8pm (check here for link to join)
- 6/5: Holyoke High School, 5:30pm-7:30pm
- 6/9: Barnstable High School, 5pm-7pm
More info & optional registration here. Friday, June 6th: No Kings on D-Day
On the anniversary of D-Day, Mass 50501 will hold a remembrance event to preserve the democracy that servicemembers fought to protect on D-Day. This event will fight back against cuts to the VA and recommit to the principles that have governed the nation for centuries. It will be both a protest and an event of remembrance. More info & RSVP here. Monday, June 9th: AFT Massachusetts Retirement Planning Workshop
All public sector members are welcome! AFT Massachusetts has partnered with the financial professionals at Teacher Retirement Solutions (TRS), who specialize in providing independent financial guidance, strategies, and solutions to educators, school employees, librarians, and their families throughout New England. The Massachusetts public employee retirement formula, Social Security, and living in retirement will be among the topics discussed. RSVP today! Saturday, June 14th: Boston Pride for the People
Join AFT Massachusetts and Boston Teachers Union for one of the most fun days of the year: Boston’s annual pride march! The attacks on public education, unions, and our LGBTQ+ community are intersectional, and so both our resistance and our joy should be intersectional too! Join fellow AFT Massachusetts members for a day of joy and resistance. Find out more & sign up here. Monday, June 16th: AFT Massachusetts Summer Town Hall
Join AFT Massachusetts for a virtual town hall to update our members and communities on what’s happening in Washington, D.C., how the federal budget will impact our schools and students, and how we can fight back. Register here to join! 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! Tuesday, July 15th: AFT Massachusetts Retirement Planning Workshop!
All public sector members are welcome! AFT Massachusetts has partnered with the financial professionals at Teacher Retirement Solutions (TRS), who specialize in providing independent financial guidance, strategies, and solutions to educators, school employees, librarians, and their families throughout New England. The Massachusetts public employee retirement formula, Social Security, and living in retirement will be among the topics discussed. RSVP today! |
Trauma Counseling Programs and Services Benefits: AFT members work hard—now more than ever—to educate, heal, help and serve our communities. Sometimes our own stress is compounded by a personal or workplace trauma; still, we struggle to be fully present for others. Now the AFT is offering a new, free benefit—trauma counseling—to provide help and healing for our members, whenever needed, wherever a member may be.These AFT-paid trauma counseling sessions with highly trained therapists are completely private and set up to take advantage of the latest communication technologies—phone, text, video and even artificial intelligence. They are free and available to all active working members, including those on leave status. |
|
