News from AFT Massachusetts and President Jessica Tang

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! 

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.  

As we head into April, we look forward to seeing more signs of spring and a well deserved break for our preK through 12 educators. We also continue to closely monitor the impacts of decisions coming from the federal government, including both the order to dismantle the Department of Education as well as the recent Executive Order that is unilaterally ending collective bargaining agreements and rights for thousands of federal workers. We continue to be very concerned about the impacts these decisions continue to have on every day working people, including AFT MA members and their families.

Unions across the country are feeling the anxiety caused by the chaos and uncertainty of the times, and that includes here in Massachusetts. Services, jobs, and the fate of collective bargaining and union rights are all at risk.

As a union that has always stood up for our members, students and communities, we cannot remain quiet. That’s why early last week—along with a pair of school districts and other unions—we filed a lawsuit in Federal Court to stop the Administration from dismantling the US Department of Education and the critical services it provides to students, teachers, parents, and communities across the country. 

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.

The first two weeks of the new Administration have been full of division, chaos, and fear. Dozens of Executive Orders have undone important policies that impact everything from capping the price of prescriptions to halting projects for union jobs. They’ve removed schools, hospitals, and places of worship from the list of “sensitive sites.” Visible increases of ICE agents in these areas means that these places are no longer the safe havens they should be. As educators, librarians, healthcare workers and public service workers, you’re seeing how the fear is unsettling many of our communities firsthand.

The threats of federal funding freezes are throwing so many vital programs – including Head Start, cancer research, construction jobs, public school funding, Medicare and Medicaid, student loans – into a chaotic tailspin, impacting workers, students, and families across the Commonwealth.  

We can make a difference in the lives of our students and families.Just by showing up and doing what you always do - providing a safe, welcoming environment for ALL students.

Kids can’t learn if they don’t feel safe. They can’t learn in underfunded schools. Students in need can’t learn without the services and support they’re guaranteed under their right to a free and appropriate public education.

While we’re in the midst of the holiday season for many, I am pleased to announce some joyous news.

The United States Senate passed the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82), which repeals two unfair provisions of the Social Security law that unfairly penalizes Massachusetts public sector retirees, including school teachers – the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO).

No one who pays into the Social Security system should see the benefits they’ve earned cut or eliminated – especially those who dedicated their careers to public service. Both of these provisions disproportionately impact low-income retirees - including tens of thousands in Massachusetts alone. It's set up so public school teachers and paraprofessionals end up being penalized for working a second or third job in the private sector, which many have to do to get by.

This month has seen some tremendous highs and incredible lows.

Question 2 in Massachusetts won in a landslide – with 59 percent voting yes to end the use of the MCAS as a graduation requirement!

We know true learning is much more than what can be measured by a one-size-fits-all standardized test and the voters of Massachusetts sent a clear message that they trust our educators to know what is best for all students in terms of getting the knowledge and skills they need to be prepared to be successful after graduation.

We applaud the AFT Massachusetts members across the state who knocked on doors, made calls, and organized within their schools and communities to make this victory possible.

Massachusetts voters also made sure to send one of the strongest voices for educators and working families back to Washington, D.C. – Senator Elizabeth Warren. It is hard to think of a stronger advocate for educators, public schools, and the lives of students across the Commonwealth than Senator Warren. We will need her in our capital fighting for us now more than ever.

I know I don’t need to remind you - but we are only a few days out from one of the most critical election day our nation has ever faced.

This isn’t about party affiliation anymore. This is about more than protecting rights for workers and unions. This is about more than protecting reproductive freedom. This is about more than fighting to preserve basic human rights or the fight for a better economic plan that actually helps working people, not just billionaires. Of course all of these policy positions matter, but 4 days before Election Day, it’s clear this is about the fate of our nation.

The hate-filled rally Trump and Vance held at Madison Square Garden earlier this week was just one more reminder of what we can expect if Donald Trump returns to the Oval Office. A vitriolic and divided America where the civil liberties and rights of the many are erased while the power and wealth of the few are multiplied. Unprecedented numbers of Republican military leaders, staff and elected leaders are speaking up to warn us all.  

We know how this will play out because as Maya Angelu said, “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.”

By now everyone is (hopefully) settling in for the 2023-2024 school year – teachers, paras, staff, students, and families alike. For our non-school based employees, we hope you are settling nicely into your fall rhythms and routines!

As we head into the fall, it’s a great time to remember just how important our role as union members is in the lives of our students, families and communities we serve. That’s why we continue to highlight our members through AFTVoices. Our latest profile covers the work of Nikki Giraffo, a longtime art educator in Lowell and currently teaching at Lowell High School, who has provided local students a “refuge” to develop their artistic abilities in a safe space, with a hands-on team of mentors. In 2014, she opened the Refuge Art School to expand access to arts education to low-income students. The school provides community-based arts opportunities that not only foster their personal growth as artists, but helps address the varied emotional and educational needs of its students. Read more about Nikki’s work here.

Please consider adding to our collection of AFTVoices by filling out our form. Feel free to share it with other members you think may be interested!!

A message from Jessica Tang; Happy Labor Day Weekend; Electoral Update; Organizing Update; Advocacy Update; and more!

Happy Labor Day Weekend! As we celebrate all the victories the labor movement has won for working people, it’s also time to reflect on the work that remains. This November’s election will be critical to preserving our hard fought rights and victories, like ensuring all workers benefit from the strong labor protections we’ve won over the past century, and giving people in every industry a voice on the job through the ability to join a union.

Back-to-school season is also in full swing, and many of you are already in the classroom, welcoming students back to our K-12 schools and colleges. Others return this week. As you return, we hope you are talking to your fellow union members about your priorities for the school year, and what we can accomplish when we organize, fight and get out the vote together. As you welcome your students back, please remind them and their families to utilize our public libraries: a terrific year-round resource!

With Election Day approaching, our summer at AFT Massachusetts was anything but slow.

A message from Jessica Tang; Organizing Opportunities; Contract Campaigns; AFT Massachusetts Members in the News; Climate Corner; Beacon Hill Update and Solidarity Events!

This month, as I joined AFT Massachusetts leaders and our union siblings from across the nation at the AFT Convention in Houston, Texas, we heard the news that President Biden would no longer be seeking reelection. That afternoon, I joined members of the AFT’s Executive Committee to unanimously endorse Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee for President.

In the week-plus since then, we’ve seen why Kamala Harris is the right choice for this moment in our nation’s history. President Joe Biden is the best labor president in our nation’s history, and Vice President Kamala Harris has been by his side leading the fight for reproductive rights, labor rights, and social and economic justice.