Preparing for the impact on our jobs and our schools
Message from President Cordelia Anthony
Dear Members,
As you know so much has been happening nationally and locally that I’m personally sometimes suffering from information exhaustion. It may seem like an overwhelming amount of information and remember to find ways to process or cope. I am aware that part of what I do as your local President means that I need to actively monitor developments that not only impact me personally, but our members, our collective livelihoods, our students and communities. It’s impossible to share everything, but I promise to inform you about those things that have a direct impact on us. It’s impossible at this point to not see plans on the national stage whether it's anti DEI reporting of schools, defunding public schools, pushing vouchers, cutting medicaid resources, and increasing costs of medicines. In response we see some state Attorney Generals fighting back against the worst of the executive orders that would impact the already underserved. Our National unions (NEA & AFT), are preparing for the impact of the loss of Federal Funding on our most vulnerable student populations by filing or joining some lawsuits. One example is a federal lawsuit in Maryland challenging an administration memo giving the nation’s schools and universities two weeks to eliminate race based practices of any kind or risk losing their federal money. The gist of suit is that the Feb. 14th memo violates the First and Fifth Amendments. Forcing schools to teach only the views supported by the federal government amounts to a violation of free speech, and the directive is so vague that schools don’t know what practices cross the line.
Our nationals are also encouraging our state affiliates to participate in actions like you saw on "Protect Our Kids Day of Action on March 4th" and to also get involved in other actions in the future when requested. There is a concerted effort to destroy public service unions as seen with the firing of members of the NLRB (National Labor Relations Board), leaving the agency at a loss. Some local offices are still dealing with unfair labor practices and representation cases but this is an obvious plan for employers to have no oversight. I’m also sharing this update from Utah, where their state senate has passed a bill to strip all public sector unions of their ability to collectively bargain. Without this ability to collectively bargain, employees like you and I would have to hash out their job terms directly with their bosses, which will make it tougher for them to get fair wages, benefits, and good working conditions. Without the strength and voice of a union behind them, they'd be at a huge disadvantage when it comes to negotiating with their employer. We MUST remain alert as we see oligarchs making life for middle class Americans increasingly difficult. Stop finding reasons to divide us all. #standtogether #FFTStrong
Click the image above to tell Congress to protect our students and our schools.
