Brothers, Sisters and Siblings,

The Texas Legislature is in full swing. Here’s what you may have missed- and how you can help stop the attacks on working Texans.

Worker power:

An amendment to the state budget bill (HB 1) by Rep Abel Herrero, which bans public funds for vouchers, passed in the house 86-52. AFT rallied nearly 1500 calls to State Representatives, and the results showed. When we fight, we win.

Bills we’re watching:

HB 2127, the disastrous omnibus anti-worker bill that would eliminate rest breaks for construction workers, among other essential worker protections, was voted into the House Calendars Committee on Monday.
SB 814, the companion bill to HB 2127, was heard in the Senate Committee on Business & Commerce.

We, alongside our allies, testified against SB 814. Watch our Deputy Director of Policy and Politics, Ana Gonzalez' testimony here.

Two bills – HB 4390 & HB 4411 – that create state “industry-recognized apprenticeship programs” were heard in a House committee this week. We opposed the measures in support of our Department of Labor Registered Apprenticeship programs and will continue to fight efforts to water down apprenticeship standards.
SB 936 would prohibit Texas cities from rewarding companies who want to create local employment opportunities that pay decent wages and offer essential safety protections, through Project Labor Agreements (PLAs)

SB 936 is progressing through the legislative process and we are gearing up to fight it in the House. Stay tuned for actions you can take.

Budget overview:

Last night, HB 1, the two-year $302.6 billion state budget was passed in the House 136-10.

The Good:

House sends a strong message with the anti-voucher amendment passing 84-52

The Bad:

State retirees left out – amendment to increase COLA was shelved
An effort to increase teacher pay raises from about $3,800 per teacher to $10,000 over the next two years went down on a 79-66 party-line vote.

In addition, the House passed SB 30, aka the “supplemental budget” that will spend the remaining $14 billion available for this current fiscal year.

The Good:

$3.5 billion for cost-of-living pension increases for retired teachers

The Bad:

House members voted down – 83-65 – a Rep. Chris Turner amendment that would expand Medicaid to provide 1.4 million working Texans with health insurance

Coming up next week, and how you can take action:

HB 20 & HB 7

These are dangerous anti-immigrant bills that would unconstitutionally deputize private citizens to engage in border enforcement, which would all but ensure tragic violence. HB 20 is being heard in House State Affairs on Wednesday.
Take action: tell the Members of the House State Affairs committee to vote NO on HB 20 and its companion, HB 7, before the hearing on Wednesday 4/12.

HB 2127

HB 2127 is moving quickly through the legislative process, and we can’t let it go on any further. Protect the workers of Texas, tell your State Rep to vote NO on HB 2127.

TSEU lobby day - Wednesday, April 12th

TSEU will have their 2023 lobby day and we need our allies to show up in force: “EVERYTHING IS AT STAKE; our jobs, our pensions, our health care, our pay, and the services we provide. WE NEED YOU TO BE THERE.” Reserve your spot before Wednesday!

The Legislature is only going to pick up speed from here. We must be stronger than the forces in the Legislature that seek to keep down the working people of Texas, it’s going to take all of us. To make sure you never miss a beat, you can follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Always in solidarity,

Texas AFL-CIO

Visit us at texasaflcio.org | Twitter | Facebook
Text WORK to AFLCIO (235246) to join our text action team. (Message and data rates may apply.)