Members sharpen union skills at CFT Summer School
Thanks to the 100+ CFT members who attended our CFT Summer School this week in Southern California. The weeklong intensive training is an opportunity for leaders and activists to sharpen union skills, plan, and connect to prepare for the challenges of the coming school year.
Participants, including a contingent from Arizona and Louisiana, took part in courses for new leaders and treasurers, politics and communications, racial justice, and collective bargaining.
A highlight of the week for many was the time spent walking the picket line with striking WGA writers. The writers have been on strike for weeks and were grateful for the support. Check out this great video from the picket line.
Thanks again to all those who made CFT Summer School such a success!
CFT President Jeff Freitas on why we must fight back on attacks on our LGTBQ+ communities
As Pride Month comes to a close, CFT President Jeff Freitas weighs in with a powerful message on how his personal journey has compelled him to lead on LGTBQ+ issues.
“As a teacher and president of California's Union of Educators and Classified Professionals, I implore parents, school staff, and students alike to unite against hate and bullying,” writes Freitas. “Our LGBTQ+ children and families deserve a safe environment where they can grow up proudly and authentically.”
Read the full piece here and check out this Instagram video of Jeff in his own words.
US Supreme Court, again, delivers damaging decisions
The past few years conservative justices on the Supreme Court have overturned decades of settled law. Their activism continued this week in three controversial decisions that will have wide-reaching implications, including dismantling Affirmative Action, harming the future of young people by ruling against President Biden’s student loan forgiveness program, and choosing religious intolerance over LGTBQ+ rights in a case involving gay marriage.
“Make no mistake: Today’s draconian ruling by the Supreme Court is a catastrophic decision that will have dire outcomes for millions of Americans for decades to come,” AFT President Randi Weingarten said in a statement on the Affirmative Action case. “This decision ignores the original sin of this country—it’s a throwback to a cruel, racist past that admissions policies like this tried to repair. This decision doesn’t simply end affirmative action, it has huge consequences for public life far beyond higher education. Ignoring the facts before them, the majority pretends that both discrimination and the effects of discrimination simply do not exist and do not need to be tackled.”
“Today, the court launched a full-frontal attack on young people’s futures,” Weingarten added in a statement on the Court’s decision in the student loan case. “If there was any remaining doubt, the majority has exposed themselves as a group of politicians in robes, determined to put the interests of their wealthy supporters over the lives of working families.”
And finally, in a decision delivered today, the Supreme Court sided with a web designer in Colorado who claimed to have a First Amendment right to refuse to provide services for same-sex marriages despite a state law forbidding such discrimination. Though framed as a free speech issue, the decision was a blow to the rights of LGBTQ+ people. In her dissent, Justice Sotomayor said, “...the act of discrimination has never constituted protected expression under the First Amendment.”
