CFT President Jeff Freitas elected to leadership position at the California Labor Federation
This week at the biennial California Labor Federation convention in San Diego, CFT President Jeff Freitas was elected to serve in the newly-created role of Secretary Treasurer, the number two position in the powerful 2.3 million-member federation. The vote was a unanimous decision by the more than 700 delegates to the convention. Also elected to the Federation board was CFT Vice President, and UTLA leader, Julie Van Winkle.
“I am honored by and grateful to the delegates of the California Labor Federation Convention for electing me Secretary Treasurer. I am eager to work with President Lorena Gonzalez and Executive Vice Presidents Kathryn Lybarger and Yvonne Wheeler in the coming years to help lead the Federation,” said Freitas. “It has never been more important for working people to stand together to fight for our families, our jobs, our communities, and our democracy.”
Dozens of CFT leaders and members from throughout the state took part as delegates to the convention, under the the theme of Endless Union Summer, celebrating the resurgence of the labor movement and pledging to continue the work of organizing in the years ahead.
Delegates heard inspiring speeches from UAW President Shawn Fain, Association of Flight Attendants-CWA President Sara Nelson, actor and SAG-AFTRA delegate Sean Astin, and AFL-CIO President Liz Schuler, all of whom encouraged the house of labor to continue to fight for working people.
Hundreds of delegates participated in an inspiring march to the San Diego airport and formed a picket line to demand a fair contract for United Airlines flight attendants. Union power in action!
Pictured above: The newly elected leadership of the California Labor Federation: CFT President Jeff Freitas, Yvonne Wheeler, Lorena Gonzalez, and Kathryn Lybarger.
Governor Newsom signs The SAFETY Act into law
Earlier this week Governor Newsom signed the Support Academic Futures & Educators for Today's Youth (SAFETY) Act into law, further solidifying California's commitment to providing a safe and supportive learning environment for all students regardless of gender identity.
This life-saving legislation, AB 1955, introduced by Assemblymember Chris Ward (D-San Diego) and supported by CFT, came in response to policies in several school districts that have sought to forcibly out students. The new law prohibits school districts from enacting forced outing policies, provides resources for parents and students to manage conversations about gender and identity privately, and protects teachers and school staff from retaliation if they refuse to forcibly out a student. This bill creates a safe and welcoming environment for all students.
“This is a major step in protecting the privacy of our students and keeping the focus of our educators on providing the best possible education that they can,” said CFT President Jeff Freitas in a statement. “We applaud the Governor and the Legislature for bringing this landmark legislation to fruition.”
AFT Convention set for next week in Houston
Thousands of AFT members from throughout the country will gather in Houston next week for the biennial AFT Convention, including nearly 150 CFT members. The theme of this year’s convention is Real Solutions for a Better Life. Look for updates throughout the week on both AFT and CFT social channels - Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Twitter.
Check out the latest edition of CFT’s Classified Insider
The Classified Day of Action motivates and mobilizes – On May 21 hundreds of CFT members gathered outside of the Sacramento Capitol to celebrate and honor the work of classified professionals. The crowd was filled with excitement, pride, and a sense of readiness. All of which fell right into place with the theme of the event: No Class Without Classified: Filling the Gaps to Educate California Students.
Classified professionals benefit from summer aid program – The purpose of the Classified Employee Summer Assistance Program is to offer some relief for school employees who don’t work the full year and may struggle not getting a paycheck in the summer. The program offers people not only a way to get paid when school is out, but also more for every dollar they have put in.
Classified Shining: A profile on Patti Serafin – Classified Shining highlights a classified professional in and outside of work. In this edition we profile Patti Serafin. Before she helped students in the financial aid office at Palomar College, Patti traveled around the country announcing golf tournaments on live TV. She shared the booth with the legendary Vin Scully, the voice of the Dodgers (in this case, he was the voice of golf), and in 1998, she was on the NBC Golf Tour production team that won an Emmy for outstanding live sports series.
Kent Wong on the legacy of Rev. James Lawson
CFT Vice President, and former UCLA Labor Center Director, Kent Wong has written this wonderful tribute to the Rev. James Lawson, who passed away recently. Kent worked closely with Rev. Lawson at UCLA teaching a course on Nonviolence and Social Movements with him for more than 20 years.
