Remembering former UESF President Dennis Kelly
We are very saddened to report the passing of CFT Council of Retired Members President and former UESF president Dennis Kelly. In addition to being one of the founding leaders of UESF, Dennis was a stalwart member and leader of CFT and AFT for decades. He was also a foundational figure in San Francisco labor and politics, mostly through the San Francisco Labor Council.
Dennis’s teaching career and unionism began in the 1960s in San Francisco, and since that time, he was always in the mix fighting for the members and for all working families.
For his incredible service to CFT, Dennis won the Ben Rust Award in 2018, our union’s highest honor. He will not only be remembered for his leadership, but also for his wit, his speeches, his categorical knowledge of Robert's Rules of Order, and his caricature drawings.
Rest in Power Dennis.
Social Security Fairness Act passes out of the House of Representatives
This week the House of Representatives passed H.R. 82, the Social Security Fairness Act, with an overwhelming majority vote of 327-75. The bipartisan bill would repeal the WEP/GPO penalties that substantially reduce or eliminate the EARNED Social Security benefits of thousands of CFT members and retirees.
Thanks to the nearly 2,500 CFT members who signed the CFT letter to their congressional reps in less than 24 hours in advance of the vote. The incredible response on a holiday shows how critical the bill is to the retirement security of CFT members.
“California’s educators and classified professionals applaud the House’s bipartisan vote in favor of H.R. 82,” said CFT President Jeff Freitas in a statement. “By repealing a long-outdated loophole in federal law that penalizes teachers and educators in retirement by slashing their hard-earned Social Security benefits, Congress – who, in a rare instance of bipartisanship, met the ⅔ required threshold to pass this bill – has made a powerful statement that educators who have spent their careers giving back to their communities deserve to retire with dignity.”
The Social Security Fairness Act now goes to the U.S. Senate, where its sister legislation (S. 597) already has 62 co-sponsors, including California Senators Alex Padilla and Laphonza Butler. CFT leaders are already working with AFT to push for a vote on the bill ASAP.
Santa Cruz classified doing the work of the union
Leaders and activists from the Santa Cruz Council of Classified Employees, AFT Local 6084, gathered this week to organize and build union power, as their contract negotiations kicked off earlier this month. Priorities at the bargaining table include salary increases to address the high cost of living in the area, as well as addressing rising healthcare costs.
People, Power, Change: A Conversation with Author Marshall Ganz this Saturday in Oakland
Join the Alameda Labor Council, Building Trades Council of Alameda, and the UC Berkeley Labor Center this Saturday from 1:00-3:00 p.m. in Oakland for a talk by Marshall Ganz, senior lecturer in leadership, organizing, and civil society at Harvard’s Kennedy School and one of the country’s leading voices on democratic organizing. Ganz has distilled decades of insights into his new book, People, Power, Change: Organizing for Democratic Renewal, both a practical guide on how to reclaim democratic power and an inspiring call for collective organizing as an essential driver of democracy. Discussion moderated by Steven Pitts. Details and RSVP here.
