CFT leaders connect with those impacted by the fires in Los Angeles
As more fires continue to burn in the Los Angeles area, CFT leaders were in Southern California yesterday to meet with victims of the fires and local leaders, and to begin the process of delivering CFT Disaster Relief funds. The day included a tour of the fire zone and a get together at a local restaurant with leaders, members, and their families.
CFT Secretary Treasurer Lacy Barnes (pictured above embracing a member who lost his home in the Eaton fire), was on hand as the CFT community came together, took a collective breath, and connected with each other in a very difficult time.
Although rain is expected this weekend, fires continue to spread throughout the region and thousands more have been forced to evacuate their homes, including many CFT members.
Thanks to the hundreds of CFT members who have donated to the CFT Disaster Relief Fund. Those funds, combined with donations from CFT local unions and the AFT, are now making it into the hands of our members in need. Additionally, AFT now has staff on the ground in Los Angeles to help aid in the continuing recovery process.
A reminder about free trauma counseling for CFT members
For those CFT members who have been impacted by the fires, there is an important resource available to you through our national union, the AFT, which provides all active, working members with counseling if they are injured or traumatized by natural disasters like fires. The benefit offers one-to-one counseling sessions with a licensed therapist with a master’s degree or higher who has advanced training in post-traumatic incident recovery. To access this resource, go to the member benefits portal on the AFT website.
Finding strength in solidarity
On Monday, as we celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr., President Trump was inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States. In his first week, the returning president has followed through on his campaign promise to implement a series of executive orders that hurt working people, and specifically many of our students and their families.
In an article published today CFT President Jeff Freitas called out the president for his hurtful actions, and questioned whether the president is working to support plutocrats or working families. But he also wrote about how as a union, we are up for the fight.
“The next four years will demand much of us…We can and must gain strength from one another and remember that solidarity is, in itself, an act of resistance,” he wrote in the article. “It is more important than ever that our local unions are strong and that we recommit ourselves to partnerships with our friends in labor and in the community.”
Defending immigrant students and families
California has the largest concentration of immigrants in the country. Many of our students and their families are anxious about the threats of mass deportation by the incoming administration. CFT is dedicated to defending our immigrant students, families, and communities.
To better support our students, we have updated our defending immigrant students and families resources page on the CFT website. The page now includes updated links and resources from CFT, AFT, and California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office.
We also know through his executive orders, he has targeted other communities and efforts such as attacking the LGBTQ+ community – primarily trans and non-binary people – and government employees who work on diversity, equity, and inclusion. As we gather more information and resources we will share those in future emails and on the CFT website.
