Job Corps staff and students fight closure from Trump admin
Yesterday dozens of staff and students from Treasure Island Job Corps rallied to save the future of their program. Job Corps is the largest residential career training program in the nation, providing low income students with education and housing in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. The program serves youth ages 16-24, a majority of whom have dropped out of high school.
Last Thursday the Department of Labor announced the illegal closure of 99 centers across the country, including Treasure Island. In the past week, over 250 students at Treasure Island have been pushed out of their housing, with the remaining 100 students facing eviction in the coming days. Staff have received layoff notices with their last day set for June 30.
“We are here today to loudly and forcibly demand the Trump administration immediately reverse course and stop the dismantling of the Job Corps program,” said CFT Secretary Treasurer Lacy Barnes, pictured above as student Quinton Casey addressed the crowd. “Simply put, Job Corps saves lives. Job Corps gives students the support, training, and opportunities they need to find a better life for themselves – to stand on their own two feet, to find good jobs.”
The rally yesterday is part of a nationwide effort to stop the closures, including legal challenges and direct pressure on the Trump administration. Please help spread the word by sharing this powerful video on the CFT Instagram feed.
Tamalpais High School teachers rally to save support for African American students
Members of Tampalpais Federation of Teachers, AFT Local 1985, were joined by parents and students at a rally yesterday morning to demand their school board reverse course and reinstate two contractors who run a program to support African American students at their school.
The board voted earlier this week to cut ties with the contractors who were brought in to support African American students following a series of racist incidents at the school.
“We believe in the work of Paul and Tenisha and are grateful to have them working at our school and we want them back,” said a statement signed by at least 50 teachers and staff at the school, reported by the Marin Independent Journal. “Shame on the board for ignoring so many members of our community, so many of our students, of our colleagues and of our friends and neighbors in what can only be described as a malicious attack on our institution.”
See you in SF and LA on June 14 No Kings Day!
In response to President Trump's planned military parade in Washington, D.C., rallies are being organized across the country, including dozens scheduled in California. CFT will be prioritizing two large rallies on that day. At the first rally in downtown Los Angeles (RSVP), we will gather at 10:00 a.m. at Los Angeles City Hall. At the second rally in San Francisco (RSVP), we will gather at 11:30 a.m. at Dolores Park. If you cannot make one of these two events, please contact your local union and find a rally near you at www.nokings.org.
Join AFT President Randi Weingarten for a special town hall on June 10 at 3:00 pm PT to prepare for No Kings Day. In the coming weeks the AFT is also running a member-to-member phonebank to urge fellow AFT members to contact their U.S. senators to stop the devastating cuts in the big, awful reconciliation bill. Upcoming dates include June 9 and 17.
Charter school reform bill AB 84 passes out of California Assembly
Yesterday the California State Assembly narrowly passed AB 84, a critical CFT-sponsored bill that would regulate non-classroom based charter schools. The bill, authored by Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, would implement the core recommendations from a report last year issued by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office and FCMAT that highlighted problems with non-classroom based charter schools. The LAO report was released following a series of charter school scandals, including a San Diego-based charter school called A3 that defrauded the state of $400 million by falsifying records to artificially boost the number of students enrolled.
Thanks to all the CFT members who called their Assembly representatives this past week to urge support for the bill. The corporate charter school lobby fiercely opposes the bill and the accountability it would bring, and your calls were essential to it passing. The bill now moves to the California Senate and the fight continues.
CFT celebrates Pride Month
As we celebrate Pride Month, make sure to check out our curated collection of materials on the CFT website, including lesson plans, social media graphics and more. Look for more Pride Month on CFT’s socials and website throughout the month, and save the date of Sunday, June 29, to join the CFT contingent to march in the San Francisco Pride Parade.
