RSVP for the CFT all-member Fight Back Fight Forward webinar on Thursday, September 25
All CFT members are invited to attend our all-member Fight Back Fight Forward webinar on Thursday, September 25 from 4:00–5:30 p.m. With important news and developments happening at a rapid pace, this meeting will be an opportunity to gather and organize for the next steps in our fight back against the attacks by the Trump administration, and to set our course as we fight forward for the schools our students deserve.
Topics include:
- CFT Resistance Hub training program
- Standing with our diverse communities
- Opportunities to join CFT Fight Back organizing
- CFT game plan on redistricting (Prop. 50)
- Renewal of California’s Millionaires Tax
- Q&A session with CFT leaders (5:00-5:30)
During the webinar we will also hear from California Federation of Labor Unions President Lorena Gonzalez, who will share how California’s labor movement is meeting this critical moment, and AFT Texas President Zeph Capo, who will give an update on redistricting and more from his state.
This meeting is for CFT members only. Please RSVP here.
Sign up to volunteer to help pass Prop. 50 – the Election Rigging Response Act
Donald Trump is making an unprecedented power grab to steal congressional seats and rig the 2026 election before voting even begins. Other Republican states are following suit. They want to steal enough seats to control Congress regardless of how the people vote. This is an emergency for our democracy that will have severe consequences if we don’t act. That is why we are wholeheartedly supporting Prop. 50, the Election Rigging Response Act, a fair and proportional response to Trump’s moves.
You can do your part to help pass Prop. 50 by volunteering to make calls and take part in neighborhood walks, starting this weekend. Sign up for a phone bank shift on the CFT Prop. 50 web page. There are three opportunities to join us in calling CFT members specifically on September 29, October 7, and October 15.
For a list of neighborhood walks through your Central Labor Council check out the Labor Federation web site.
Apply now for CFT scholarships for graduating high school seniors
Through this benefit of membership, the CFT has helped hundreds of students reach their higher education goals by awarding them Raoul Teilhet Scholarships. As of August of this year, we have awarded 855 scholarships for a total of $2.4 million.
The Raoul Teilhet Scholarships for high school seniors who are children or dependents of CFT members in good standing are now open and are due by December 15. Students who will enroll in four-year courses of study are eligible for $3,000 scholarships; those who enroll in two-year programs are eligible for $1,000. More information is available here.
Note: Scholarships for continuing college students will be open on December 15, 2025.
CFT slams Supreme Court decision allowing racial profiling
On Monday the Supreme Court overturned a federal judge’s order prohibiting federal agents in Los Angeles from stopping people and questioning them about their immigration status based solely on factors like their ethnicity, the language they speak, and the type of work they do.
CFT President Jeff Freitas joined others in releasing a statement condemning the order as unconstitutional. He was quoted in the SF Chronicle saying, “As high school government teachers across the state return to their classrooms, ready to educate our next generation of leaders, we can no longer say the Constitution applies to all. And for that, our nation mourns.”
AFT joins lawsuit over Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in sensitive locations
The AFT, the National Education Association, and educators from Oregon are joining a lawsuit against the Trump administration, saying immigration arrests near school campuses are terrorizing children and their teachers, leading some students to drop out. Examples include masked agents breaking a car window and dragging a preschool student’s father from his car after drop-off, and masked officers, next to a high school, ordering a teen with disabilities out of a vehicle at gunpoint and handcuffing him—only to find out they had the wrong person.
“America’s classrooms must be safe and welcoming places of learning and discovery,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten.
New book by Randi Weingarten: Why Fascists Fear Teachers
On September 16 AFT President Randi Weingarten’s hard-hitting new book, Why Fascists Fear Teachers: Public Education and the Future of Democracy, will hit book stores and online stores throughout the country. The book is a rousing defense of public education as the cornerstone of American democracy. Drawing on history, Weingarten includes powerful stories from teachers on the front lines, and decades of experience with America’s public schools, to present a compelling case that teaching students to think critically is the key to defeating would-be dictators. For more information, and for a link to pre-order the book, click here.
