UESF set to strike for the future of public schools in San Francisco
After nearly a year at the bargaining table, over 6,000 members of the United Educators of San Francisco are set to strike starting Monday morning. Core issues at the table include fully funded family healthcare, a Special Education workload model to improve working and learning conditions, and competitive wages that keep high-quality educators in the city.
Despite the long timeline, and a 97% strike vote last week, the SFSUD management has made little substantive movement in their proposals, and time is running out.
“We didn’t come to this decision easily, and we do not take the next steps lightly,” said UESF President Cassondra Curiel (pictured above). “We want to be in our classrooms with our students where we belong every single day.”
We urge all CFT members to stand with our union siblings in UESF as they walk the picket line next week. The students and families UESF members serve deserve stable schools, staffed by educators who can afford to keep their jobs, and who can afford healthcare for their own families.
For the latest updates, follow UESF on Instagram and Facebook. And if you live in San Francisco, join the picket line at your neighborhood school on Monday morning!
CCA faculty, staff, and students fight back as college set to close
Last month, in a stunning move, the President of the California College of the Arts and San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie announced that CCA would close in the spring of 2027 and the campus and buildings sold to Vanderbilt University. The announcement stunned the students, faculty, and staff of CCA and the broader art and design community in San Francisco and beyond.
In 2024 the full-time faculty at CCA organized and voted to join CFT, as CCA Ranked Faculty United, AFT Local 6642, winning their first contract last year. Now, despite a $20 million bailout from the state of California, and with questionable real estate deals involving several trustees, the college is set to close.
But faculty and students are fighting back. They rallied this week in front of the school, and are exploring every option to ensure the students and faculty are not left empty handed. “CCA’s agreement with Vanderbilt is an act of surrender,” says professor of Architecture and CCA Ranked Faculty United bargaining team member, Peter Anderson. “It is the result of a decision to abandon CCA’s mission to educate students in the arts and design field. It is a complete failure of our administration that we should all reject.”
March 4 Education!
It’s time to show our collective strength! On March 4, we are joining AFT for a coordinated Nationwide Day of Action to protect and celebrate public education in California and across the country. This is more than a one-day event; it is a vital "stress test" of our local readiness as we gear up for other statewide and national actions.
Whether it’s a coordinated morning walk-in, a lunchtime rally, or a synchronized "poster drop" to show we are the shield for our students, your participation proves that we are a powerful, organized movement. So save the date and look for more resources here and from your local union in the days and weeks ahead.
News in Brief
CFT celebrates Black History Month – This February CFT joins educators, unions, and communities across the country in celebrating Black History Month. One hundred years after the first commemorations began, Black History Month serves as both a celebration and a call to action. In recognition of this important month, we’ve updated a great set of resources on the CFT website, including articles to read, K-12 curricula, and videos.
CFT Ed Issues conference – February 20-21 – The CFT EC/TK-12 Council is sponsoring an Educational Issues conference on February 20-21 in Sacramento with workshops on ethnic studies, literacy strategies for grades 6-12, and supporting English learners. For more details see the conference webpage. Please talk to your local union leader if you are interested in attending.
Bill allowing California universities and community colleges to employ undocumented students passes CA Assembly – Last Thursday AB 713 passed the California Assembly by a 41-11 vote. Sponsored by CFT, the bill would require the UC system, the CSU system, and all California community colleges to open campus jobs to undocumented students. Before his passing last year, former UCLA Labor Center Director, and CFT Ben Rust Award winner, Kent Wong championed a similar bill.
Join us in Sacramento for the March in March on March 12 – March in March is a long-standing California movement where community college students, faculty, and advocates come together at the State Capitol to defend access, affordability, and public investment in higher education. Across the years, it has mobilized thousands statewide and remains one of the most visible demonstrations of the power and unity of the California Community Colleges system. March in March 2026 will take place in Sacramento on Thursday, March 12, 2026. We hope you’ll join us! RSVP here, and check out the campaign web page.
