The California Labor Federation delegates take bold policy positions at biennial Convention
On August 4 and 5, the California Labor Federation held its biennial Convention. Given the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Convention was held virtually. As an AFL-CIO union, the CFT was proud to participate in this Convention, and many CFT members joined as delegates and served on key Convention committees.
One of the roles of the Convention was to take up endorsements for the November 2020 election. Delegates agreed that the top two priorities for the fall are to pass Yes on 15, also known as Schools and Communities First, and No on 22, the Uber/Lyft/Doordash effort to repeal AB 5, a bill that grants gig workers employment rights like health care, sick leave, and unemployment insurance. The CFT is looking forward to working with our siblings in the House of Labor on these two measures to curb corporate greed and stand up for workers and their communities.
In addition to taking up electoral priorities, the Convention also passed a series of resolutions, many of which speak to racial injustices that plague our society. Following rigorous and often emotional debate, the delegates to the biennial Convention passed a series of resolutions that speak to the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement and shine a spotlight on the institutional racism upon which our country is built. Delegates overwhelmingly agreed that the work of the labor movement is to honestly assess our communities and our workplaces and to speak up and act out to root out racism, address police brutality, and end the militarization of the police. As social justice unionists, we must take up this work in order to truly act in solidarity with Black Lives Matter and other efforts that foreground the fight for racial and economic justice for all.
State issues TK-6 waiver guidance and CFT responds
Summer is winding down and the debates around the best practices for reopening schools in fall continues to rage across the state. Just this week, the Governor and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) released guidance for how elementary schools with TK-6 grade students can apply for waivers to reopen for in-person instruction, even if the county in which the district is located is on the state’s COVID-19 watchlist.
The state’s viewpoint behind the TK-6 waiver is that COVID-related risks in schools serving elementary-age students are believed to be lower than and different from the risks to staff and students in schools serving older students, according to CDPH. The CFT does not believe there is a consensus behind the science regarding the assertion that younger students do not spread COVID at the same rate as adults. Nor do we believe that it is safe for students or staff to reopen in a county that has not demonstrated that it has the testing, hospital capacity and significant reduction in community spread to open schools safely. We must balance the desire to return to in-person instruction with the danger of returning to spaces that can spread the virus.
In response, CFT issued a statement arguing, “Decisions about reopening schools must be guided by a singular goal of keeping our students, our families and our communities safe.” The CFT continues to assert that five key criteria must be met before a school should consider reopening for in-person instruction.
Rescue Union Federation of Teachers pushes back on district’s re-opening plan
The debate about school reopening is emerging as a very real issue in communities around California. One CFT local union, the Rescue Union Federation of Teachers, is taking action against what they perceive as the Rescue Union School District’s rushed approach to begin the school year with in-person instruction.
The district is located in El Dorado county, which is not currently on the state’s COVID-19 watchlist. However, given the rising case numbers across California, many school districts in that county and surrounding counties are beginning the school year with distance learning, and RUFT is asking theirs to do the same.
In an interview with local media about the district’s plans, union President Laurisa Stuart believes that the precautions the district is taking aren’t enough to keep school staff and students safe: “When I think about looking at those parents and them trusting me with their babies, they’re their babies. I can’t look them in the face and tell them that this is safe,” said Stuart.
The local union has begun a letter-writing campaign and is circulating a petition to ask the district to hold off on in-person instruction and begin the school year with distance learning model for six weeks and to then discuss moving to a hybrid instruction model, but only if COVID-19 cases are on the decline.
Tobin Keller from the Cabrillo College Federation of Teachers joins tomorrow’s Facebook Live broadcast
On tomorrow’s CFT Facebook Live Broadcast at 3:00pm, CFT President Jeff Freitas will be joined by Tobin Keller, President of the Cabrillo College Federation of Teachers.
Tobin will talk with Jeff about what the upcoming semester looks like for Cabrillo College and about the racial justice work that his college and his union are undertaking.
To tune in, please head to the
CFT Facebook page tomorrow at 3:00pm!