It’s time to raise revenue by taxing those who can afford it: California's billionaires

CFT has long argued that in order to fully fund our schools and communities and give them the tools to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, our state needs to raise revenue in three ways.

The first is by passing Prop 15, also known as Schools and Communities First. The second is that the federal government must step up and provide relief and stimulus funds to state and local governments. And the third is that we must adjust our tax system to account for the ultra millionaires and billionaires who live in California, many of whom have actually made huge sums of money during the pandemic.

At a time when millions of Californians are filing for unemployment, the ultra wealthy have been increasing their net worth. In fact, if you took three of the top billionaires that live in our state and combined how much they increased their net worth - not their total worth, just how much it’s increased - you would have more money than the entire Prop 98 public education funding guarantee in this year’s state budget. California must fix our tax system, so that the ultra wealthy contribute enough to help those who desperately need it the most. We have until the end of August to debate ideas at the legislative level, and two such bills are currently gaining traction.

The first opportunity to bring more fairness to our tax code is AB 1953, which was introduced by Assemblymember Miguel Santiago of Los Angeles. This bill would increase personal income taxes on people with an annual income over $1 million dollars. It would only affect the top 0.5% of tax filers and would return around $6.8 billion in revenue to California annually.

The second opportunity is AB 1977, introduced by Assemblymember Rob Bonta of Alameda. This bill is not an income tax, but rather a wealth tax, imposing an annual tax of 0.4% on individuals with a net worth in excess of $30 million dollars. Estimates show that this tax would affect about 30,000 CA families, or the top top 0.15%, and it would raise about $7.5 billion per year. The wealth tax would help with the current fiscal crisis, reduce the inequitable wealth concentration in our state, and improve funding for our schools and essential programs.

There will be opportunities for CFT members to voice support on these bills, and potentially any other revenue-generating bills that are introduced before the end of August, so stay tuned for more information.

California Senator Kamala Harris will join former VP Joe Biden on the presidential ticket

News broke on Tuesday that Senator Kamala Harris from California was selected by former VP Joe Biden to join him as his running mate on the presidential ticket this November.

Senator Harris, who grew up in Oakland, has served as the junior Senator from California since being elected in 2016. Prior to that, she was California’s Attorney General, and she was the District Attorney for San Francisco before serving at the state level.

Since ending her own presidential bid in December 2019, she returned to the Senate with renewed focus on progressive issues, including her proposal to make lynching a federal crime. She has long been an outspoken advocate for voting rights, LGBTQ rights, and women's rights, and her work on the Justice in Policing Act of 2020 speaks to the urgency of the moment at this time of racial reckoning in our country.

Senator Harris has also been a strong voice for public education. She was one of the first national elected leaders to come out in support of the UTLA strike in 2018. And she was an early endorser of Yes on 15 and has committed to working with us to make sure that Schools and Communities First passes and our schools are fully funded. She was the keynote speaker at CFT’s 2014 Convention and has a history of engaging with our union and our members on issues that matter to us.

Senator Kamala Harris is the first Black or Asian American woman to run as Vice President on a major-party ticket and, if elected, she would be the first woman Vice President in our country’s history.

The state releases guidance for reopening higher education institutions

On August 7, the state released the guidance for the reopening of institutions of higher education, including the state Community College system, the UC system, and the CSU system.

The guidance states that all colleges and universities should follow the statewide face covering guidance and all should have COVID-19 prevention and contingency plans in place. Physical distancing in all classrooms is required, and courses that require indoor instruction - such as labs and studio arts - should only do so if the county has been off the state watchlist for at least three days. Faculty and staff are encouraged to consider flexible work and learning sites and hours, including the use of outdoor space, so that social distance can be maintained.

The guidance requires that colleges and universities provide training for faculty, staff, and students on COVID-19 prevention practices, including identifying symptoms, good hygiene practices, and the use of PPE.

Telework for faculty, staff, and students is strongly encouraged for events like campus meetings, as well as for student support services, when feasible.

Laurisa Stuart joins Friday’s Facebook Live broadcast

On Friday’s CFT Facebook Live Broadcast at 3:00pm, CFT President Jeff Freitas will be joined by Laurisa Stuart, President of the Rescue Union Federation of Teachers.

Jeff and Laurisa will talk about what the challenges that her local has faced when urging their district to open slowly and avoid a rush to in-person instruction, and she will talk about the direct action their local has engaged in to make sure their voices are heard.

To tune in, please head to the CFT Facebook page on Friday at 3:00pm!