John,

The American Rescue Plan provided invaluable support for working families across the country, as we prepared for businesses and schools to reopen this fall. But that was just a down payment; more help is needed to enable the country to continue its COVID-19 recovery and address the inequities we face. This is why President Joe Biden’s American Jobs and American Families plans, along with his historic K-12 investments proposed for fiscal year 2022, are so critical to building back better and spurring our recovery.

We have the chance to build back better. Call your senators at 888-879-2059 and tell them to include schools, job training, broadband internet, and green infrastructure priorities in the upcoming budget reconciliation bill to make a bold investment in our country’s future.

America’s schools are the nation’s second-largest public infrastructure investment and one of the largest energy consumers in the public sector. But after years of disinvestment and climate change, we’re left with crumbling school buildings, unsafe drinking water and unhealthy air for students, educators and school support staff alike. Beyond schools, more Americans are looking to rejoin the workforce and seeking out new opportunities in our changing economy; they need workforce development, job training and higher education in order to pursue jobs that can help them thrive.

The American Jobs Plan takes important steps to invest in public school and community college infrastructure and to ensure that students are drinking safe water at home and school by replacing lead pipes. And it would help schools transition to zero-emission vehicles; with schools responsible for the largest mass transit fleet in the country—480,000 school buses shuttling students back and forth to school—it is critical that we transition school bus fleets to zero-emission vehicles.

The American Families Plan would invest in yearlong paid teacher residency programs, special education teacher development programs and teacher preparation programs at historically Black colleges and universities, tribal colleges and universities, and minority-serving institutions. The upcoming reconciliation package should also include worker training for a just transition, high-speed broadband to bridge the digital divide and more-affordable higher education.

Our country needs investment in all these area so all of us can thrive. Call your senators and tell them to prioritize working families and schools in the next reconciliation bill.

AFT members are clear on the challenges students face when trying to thrive in schools laden with toxic black mold, classrooms without heat or air conditioning, or buildings with leaking ceilings or contaminated water. To put it simply, no child should be breathing contaminated air and drinking tainted water anywhere, let alone in a place of learning. The COVID-19 crisis has strained public school infrastructure systems even further, laying bare both the connectivity challenges of students in low-income communities and the ventilation system challenges faced by schools, while at the same time creating massive learning losses.

Our students cannot be expected to thrive under these conditions. We need to make a bold investment in our education infrastructure and put our money where our values are. Let’s show our students we believe in their future. Call your senators at 888-879-2059 to tell them to include these priorities in the budget reconciliation package.

In unity,
Randi Weingarten
AFT president