John,

Night after night, it’s hard to watch the terror Ukrainians endure trying to defend themselves and their sovereignty in this terrible, unprovoked war Putin is waging against them. Between the carnage from Russian attacks and the increasingly dire refugee crisis, the impact of Russian aggression will last for generations.

Many of us are children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren of people who escaped fear or famine in a faraway place. So this crisis in Ukraine, like the ones in Afghanistan and Haiti, moves us to want to do something. My grandparents escaped the pogroms in Ukraine, and I was part of a trade union mission in 2014, as the ashes were still burning in Kyiv from the overthrow of Russia’s puppet oligarchical government.

Following the lead of President Joe Biden and the bipartisan group in Congress, our AFT pension council has agreed with my recommendation to divest AFT members’ pension funds from Russia, including from businesses run by the oligarchs. While we work to do that, here’s how you can help Ukrainian refugees.

We’ve been coordinating with the teachers’ unions in countries that border Ukraine, including Poland, Romania and Slovakia. Through our Disaster Relief Fund, we’re going to send money to these unions’ relief efforts. They’re setting up welcome programs in public schools for the children who have fled the Russian invasion. In Poland they’re even caring for refugees in their offices, but so far, they haven’t received any funds from the government to support the refugees. Eventually we hope to be able to send support to the teachers in Ukraine to reopen their schools after Russia is forced out.

Every dollar we raise will go straight to relief efforts, without us taking away any overhead fees. Any money you can give today will directly help efforts to support the refugees. Click here to donate through the AFT Disaster Relief Fund. When you’re on the page, be sure to select Ukraine in the drop-down menu.

I can only imagine how scary the world must feel for the children who have fled. Teachers and school staff just want to help these kids feel safe and welcome.

In unity,
Randi Weingarten
AFT President