Sacramento, CA — Yesterday, CFT Nominations and Elections Chair Joshua Briggs announced that delegates to the 2023 CFT Convention have re-elected President Jeffery Freitas and elected L. Lacy Barnes as Secretary Treasurer and Juan Ramirez as Executive Vice President. Delegates also voted to pass two landmark resolutions stating the Union’s demands for stronger gun control laws and condemning police violence while calling for meaningful reform.

“As public education in the US faces unprecedented attacks, it is more important than ever for our educators and classified professionals to come together, united in our commitment to our students and our communities,” said Jeff Freitas. “My greatest priority is to provide a quality public education system by addressing the education staffing crisis. To do this we will advocate for increased salaries for every single educator and classified professional in our state, as well as decreased class sizes to ensure student success. We also have a moral imperative to work for the greater good, including fighting for climate justice, gender equality, LGBTQ+ rights, racial equity and justice, and democracy for all.”

“As leaders of CFT, we will advocate for the priorities our members voiced at this convention, ensuring the voices of classroom teachers, cafeteria workers, office administrators, and other dedicated professionals are heard in the halls of power,” said L. Lacy Barnes. “From gun control to police accountability, we know our students’ success in the classroom is inseparable from their safety at home, in their communities, and increasingly at school. Our passion for the students we serve motivates us, and we will not stand silent when they most need us to make noise.”

More about Freitas, Barnes, and Ramirez, who will start their term on May 19, 2023:

Jeff Freitas was a secondary math teacher who has served as CFT President for the past four years and CFT Secretary Treasurer for the eight years before that. He has been advocating on behalf of members and the education community for more than two decades, including previously serving as President of the Carpinteria Association of United School Employees, AFT Local 2216. Freitas also serves as an AFT Vice President, a California Labor Federation Vice President, a member of the California Governor’s Council for Post-Secondary Education, and a board member of Equality California.

L. Lacy Barnes is an instructor of psychology at Reedley College and holds a PhD and a law degree. She is former president of the State Center Federation of Teachers, AFT Local 1533, representing full-and part-time faculty at the State Center Community College District in the Central Valley. For the past two years, Lacy has been the driving force behind CFT’s Racial and Social Justice initiatives. 

Juan Ramirez has 24 years of teaching experience in kindergarten and grades two through four. He also taught adult education at the Wilson Lincoln Adult School for nine years. Juan served as UTLA Elementary Vice President from 2011 to 2017 and has served as UTLA/AFT Vice President and AFT 1021 President since 2017. As Elementary Vice President, Juan worked with teachers, parents, and community members to counter the privatization group Parent Revolution. As part of his commitment to working with the community, he also hosted a Spanish radio show and wrote for a Spanish-language newspaper.

###

CFT – A Union of Educators and Classified Professionals represents 120,000 teachers, faculty, and school employees in public and private schools and colleges, from early childhood through higher education. It is the statewide affiliate of the AFT.