FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Statement from CFT President Joshua Pechthalt

Members Overwhelmingly Support Dues Increase

“On Wednesday, our sisters and brothers in United Teachers Los Angeles voted overwhelmingly to support their union and to lead the fight to preserve and improve public education in the second largest school district in the country. Over 14,000 of UTLA’s members participated in the vote, with 82 percent in favor of a dues increase. We applaud UTLA’s members and leaders for taking this courageous action.

“This vote underscores the commitment of UTLA members to strengthening their union’s ability to fight for a quality public education for all children and to fend off the relentless effort by billionaires to impose their vision of education on the people of Los Angeles and in California.

“This historic vote comes just as petitions are being circulated to place an initiative on the June ballot that would extend Proposition 30 by asking California’s wealthiest 2% to continue to pay a bit more in personal income tax. UTLA’s vote is one further indication that rank and file teachers are willing to pay more in union dues to support the struggle for quality public education.

“The CFT looks forward to working together with UTLA to extend Prop 30 and to create the kind of quality public education in our state that is a model for the rest of the country.”

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The California Federation of Teachers represents more than 100,000 education employees in public and private schools, from Head Start through the University of California. It is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO.