Newsroom
Two members named California Teachers of Year
Poway special education teacher, Los Angeles ESL science teacher honored
Megan Gross, a teacher at Del Norte High School in the Poway Unified School District, one of two CFT members recognized as a California Teacher of the Year, credits her union with having her back.
“I feel like they’re very supportive,” she said about San Diego County’s Poway Federation of Teachers. “They’ve been a great support to both our department and our school.”
Local unions elect candidates, pass ballot measures
Educator efforts pay off in funding gains, more favorable boards
PART 3: LOCAL SUCCESSES
Local elections directly impact schools and colleges. The grassroots work of CFT members in their communities not only secured funding and elected strong, labor-friendly local candidates, but will also help shape the political landscape in California.
Congresswoman Speier leads forum on accreditation
Broad support for San Francisco City College in advance of January decision
Bay Area Congresswoman Jackie Speier convened a panel discussion at City College of San Francisco on November 28, her third on the topic since the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges revoked the accreditation of City College in 2013.
Speier pointed out that the people of San Francisco love their college, having just voted in November for a second parcel tax to support it, and passing Proposition W to make tuition free. She is “hopeful and optimistic” about the college’s future and defeating the ACCJC.
California Legislature remains Democratic bastion
Democrats win supermajorities, endorsed candidates fare well
PART 2: STATEWIDE CANDIDATES
With the future of national politics uncertain, the role of the California Legislature in shaping public education policy and labor rights is more critical than ever. The work it undertakes in coming years will have a large and direct impact on members, their students, and their communities.
Families drawn to 40,000-book giveaway
Daly City AFT local unions host FirstBook community outreach
The 40,000-book giveaway at Woodrow Wilson Elementary School on October 8, drew many families from Daly City’s Asian community, which accounts for almost 60 percent of the city’s 100,000 residents.
- Julius Li, who was looking for books with 16-month-old daughter Madison in his arms, said they have story time twice a day.
- Annabelle Mai, a first grader at Westlake Elementary, was happy because reading books is her favorite thing to do before going to sleep at night.
Retirees work presidential election in swing states
Pajaro Valley’s Julie Armstrong named top volunteer in Florida
Because Hillary Clinton needed to win in Florida, I volunteered, along with CFT and AFT retirees from other states, in the Sunshine State.
We worked with diverse groups of Floridians in the AFT and other labor unions through the Working America Coalition, a political action committee of the AFL-CIO. Working America fights for working families, union and non-union, in campaigns to elect progressive candidates and pass legislation to improve the lives of working families.
Top priorities Propositions 55 and 58 sail to victory
School and college funding secured, bilingual instruction returned
PART 1: STATEWIDE PROPOSITIONS
In a crowded field of 17 propositions on the statewide ballot, voters clearly saw the value of publicly funded education and passed CFT’s top priority, Proposition 55, with an impressive 24-point margin.
The woman who helped California women win the vote
Immigrant, suffragist, reproductive rights pioneer never gave up
KNOW OUR HISTORY
Hillary Clinton’s historic run for U.S. President and popular vote victory didn’t just come out of nowhere. She and all the other women who are so much a part of our politics stand on the shoulders of the bold, creative organizers who came before them — women who never let a few losses stop them. Women with names we should know but probably don’t. One of these is Frances Nacke Noel.
The Trump effect on American politics
New book puts dominant parties on the analyst’s couch
After the election, California Teacher interviewed Robert Samuels, president of the University Council-AFT, and author of the new book, Psychoanalyzing the Left and Right After Donald Trump.
California Teacher: What does your approach try to explain that other approaches cannot?
Responding to election of Donald Trump: Reassess, Mobilize, Defend
By Joshua Pechthalt, CFT President
I have been hearing from CFT members who supported Donald Trump and are not happy that the CFT is sticking its nose into politics.
We would be looking at a much different scenario in our schools and colleges, our communities and unions, and in Sacramento, if the CFT had not led the way on the Millionaires Tax, which became Proposition 30 and now Proposition 55, and before that, led the way on Proposition 25, the Majority Budget Act.
New law brings reemployment rights for part-time faculty
Successful CFT-sponsored legislation calls for districts to negotiate
Community college districts will soon be compelled to negotiate what CFT-sponsored legislation calls “reemployment preference for part-time, temporary faculty.” The landmark provisions require districts to negotiate with the union in order to receive significant funding available from the state Student Success and Support Program.
Speier praises CCSF, condemns ACCJC
Congresswoman calls for forum on accreditation issue
One thing for certain about Congresswoman Jackie Speier: she is consistent. On November 28 at a City College of San Francisco (CCSF) forum that she organized and hosted, the Bay Area congresswoman sang the praises of the largest community college in California. She also made clear that no matter what the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) decides in its January meeting about CCSF, she will do everything in her power to keep the school open and serving its tens of thousands of students.