American Federation of Teachers

Campaigns

• Tell DeVos: Arm Schools with Resources, Not Guns

  I pray that there will never be another school shooting like the one we lived through in Parkland, Fla. Even just earlier this year, it never occurred to me that we’d be in a situation where we might have a secretary of education consider diverting resources that are used to support poor kids in order to flood schools with more guns. However, that’s exactly what we’re up against right now, since the news broke that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is considering a plan that would allow states to use federal funds to purchase guns for teachers. As the New York Times reported, such a move would reverse a long-standing position taken by the federal government that it should not pay to outfit schools with weapons. And it would also undermine efforts by Congress to restrict the use of federal funding for guns. As recently as March, Congress passed a school safety bill that allocated $50 million a year to local school districts but expressly prohibited the use of the money for firearms. The $1 billion student support program, part of the Every Student Succeeds Act, is intended for academic and enrichment opportunities in the country’s poorest schools, and it calls for school districts to use the money toward meeting three goals: providing a well-rounded education, improving school conditions for learning, and improving the use of technology for digital literacy. Instead of after-school programs or counselors, which are critical for creating safe and welcoming schools and addressing the mental health needs of kids, DeVos wants to turn schools into armed fortresses and make kids and educators less safe. Educators, students and parents have made clear that they don’t want more guns in schools; teachers want to teach and students want to learn. Rather than disregard the demands and needs of the people who know what our schools require, the Department of Education should use Title IV funding to: ● Provide a well-rounded education (examples include expanding AP courses and access to such courses, arts education, civics education, more college and career counseling, environmental education, expanding foreign language options, STEM, and social-emotional learning); ● Ensure safe and healthy students (including asthma management, bullying prevention, drug and violence prevention, indoor air quality, safe schools, mental health, and suicide prevention); and ● Provide effective use of technology. Arming teachers is a bad idea. We know that states with the strongest gun laws see less gun violence. And we know that educators, students and parents want a safe, welcoming place for students to learn, with adequate resources to make this a reality. Stand with the education community now. Send a message to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos that this plan is reckless, dangerous, and will have long-lasting effects on our students and our schools.

  79,951 of 100,000 Signatures

  Created by Anna Fusco, Broward Teachers Union president
• Call upon President Trump to stop destabilizing the Affordable Care Act.

  From his first days in office, Trump has worked to sabotage the ACA. At the start of his presidency, Trump signed an executive order weakening the individual mandate that is central to functioning ACA marketplaces. Now that the Senate rejected his repeal plan, he is looking to punish the most vulnerable Americans by ending ACA cost-sharing subsidies. These subsidies are not, as the president likes to say, insurance bailouts. They provide vital assistance to people at or near the poverty level, allowing them to afford out-of-pocket costs like copays and deductibles. And the uncertainty about whether the subsidies are going to continue from month to month is clearly contributing to the destabilization of the insurance markets. This needs to end. People must understand that ending the subsidies would make health insurance unaffordable for millions of low-income Americans.

  18,695 of 20,000 Signatures

  Created by Asher Huey
• Healthcare Workers Need Protective Equipment Now

  I’m a nurse in Alaska. Nurses and other healthcare professionals are on the frontlines of fighting the COVID-19 outbreak and caring for our patients, but we're running out of personal protective equipment (PPE) in states across the nation. We don’t have the right kind of N95 respirator masks to keep us and you safe. We don’t have enough ventilators to keep the very sickest patients alive. We don’t have the ear or the attention of the president, who make promises and then walks away does nothing. This is scary. Our job is to treat and care for people, and we will not leave our patients behind. If we run out of equipment, healthcare providers and the patients we care for will die. Let's be clear: If we get sick and if people die, it’s because policies that go all the way to the top have failed us. We should have been producing the needed respirators, masks and ventilators long before this. The administration should have taken the outbreak seriously when it started three months ago. And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention keeps lowering the guidelines for healthcare workers to be safe; the CDC just said that we can use bandanas as masks. The CDC is putting my life and the lives of other nurses at risk by telling us to use scarves rather than producing enough masks that will keep us safe. And it’s not just respirators, masks and ventilators we’re running low on. Hospitals are reporting shortages of gowns, gloves and other PPE that we need to keep ourselves safe as we care for the sick. Trump has said he’ll use the Defense Production Act to make masks and tests, after weeks of us pressuring him, but he has not said he’ll use it to ensure there are enough ventilators to keep patients from dying. And he’s still not releasing the stockpile of PPE that he has, which could fill the gap until enough n95 masks are made. Here's what we need right now: • The administration must make the production of N95 respirators and other PPE a top priority. • The President must use the Defense Production Act to make ventilators for patients. • The federal government has a stockpile of personal protective equipment, but has released less than 10 percent of the stockpile: We’re still running low. The federal government must release more of it immediately to keep us safe. • All healthcare workers should have immediate, free access to being tested to ensure that we are safe and not endangering non-infected patients. • The federal government needs to stop watering down guidelines that keep us safe. The minimum standard should be N95 respirators. Telling us to use bandanas puts our lives at risk. Will you please help us by telling the administration that we need this now.

  162,682 of 200,000 Signatures

  Created by AFT Union
• Tell Detroit Public Schools: Our Kids Deserve Better

  For too long, Detroit students and educators have been learning and teaching in deplorable conditions. From serious health and safety hazards such as mold, asbestos and mice infestations, to classrooms with no heat, these unacceptable conditions have been ignored. The floor of the gym at one school has buckled from water damage and is covered in black mold. In at least one school, classrooms even have bullet holes in the walls. Teachers and support staff are expected to teach in overcrowded classrooms without textbooks or support. Students with health issues are suffering due to the lack of school nurses. Educators in Detroit’s public schools come to school every day despite these disgusting conditions and do the best we can to give our students a great education. Enough is enough. Students, parents, educators and the Detroit community are demanding real answers from Gov. Rick Snyder and Emergency Manager Darnell Earley. It’s time to fully fund Detroit’s public schools. Our students deserve nothing less.

  31,825 of 35,000 Signatures

  Created by Detroit Federation of Teachers
• Tell the White House: Revoke Gateway Pundit's Press Credentials

  In the aftermath of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Broward Country, Florida., students who survived the attack have bravely stood up to demand action for safe schools and safe communities. But now, right-wing blogs are pushing wild conspiracy theories about the students who survived, claiming they are plants, are actors, or are being manipulated by politicians. I know these students. I have worked with these students. These courageous young people survived a horror beyond what any person should have to face, and now they stand with moral courage and strength to call us all to action. It is outrageous enough that outlets like the Gateway Pundit are spreading these lies and driving attacks on these students. But it is even more outrageous that an outlet that peddles lies and conspiracy theories holds a White House press credential and the authority that carries. By giving the Gateway Pundit press credentials, the White House is validating the site and these attacks. President Trump and this administration must make it clear that these attacks are unacceptable by pulling the Gateway Pundit’s credentials and permanently banning the site and its publishers from the White House. These students deserve our praise and our support. Their advocacy in the face of horror and violence is what makes America great. Instead, the Gateway Pundit is driving vicious personal attacks by peddling conspiracy theories. The White House must show that there are consequences for this kind of behavior. Jim Gard has been a math teacher for 36 years. During the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, he shielded his students in his classroom.

  76,627 of 100,000 Signatures

  Created by Jim Gard, Stoneman Math Teacher
• Gov. Corbett: Restore Full and Fair School Funding

  Since taking office in 2011, Gov. Corbett has expanded tax breaks for corporations and the energy industry while cutting $1 billion from education statewide. Under his leadership alone, 24 schools have been closed, and 4,000 teachers and school support staff have been laid off. Take a stand right now and send a letter to the governor demanding that he restore and protect public education for all.

  7,742 of 8,000 Signatures

  Created by American Federation of Teachers
• Center for Individual Rights: Stop Attacking Working People

  The Koch brothers are once again attacking our freedom to join together in unions to improve the lives of all working people, and we want them to stop! In my over 20 years of teaching, I’ve seen America’s economy swing out of balance in favor of corporate CEOs and wealthy special interests who manipulate the rules to benefit themselves at the expense of the rest of us. It’s already way too hard for many Americans to get by, let alone get ahead. Now there’s a new case before the U.S. Supreme Court that threatens to make things even worse. A group called the Center for Individual Rights, which the American Prospect recently revealed has been funded by the Koch Brothers, other right-wing one-percenters, and even white supremacists, is trying to make it even harder for public service workers – teachers like me, as well as nurses, social workers, firefighters and others -- to band together at work in order fight for benefits and wages we can use to provide for our families This Koch Brothers-backed group is asking the Supreme Court to impose the same kind of radical agenda we’ve seen hurt everyday people in states like Wisconsin and every state in the country. Worse yet, just like in Citizens United, this all-out attack on everyday Americans would be enshrined in the Constitution. When I began teaching at a California community college in 1992, it never even crossed my mind not to join a union, and it’s a decision I’ve never regretted. We’ve all seen the research showing that strong unions benefit the middle class. Being a union member has allowed me to speak in one voice with my fellow teachers for things that matter and benefit the community – better training, smaller classes, and wages and benefits that can sustain families. But if the groups behind this case get their way, it will be another major blow to the middle class. Tell the Center for Individual Rights: Enough is enough! It’s time to stop attacking working people -- the teachers like me and other public service workers who work to make our communities better. Sign this petition and join us as we tell the Center for Individual Rights that we will not let corporate CEOs and the wealthy special interests stop us from banding together and forming unions to make our lives better. Lacy Barnes, College Instructor, California Federation of Teachers, Local 1533

  41,000 of 45,000 Signatures

  Created by Lacy Barnes
• Reject Betsy DeVos

  My son Jack is a spunky, determined, charismatic six-year-old. He plays baseball, basketball and soccer. He swims and reads and dances. Jack has Down syndrome, but that doesn’t define him. It’s one of the things that makes Jack awesome. And Jack is one of the things that makes his school awesome. Jack attends our local public school—and thanks to an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), Jack is thriving. But Trump’s nominee for education secretary, Betsy DeVos, would put Jack’s education—and the education of millions of other students with special needs—at risk. During her Senate testimony, Ms. DeVos seemed to have no knowledge of the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), the federal law that ensures students with learning challenges get the support and assistance they need to thrive. Jack’s IEP is specially tailored to his “individual” academic and functional goals. He knows that the books he reads were chosen for his reading level, that his physical therapist helps him keep up with his friends and that his speech therapist supports his behavioral goals by giving him language to function appropriately in his classroom. Our sons—Jack and his big brother Griffin—are able to attend the same wonderful public school, thanks to the extra help Jack receives through IDEA. Jack’s teachers and classmates don’t see squinty eyes, extra chromosomes and noisy footsteps—they see Jack’s strengths and weaknesses, his favorite activities, his charm. And Jack gets to learn and grow with kids of all capabilities and from all backgrounds, too. When we were working to get Jack’s IEP approved, I remember telling my teacher friends that I felt like I was also advocating for our amazing schools. I knew that having Jack there would make our amazing schools even awesomer, and that has come to fruition. That school rallies around our guy and supports him so much, and having that kind of diversity--whether across abilities, economic classes, races, or interests--is so vital to our public schools and our democracy. But if Betsy DeVos—who has called our public schools a “dead end”—is confirmed, public schools will be in grave danger. It’s not just that she doesn’t know or care about the federal laws that provide extra help for kids like Jack. It’s that she doesn’t believe in public education. DeVos wants to make our schools into a marketplace, pushing private school vouchers and for-profit charter schools. Her ideas will result in the defunding of the neighborhood public schools like Jack’s—and as parents select specialized schools, families like ours will be left with a no-win choice. In our neighborhood public school, our kids are exposed to so many different kinds of learners, ethnicities, backgrounds, races, and differences of every kind. That helps them learn tolerance and acceptance, and build the skills to interact with people from all different backgrounds. if people choose schools based on specialties, Jack will end up at a special school for kids with disabilities or as a "leftover" in his public school. Schools will lack the cultural and sociological diversity that emulates the real world. And students at the other schools will have no idea as to how to interact with the disability community. Betsy DeVos doesn’t care about kids like Jack—she can’t even be bothered to learn about the federal laws that make it possible for Jack to thrive in our neighborhood public school. Her vision will hurt all of our kids, and especially kids with special needs. Ashley Meier Barlow, Fort Thomas, Kentucky

  4,853 of 5,000 Signatures

  Created by Ashley Barlow
• Support #RedForEd Educators in Arizona

  Since 2008, Arizona has cut almost $1 billion in education funding. Shortchanging Arizona’s children by nearly $1 billion has consequences: textbooks that are 25 years old, leaking roofs, class sizes as large as 40 students, outdated technology, and inadequate support staff to keep students safe and systems working. On April 26, tens of thousands of educators and other staff rallied at the state Capitol in Phoenix to demand that elected officials provide adequate funding for Arizona’s public schools. To restore those massive cuts and create a continuous revenue stream for funding public schools and educators’ salary hikes, the Arizona American Federation of Teachers recommends: • Support for the proposed ballot initiative that would allow voters to decide on increased revenue from high-income taxpayers. • Legislative rebalancing of the “three-legged stool” of state revenue—the income tax, property tax, and sales tax. • Closing tax loopholes and reviewing all tax giveaways to make sure the state is getting an adequate return on tax breaks and tax cuts. The additional revenue raised could be used to fix older school buildings and build new ones—and pay off the lawsuit that contends the state hasn’t provided the required money for school site maintenance; create curriculum that is aligned to the state standards, and provide classroom necessities ranging from modern technology to basic classroom supplies; provide 100 percent funding for all-day kindergarten and for pre-K programs; restore arts programs, alternative education programs for special education students and classes for gifted students; or, provide a salary increase for all school staff—teachers, paraprofessionals, custodians, secretaries and others.

  12,757 of 15,000 Signatures

  Created by Arizona Federation of Teachers
• Pearson: stop "gagging" teachers

  Principals and teachers who recently administered Pearson-developed Common Core-related tests in New York have asserted that they are barred from speaking about the test content and its implications for student success because of “gag orders” written into the testing contracts. These gag orders and the lack of transparency are fueling the growing distrust and backlash among parents, students and educators in the United States about whether the current testing protocols and testing fixation are in the best interests of children. When parents aren’t allowed to know what is on their children’s tests, and when educators have no voice in how assessments are created, and are forbidden from raising legitimate concerns about the assessments’ quality or from talking to parents about the these concerns, Pearson not only increases distrust of testing but also denies children the rich learning experience they deserve. Parents, students and teachers need assessments that accurately measure student performance through questions that are grade-appropriate and aligned with state standards—especially since standardized tests have increasingly life-altering consequences for students and teachers. By including gag orders in contracts, Pearson is silencing the very stakeholders the company needs to engage with. Poll after poll makes clear that parents overwhelmingly trust educators over all others to do what is best for their children—educators’ voices, concerns and input should be included in the creation and application of these assessments. (Read the full letter the AFT delivered to Pearson's board of directors here: http://www.aft.org/pdfs/press/ltr_Randi-Pearson042414.pdf)

  18,902 of 20,000 Signatures

  Created by American Federation of Teachers