After one of the busiest summers I’ve ever experienced–including the AFT Convention, the California Federation of Labor Unions Convention, and the Democratic National Convention– this fall we kicked off yet another robust CFT Back to School Tour.

As always, the Tour was a fantastic way to meet with members and CFT locals formally and informally. Just as every CFT local is unique, every Tour stop was too. Locals invited Secretary Treasurer Lacy Barnes, Executive VP Juan Ramirez, and me at new employee orientations, executive council and general membership meetings, rallies, school board meetings, and gatherings at local union offices or community spots. 

Much of what we heard was echoed across the state: our members want improved pay and benefits, greater respect on the job, and clean and safe places to work at and teach in. Another thing we heard as we visited with locals is enthusiasm for the upcoming election in November, especially after President Joe Biden made the courageous decision to put country first and not seek re-election. There is a palpable surge of excitement even in the “safe” state of California, and our members are excited about what is possible. 

The presidential election before us in November is unlike any we’ve ever faced. This year, we have the chance to put a fellow Californian in the White House. Vice President Kamala Harris was born in the Bay Area and educated by the CFT teachers and classified workers in Berkeley. CFT has supported her in her elections for California Attorney General, US Senator, and Vice President of the United States. Unlike any other candidate before her, she has deep experience in the judicial, legislative, and executive branches of government, making her the most qualified presidential candidate our country has ever seen. In California and at CFT, our support for her has never wavered, and we believe in her similarly unwavering support for labor and for public education.

But, for the first time, we also have a ticket that includes a classroom teacher and a former AFT member. As a social studies teacher, a football coach, an advisor to his school’s GSA, and a union member, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has walked the same road that our members have. Never before have we had the opportunity to vote for a classroom teacher and a rank-and-file union member at the top of the ticket. He knows what matters to our members: safe and welcoming schools, full funding that ensures that every student will have a world-class education, and the promise of affordable healthcare and a dignified retirement for educators and classified staff. Tim Walz has been there, and he knows what it looks like to fight for our members and our students.

We could not have asked for a more prepared, experienced, and well-rounded ticket (not to mention candidates who have OUR values and beliefs in public education), and I will be proud to cast my vote for Vice President Harris and Governor Walz this November.

We also must make sure that they have a Congress that will work with them to get things done. We need a Congress that will work with us to fully support special education and IDEA funding and that will end the unfair pension practices of the Reagan-era WEP/GPO Social Security penalties. And we need a Congress that will continue the work of the Biden-Harris administration by ensuring that we have a robust National Labor Relations Board that fights for worker protections.

In California, we aren’t used to being center stage when it comes to congressional elections, but this year is different. I’m sure I am not alone in hearing the expression “the road to taking back the House in 2024 runs through New York and California.” We find ourselves in an unfamiliar position, and we have a lot of work to do.

In California, we have six frontline Congressional races that we must win in order to help build a Congress that will work with Harris and Walz. In the Central Valley, we can elect Adam Gray in CD 13 and Rudy Salas in CD 22. In Northern Los Angeles County, we can elect former NASA Chief of Staff George Whitesides in CD 27. In CD 41 in Palm Springs, we can defeat the anti-LGBT Ken Calvert and elect veteran and out gay man Will Rollins. And in Orange County, we can flip AD 45 by electing Derek Tran, and we can hold Katie Porter’s seat by electing Dave Min to CD 47. All of these seats are winnable, but it will take work to get there.

I will be out walking for these candidates with our union partners and the California Federation of Labor Unions nearly every Saturday (and some Sundays and weekdays too!) to make sure that we do our job in California.  This is not even mentioning the many trustee races you have in your own backyard. 

So, join me in electing these pro-union and pro-public education candidates.  CFT will be publicizing ways to get involved, and I urge you to volunteer with your Central Labor Council or to join a local, CFT, or AFT phone bank. Urge your friends and family to vote in this critical election. 

Let’s work together and show the country that California educators and union members know when to step up and turn out!