Newsroom
Legislator of the Year Patrick O’Donnell brings the classroom to Sacramento
Former teacher and Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell, who has lobbied for more school funding, and served as chair of the Assembly Education Committee, received the Legislator of the Year Award.
“He’s one of the people in Sacramento we can call on,” said CFT President Joshua Pechthalt about O’Donnell, elected in 2014, whose district includes Long Beach, Signal Hill, San Pedro and Catalina Island. “We’re not always in agreement, but he’s a steadfast ally of ours.”
CFT President Joshua Pechthalt honored with Ben Rust Award
AFT Local 2121 member and former CFT Communications Director Fred Glass presented retiring CFT President Joshua Pechthalt with the CFT’s highest honor, the Ben Rust Award. Glass called Pechthalt, who was AFT vice president of United Teachers Los Angeles before being elected CFT president in 2011, an organizer, a trade unionist, and a fighter for social justice like Rust.
In unflinching terms, Nancy MacLean spells out the right-wing attack on America
Rebuilding union power is key – AFT West Virginia and UTLA are doing just that
WATCH THE VIDEO: Nancy MacLean
WATCH THE VIDEO: Aryana Fields performs “Strike Song”
When future historians look back on this period, Donald Trump and his presidency will be seen as a sideshow while a slow attempted takeover of our core branches of government is underway.
Delegates pass wide-ranging resolutions at Convention
Topics range from rebranding and retirees to the Green New Deal
On its 100th Anniversary, the CFT voted to rebrand itself. In accordance with Resolution 1, which convention delegates passed unanimously, it will now be CFT: A Union of Educators and Classified Professionals. The change formally recognizes that the union proudly represents a broad spectrum of education workers.
Luukia Smith, elected Secretary Treasurer of the CFT by delegates, and the first classified employee to serve in this position, was first to rise in support of the change.
Convention delegates celebrate the CFT’s 100th Anniversary
Gala, special guests, videos and exhibits showcase an extraordinary history
Hundreds of delegates to the CFT Convention celebrated the 100th Anniversary of their union at a hotel of nearly the same age, the historic Millennium Biltmore in downtown Los Angeles.
During general sessions, delegates watched a series of videos chronicling the CFT’s history of activism. Outside the ballroom doors, they could view a wide range of exhibits in the CFT Hall of History.
CFT lobbies for charter reform, paid maternity leave
Union update from the state Capitol
The CFT was successful in securing the passage of a number of our sponsored and co-sponsored bills out of their first policy committees. These bills address priority issues for the CFT, including increasing funding for schools, ensuring accountability for charter schools and providing support for community college and University of California faculty.
Horns & Warm Kleenex: A personal view of the Oakland teachers’ strike
I joined the picket lines in Oakland on three different mornings. On the first day of the strike, teachers brought a boom box and we danced and sang on the line. Another day, at a different school, a parent brought a folding table and fed us tangerines, string cheese, mountains of cinnamon and chocolate croissants and hot coffee.
CFT members advocate for charter reform bills in Sacramento
Urge your Assembly & Senate representatives to support AB 1505, 1506 and 1507!
On April 10, over 80 CFT members took part in a successful Legislative Day of Action in Sacramento. Educators and classified professionals from throughout the state gathered at the capitol to push for more accountability for charter schools and full funding for public education. And despite aggressive tactics by charter backers, we were successful in moving several important bills through the Assembly Education Committee.
UC-AFT recognized on Assembly Floor
Assemblyman Jose Medina, D-Riverside, Chair of the Higher Education Committee, recognized the University Council-AFT on the Assembly Floor during UC-AFT’s first group lobby day at the State Capitol on April 1.
Before becoming a state legislator, Medina was a teacher at Riverside Poly High School and served as an elected trustee of the Riverside Community College District. For his dedicated work on behalf of education, CFT honored Medina with its Legislator of the Year Award in 2016.
CFT Convention celebrates 100th Anniversary
Delegates elect new leaders, debate policy, and honor union's centennial
This past weekend over 600 delegates and guests gathered at the historic Millennium Biltmore hotel in downtown Los Angeles to take part in the 2019 CFT Convention. Throughout the weekend we celebrated CFT’s 100 year anniversary, recognizing the incredible activism, dedication, and success of generations of educators and classified professionals who worked tirelessly over a century for our students, our schools, and our professions.
Teachers never walk alone when they have union brothers and sisters
Six Days That Shook Los Angeles – Part 6, Conclusion
UTLA’s fight to save public education resonated far and wide. Messages of solidarity and selfies of fist-pumping teachers poured in from Kentucky to Canada. Union locals across Los Angeles set up support networks for more than 200 LAUSD schools. For Writers Guild members, joining teachers on picket lines was an opportunity to pay back their mentors.
The power of parents: A new generation shows its commitment to local schools
Six Days That Shook Los Angeles - Part 5
United Teachers Los Angeles has fought for nearly 50 years to give parents a greater voice in how their children’s schools are run. In recent years, UTLA stepped up its outreach by hiring community organizers, building coalitions, and working with supporters in changing neighborhoods.
Those efforts bore fruit in January, when thousands of parents joined teachers on picket lines across the 700-square-mile school district to fight for “the schools our students deserve.”