Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1060790
A national movement to #VotePublicEd CTA members were among the more than 1,000 educators across the country who won election to leadership roles in their communities. Nation- ally, educators helped flip more than 300 state legislative seats, elect more than 100 women to Congress, and tipped the balance of power in the U.S. House of Representatives, which puts a major check on Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and her school privatization agenda. "Don't let billionaires buy the election" During his speech to Council, CTA President Eric Heins urged educators to vote for Thurmond, stand up for public schools and fight the out-of- state billionaires who are trying to dismantle education. "They're trying to buy public education in Cali- fornia, and it is not for sale!" Heins said. " We cannot allow this kind of hatred to exist in our society, We must do it now. We must continue to fight back and not remain silent." — President Eric Heins, urging adoption of common-sense gun laws Showing #RedForEd solidarity with UTLA and OEA Donned in every shade of red, Council members stood in solidarity with educators in Los Angeles and Oakland, who are fighting school district administrations that have shown they do not support the people who serve their students. With UTLA marching toward a potential strike and OEA not far behind, CTA members, educators across the country and the communities we serve are joining the #RedForEd movement in support of these and other educators who continue to make magic in the classroom despite a lack of support by their school districts. Council delegates approved a New Business Item to encourage local chapters to initiate sol- idarity actions in support of UTLA and OEA in their current contract negotiations. The success of these two chapters will likely impact contract negotiations throughout the state. Member engagement keeps us strong CTA Executive Director Joe Nuñez thanked Council for all the work in chapters to strengthen our union leading up to June's Janus Supreme Court decision. Due to the engagement efforts of educators around the state, the impact of the negative (but expected) decision by the court was far less than anticipated. He warned of the need to remain vigilant, as the Freedom Foundation and Mackinac Center for Public Policy (which is ded- icating $50 million over the next three years to union-busting) are continuing their deceptive efforts to get members to drop out of their unions. Mourning the tragedy in Pittsburgh The energy of the Council meeting was dampened by news of another mass shooting tragedy, this time at a synagogue in Pittsburgh. The Council observed a moment of silence in mem- ory of the 11 people who were killed in the senseless shooting. "We cannot allow this kind of hatred to exist in our society," Heins said, urging the adoption of common-sense gun laws. "We must do it now. We must continue to fight back and not remain silent." Looking Ahead State Council meets Jan. 25-27 at the Westin Bonaventure in Los Angeles. State Council delegates text-bank for Tony Thurmond, sending out more than 68,000 texts to get out the vote. 60 cta.org CTA & You