May 2025
From the President
As you know, we held our biennial convention this past weekend and it was terrific! Delegate energy was high throughout and it reminded me of the power of coming together in person…virtual meetings make our lives easier in some respects, but there’s no question that our power and solidarity are strongest when we have interactions in real life.
We were honored to have AFT President Randi Weingarten join us Saturday evening, where she spoke unequivocally about the need to take our power and solidarity to the streets. AFT has mounted a vigorous legal strategy along with an unrelenting presence on Capitol Hill. In fact, they were in the hearing room at 1 a.m. Wednesday morning as the Rules Committee got to work slashing and burning the programs and services that millions of Americans rely on, like the more than 8 million who will lose their healthcare, or the 42 million who will lack the nutrition they need when their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits go away, or the 5 million students who will lose access to affordable college. The House passed the bill and it will take all of us, to mitigate the damage as it moves through the Senate.
We have to continue showing up in the streets – like we did on March 4th in Lynnwood, Tacoma, and Olympia, April 5th all over the state, May Day in numerous cities…and next stop, NO KINGS DAY on June 14th. After spending time with our members and seeing the level of commitment, principles, and goodwill towards one another, I know that we can and will rise to the challenge before us.
Randi also elevated the work we’ve done to build community alliances, recognizing that organized labor can’t do this alone, nor should we. We have the same interests as the vast majority of people in this country and we all do better when we all do better!
Randi’s presence at our convention is a testament to her dedication to each of us, and it follows years of putting herself in the line of fire. You don’t win the epithet of the most dangerous woman in America by sitting idly by while our rights and freedoms get trampled in the dust!
Convention isn’t all I’ve been up to. Last week I was on a panel at a South Seattle Staff Development Day along with two faculty and the new executive director of the Labor Education and Research Center. We discussed the state budget challenges as well as threats to public higher education and how we can best defend against and fight them. On May 3rd Standing for Democracy hosted the Conference of Resistance to Deportation, bringing together 240 people in person and 60 online to learn, build relationships, strategize, and get motivated to…you can see a trend starting here…fight back! Standing for Democracy is a new organization seeking to build a united front to defend our democracy and build stronger, more effective institutions. Tomas Ramos, our VP for Human Rights worked with others from community groups and unions to plan the conference – thank you, Tomas!
On May Day I had the opportunity to speak at AFT Seattle 1789’s walk-out related to their bargaining and then join the MLK Labor and Community May Day celebration before heading to Tacoma to join the march to the Northwest Detention Center where Lelo Juarez and Lewelyn Dixon – and now Maximo Londonio of IAM - are locked up for no reason but to create an atmosphere of fear and intimidation.
Amidst the high energy of convention, the solidarity and commitment to a better world so visible at the rallies and marches, and the knowledge of how ordinary people like us have made extraordinary impacts throughout history, I feel motivated to tackle the challenges we face. I hope you do too, because these challenges require that we get out of neutral and drive! Coming together with common cause will strengthen and energize us. And always remember, it’s ok to take a step back now and then to make sure you stay healthy and well.
All my best as you wrap up another school year and contribute in whatever ways you can to defend our centers, schools and colleges, our democracy, and our freedom to thrive!
In solidarity,
Karen Strickland, President
Local News & Highlights
Our Convention Resolutions: Setting The Work Of The Next Two Years
By Cortney Marabetta, Communications Specialist
Delegates to the AFT Washington convention passed five resolutions this last week! Topics included:
- Our Labor And Our Money Is Our Power
- Advancing Job Security and Pay Equity for Contingent Faculty in Washington’s Community and Technical Colleges
- In Commemoration of Frank Chopp
- Ensuring A Secure Retirement For All
- Ensure Washington State Workers’ Pension Funds Align with International Law
These resolutions will inform our work for the next two years, and we are looking forward to working with members, councils, and the executive board to implement them!
You can read the resolutions as passed here. Please contact us at aftwashington@aftwa.org or talk to your UOR if you have any questions.
Support the AFT Washington/Barnard Iglitzin Lavitt Scholarship!
By Cortney Marabetta, Communications Specialist
Has your local contributed to the AFT Washington/Barnard Iglitzen Lavitt Scholarship this year? If you haven’t, there’s still time!
Every year, AFT Washington provides scholarships to AFT Washington members and their families who are getting a post-high-school degree at any educational level. In recent years, thanks to the generosity of locals, individual donors, and fundraisers who participate in our March “Get On Your Bike And Ride!” fundraiser, we’ve been able to offer six $1500 scholarships – that’s six students who receive a scholarship, up from our pre-pandemic four!
This year we’ve received big donations from several locals, and our bike riders have ridden hundreds of miles, but there is still time to donate! If your local would like to donate through our GivingFuel account, you can do that here. If you’d prefer to send a check, please contact Somma Rath at srath@aftwa.org – you can send the check to AFT Washington’s office, at 604 Oakesdale Avenue, Suite 103, Renton, WA 98057.
We appreciate our donors, and our students do too!
Scholarship Applications Opening In June!
By Cortney Marabetta, Communications Specialist
The AFT Washington/Barnard Iglitzin Lavitt scholarship will be opening for applications on June 15th! We encourage locals to promote the scholarship at your membership meetings – we love giving out the scholarships, and for our students, they ease the cost of tuition and other school expenses, but we always get a few people who didn’t know about it!
You can download the flyer here. We’ll have an updated application available on our website June 15th; the closing date is August 15th.
No Kings Day - June 14th
On June 14—Flag Day—Donald Trump wants tanks in the street and a made-for-TV display of dominance for his birthday. A spectacle meant to look like strength. But real power isn’t staged in Washington. It rises up everywhere else.
No Kings is a nationwide day of defiance. From city blocks to small towns, from courthouse steps to community parks, we’re taking action to reject authoritarianism—and show the world what democracy really looks like.
We’re not gathering to feed his ego. We’re building a movement that leaves him behind.
The flag doesn’t belong to Donald Trump. It belongs to us. We’re not watching history happen. We’re making it.
On June 14th, we’re showing up everywhere he isn’t—to say no thrones, no crowns, no kings.
More information here.
Cesar Chavez Human Rights Award Given To Eight Organizations
By AFT Washington Staff and the Human Rights Committee
This year’s Cesar Chavez Human Rights Award was given to a group of eight organizations involved with immigrant rights and safety – a tragically crucial need. The AFT Washington Human Rights Committee’s nomination letter, here presented in slightly abridged form, lays out the reasons why and the work each organization is doing.
The United States and the world are experiencing multiple catastrophic challenges that range from civil rights violations to restricting freedom of speech, incarcerating innocent immigrants in concentration camp jail systems, and even using bogus reasons to curtail peoples’ rights to work. These challenges have become everyday, common problems with dire consequences. Our country’s political climate and unfair enforcement of inhumane policies are creating chaos all around. Seldom in our nation's history have we seen such disregard for basic human rights. With this in mind, we recognize these organizations as deserving recipients of the Cesar Chavez Human Rights Award. The people who work for these groups are performing tasks that are making a difference in the lives of many people in vulnerable circumstances. While we historically awarded the accolade to one person or individual organization, it is essential that we, under the circumstances, recognize these groups. Their contributions to ensure the continuation of a just society are making a difference even when the challenges have become overwhelming.
Northwest Immigrant Rights Project
Northwest Immigrant Rights Project Mission promotes justice by defending and advancing the rights of immigrants through direct legal services and provides systemic advocacy and community education.
Northwest Immigrant Rights Project's vision is to strive for justice and equity for all persons, regardless of where they were born.
Aid Northwest
AIDNW's mission and vision is to support immigrants in detention and upon release. A welcome community that affirms the dignity of all immigrants. A volunteer-based organization that welcomes immigrants after they are released from the ICE federal detention center in Tacoma. The day-to-day operations are run exclusively by volunteers who are passionate about providing basic needs services to immigrants. These services range from greeting with a friendly welcome message to those who have been incarcerated to connecting them instantly with their closest relatives who often have not seen in a few weeks or several years and are unaware of their location.
Tsuru for Solidarity
Tsuru for Solidarity is a nonviolent, direct action project of Japanese American social justice advocates and allies working to end detention sites and support directly impacted immigrant and refugee communities that are being targeted by racist, inhumane immigration policies. We stand on the moral authority of Japanese Americans who suffered the atrocities and legacy of U.S. concentration camps during WWII and we say, “Stop Repeating History!”
La Resistencia
La Resistencia is a grassroots organization led by undocumented immigrants and people of color who have been oppressed by the immigration enforcement system. We are based in Washington State working to end the detention of immigrants and stop deportations. Originally founded on March 7th, 2014 to support a hunger strike launched by over 1200 people detained in Tacoma to protest their confinement, La Resistencia began under the umbrella of the national #Not1More campaign as “NWDC Resistance.” Today, La Resistencia is led by experts who know the system better than anyone, those who have been detained or have had relatives in deportation proceedings. We support and engage with people detained at the Northwest Detention Center who organize for their survival and in protest against the detention and deportation regime. We are a grassroots immigrant-led group that organizes across the prison barrier. Our goal is to shut down the NWDC and to end all detentions and deportations in Washington State.
Washington Immigration Solidarity Network
Washington Immigration Solidarity Network (WAISN) is an immigrant-led, volunteer-driven state-wide coalition that has built collective power to protect immigrant rights, defend immigrants, and advocate for greater opportunities and rights of immigrant communities to strengthen and expand the freedom to thrive.
They grew out of the direct threat posed by the Trump administration following his 2016 election and have remained active ever since.
Casa Latina
Casa Latina is a nonprofit worker center that advances the power and well-being of Latino immigrants through employment, education, and community organizing. Their vision is that the Latino community participates fully in the economy and democracy of this country. Their daywork center, workers’ defense committee, and leadership programs are all focused on giving the training, knowledge, and support needed for our communities to move toward greater self-sufficiency.
One America
One America's mission and vision are to advance the fundamental principles of democracy and justice at the local, state, and national levels by building power within immigrant communities in collaboration with key allies. Their vision is - to envision a peaceful world where every person’s human rights and dignity are respected, where communities appreciate differences and stand together for justice and equality, and where each person contributes to the common good.
Community to Community
Community to Community's mission and vision are: We believe that another world is possible and we are active participants in other self-determined people’s movements. We strive to reclaim our humanity by defining power to end structural racism and all of its manifestations including settler colonialism, capitalism, and patriarchy in their external and internalized forms.
Many worthy causes deserve the Cesar Chavez award and we recognize there are a multitude of them currently defending human rights violations. The collection of organizations named in this nomination letter is only a fraction of them seeking to sustain what is a fair treatment of human beings in a just and free world. It is not our intention to ignore the challenges of the many vulnerable populations and their organization allies that seek similar outcomes. Instead, as a human rights committee, we gather this list of organizations in an attempt to highlight their work based on the multitude of immigration civil rights violations. At a time when we are seeing the establishment and growth of concentration camps under the direction of an unjust political system, we must support the efforts of the groups seeking to assist vulnerable and at-risk immigrants. It is with enormous gratitude that we nominate these organizations as recipients of the 2025 Cesar Chavez Human Rights Award.
Executive Board Awards
During last weekend’s convention, the AFT Washington Executive Board presented awards to members, recognizing them for their work and activism. We are always delighted to honor members who make a difference!
Carla Powell of United Classified Workers Union, Local 4795, received the Treasurer’s Award for her skill and hard work as the UCWU treasurer – a job made more complicated by the fact that her local is in both the Northshore and Issaquah School Districts!
The Good Trouble award, named for John Lewis’s quote, “Get in good trouble, necessary trouble,” was given to Chuck Mueller, Edmonds College Federation of Teachers, Local 4254, and Renee Potter, AFT Washington Retiree Chapter Local 8045R, in recognition of their leadership and activism within their locals and the larger union.
The Organizing Award was given to Jim Howe of the AFT Washington Retiree Chapter, Melissa Roach of the Tacoma Federation of Education Support Professionals, Local 461, and Marla Simpson, AFT Everett Higher Ed, Local 1873. All three are strong, dedicated union activists who work tirelessly to strengthen their locals and build the union. One, two, or all three of them can be found at practically every event their locals participate in (and they were, par for the course, all at the convention to receive their awards in person!)
And finally, the Leadership In Collective Bargaining Award was given to Rachel Dorn of AFT Yakima, Local 1485, and DawnMoon Jaques of Edmonds College Federation of Teachers, Local 4254. Both are powerful advocates for their locals and their members; Rachel’s leadership during AFT Yakima’s prolonged contract negotiation was crucial to the success of their efforts, and DawnMoon is a tireless voice for her local’s members.
We appreciate everyone who nominated an outstanding member, and remind you that the Executive Board gives these awards at every convention – it is not too early to start watching for the members whose work makes a difference at your local!
The Budget Was Signed - For Us, It's Good News
By Cortney Marabetta, Communications Specialist
This week, Governor Ferguson signed the final budget legislators passed this session. While he did, as promised, review the budget closely and made some partial vetoes, none of those vetoes impact our higher education or PreK-12 members.
If you would like to review the specifics of the budget, you can do so here.
Tell Tacoma Public Schools Leadership: Support Our Students!
While state funding is a major concern for all school districts, in Tacoma, the financial situation education workers face is due in part to the district’s failure to put adequate safeguards on its spending. Since 2018, the district has overestimated its revenue by $101.6 million. As a result, the district has made dramatic cuts over the past month, as it faces a $30 million deficit (of a $570 million budget).
Tacoma Public Schools Unions United are calling on the district to improve transparency, make schools safer, and reprioritize funding to avoid cuts. Sign on to their petition!
Union Tips & Reminders
National Day Of Action: Mass Rally To Protest Deportation of Filipinos
Friday, May 23rd, 4:00 – 6:00 PM
Free Auntie Lynn Now!
Thursday, May 29th, 1:00 PM
Adjunct Unemployment Workshops
Monday, June 16th, 2:00 PM or Tuesday, June 24th, 3:00 - 4:30 PM
AFT Washington and WEA have helped hundreds of adjuncts successfully apply for unemployment benefits over more than a decade.
This workshop is intended for seasoned and new applicants alike. The aim is to increase your chances of getting your unemployment claim as adjuncts resolved quickly, decreasing the potential of accidentally triggering delays that could delay payments by months.
Attending a live workshop is important, so we can answer questions live! We do not record sessions, but we can provide additional accommodations as needed.
Human Rights Committee Seeks Members
The AFT Washington Human Rights Committee is sincerely committed to our mission statement of advocating for human rights in our workplaces and our community. We are continuing to work with our locals and allies to combat racism, foster community, and educate our members and communities on the importance of Human Rights. The AFT Washington Human Rights Committee needs your expertise, experience, and investment in upholding Human Rights to do this! We want to have a representative committee that includes all the constituencies within AFT Washington, but to do that we need your participation. You are invited to join the Human Rights Committee as an advocate for the Human Rights issues that are important to our members. To join the Human Rights Committee, contact Ray Carrillo, 206-369-4001, rcarrillo@aftwa.org.
AFT Connect: Better Data For A Stronger Union
Connect is AFT’s web-based, secure local data management system. It provides a great way to record individual member data, and so much more!
- Capture detailed employment and employer information about members, prospective members, and retired members of your local.
- Make sure your members can access their union-provided benefits (discounted insurance, home mortgages, travel, goods, and personal services).
- Keep track of changes in member earnings to ensure proper payment of your local’s per capita obligations.
- Manage your local executive board as well as COPE and other local committees.
- Plan outreach to your members and prospects. Have the information you need to conduct mailings, email, phone, and text message outreach via local efforts or using AFT’s communications tools. Record member event attendance and outreach responses.
- Create forms and surveys.
- Track your local’s engagement with and support from Community Allies.
Readily use these features and more through AFT Connect’s dashboard, upload bulk spreadsheet updates of your membership, or let Connect help your local turn data into a powerful outreach and management tool through easy, customizable reports.
Maintaining your local’s membership and leadership information in Connect meets AFT and AFT Washington requirements for your local to remain in good standing.
To get started with AFT Connect, or to request training and other member data support, contact Briseida Sanchez at bsanchez@aftwa.org.
Communications Help Is Available
Is your local not sure how to best use your website? Did you know you can have a free website? Would you like help with figuring out strategies for better communications outreach? Got something for the whole union to hear about? We can help with all of these, and more!
On top of helping your local, we can provide outreach to the union as a whole, through the Pulse and the Union Spotlight. We are actively interested in anything your members are doing, such as workshops or innovative problem solving.
If you have questions about them, want guidance, or are interested in learning more, please contact Cortney Marabetta at cmarabetta@aftwa.org.