August 2026

From the President

Labor Day is often considered the unofficial “end of summer.” For those of us in the labor movement, it is also a time to celebrate our solidarity and resolve for the work that lies ahead. As education workers, many of us have been on site all summer, or have already begun preparing for the next academic year, whether that’s at an elementary school or at one of our colleges, but Labor Day still feels like it marks a new start.

Over the past few months, we have met in different spaces and with different purposes. For myself, attending my first National Convention with members from TFESP, Seattle, and Shoreline stands out as a highlight. Meeting in DC with over 3000 AFT delegates from around the world and hearing their stories was truly inspiring. We were a small but mighty group from Washington State, but our union siblings from New York, who were seated behind us, joined in when Washington was up during role call to help represent! Suddenly, we went from 6 voices to over 60!

All our best were there: past, present, and future. A highlight was spending time with Dolores Huerta, who literally coined the line, si se puede, as she was honored and shared some of her story with UFW and what it meant to her to be in community with so many union leaders leading the charge today. And the legacy of the work she started carries on today, especially for us with our partnership with Communities for Our Colleges, the student-led campaign to increase access to college for all Washingtonians and increasing public investments in all levels of education. College is a pathway to a stable life for many students; for C4C’s members, many of whom come from the farmworker families organized by Huerta and others, worker organizing is fundamental to education access.

Another moment that stands out at convention was while we were on the floor, they cut to a live feed from New York City to announce that their City Council just voted unanimously to give all paraprofessionals and instructional aides a $10,000 respect bonus – news that brought down the house with cheers and celebrations! This fight is one we will continue as we plan to coordinate with WEA and our elected allies to fight for dignity and respect for our school related personnel.

There were strong reminders of what’s on the line at this moment, and the urgency of our efforts to get out the vote, as Hakeem Jeffries, poised to become the next Speaker of the House, shared his story and commitment to the labor movement.

Almost immediately after returning home from our nation’s capital, I was honored to attend the Washington State Labor Council’s convention in Wenatchee as one of their Vice Presidents and a delegate for our state affiliate. Our members put in so much hard work on resolutions this year. From continuing to support the efforts of Health Care is a Human Right, to recognizing the impact of AI and academic integrity, to moving the work forward towards disinvesting our pensions from institutions and organizations engaged in human rights violations, AFT Washington members’ voices were heard!

Finally, there was our biennial Powerful Locals event just a few weeks ago in Olympia. Members from 13 locals came together to connect and to learn from each other so they can better represent and support their colleagues. Since then, one local has already applied and received a Powerful Locals grant to support a membership drive in the fall. Our plenary session was so well received there are already talks about offering it again at our convention next May!

So, here we all are, seeing the signs that we might just be heading into fall. The sun will set before 8 p.m. again starting this Friday, I’m starting to see Halloween decorations in the stores, and it’s only a matter of time until pumpkin spice is added to everything you can think of. And yes, Labor Day, our day, is just around the corner. I will be at Pierce County Central Labor Council’s annual graveside memorial for Ralph Chaplin, author of “Solidarity Forever,” and then join our other AFL-CIO siblings at a Labor Day picnic at Ft. Steilacoom Park. (We’ve also included other Labor Day celebrations in this issue, so you can attend one close to home.) Hope to see some of you there – but however you celebrate, wear your union shirt with pride, and when you see others representing their labor organization, be sure to give them a shout out!

In solidarity,