February 26, 2018 | Washington News Service | Eric Tegethoff, Producer
SEATTLE 
– The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing a case Monday that has big implications for unions.
In Janus v. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), justices will decide whether employees represented by public unions have to pay so-called fair share fees if they do not want to be members.
Read entire story and audio here.
On Friday, January 19, AFT filed an Amicus Brief in support of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) that lays out an argument citing the role of collective bargaining in improving public sector workplaces, repudiating plaintiff’s constitutionally flawed warping and weaponizing of the First Amendment. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to hear the case in February and make a decision by June. [read more]
December 20, 2017
Today Congress passed a devastating tax plan in which 83 percent of the benefits will go to the top 1% percent by 2027, and where Americans earning less than $75,000 a year will be paying more so tax cuts can go to the wealthiest, big corporations, and foreign investors.
This is greed pure and simple. President Trump and members of Congress passed a bill that will benefit their coffers at the expense of our communities and working families. This unpopular bill was not supported by the majority of Americans and independent economists’ analyses found the middle-class will be hurt. [cont'd]
Dec. 1, 2017
AFT President Randi Weingarten and United University Professions President Frederick Kowal issued a statement today condemning House Republicans’ plan to reauthorize the Higher Education Act. According to the statement, “This is not how we, as a nation, should reauthorize crucial civil rights legislation. We will fight it tooth and nail, and we will work with responsible members of Congress to design a real bill that puts students first, not unaccountable for-profit corporations.” [read the full statement].
Related article, GOP Begins Rewrite of Federal Aid Law, Insider Higher Education, 11/30/17
November 16, 2017
Statement by AFT Washington President on
Tax Reform Bill Passed Today by U.S. House
Tukwila, WA -- The Republican-controlled House has once again demonstrated its firm determination to worsen the economic stability of our members and their families. All four of our GOP congressmembers — U.S. Representatives Reichert, Herrera Beutler, Newhouse, and McMorris Rodgers — voted along party lines to pass the House tax reform bill.
January 16, 2017
“Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it." This quote, initially stated long ago either by Edmund Burke or George Santayana, seems especially relevant today, as the 75th anniversary of Executive Order 9066 approaches. Executive Order 9066 was President F. D. Roosevelt’s order to incarcerate roughly 120,000 Japanese Americans during WWII . . .
November 23, 2016
Weingarten on Nomination of Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education
WASHINGTON—In response to President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Betsy DeVos to lead the Department of Education, AFT President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement: “The president-elect, in his selection of Betsy DeVos, has chosen the most ideological, anti-public education nominee put forward since President Carter created a Cabinet-level Department of Education. [see full statement]
Stand up! Fight back! That's just what the faculty at Green River College did despite the hostility, retaliation, and threats from the college president and the board of trustees. The three-day strike ended May 25, and it had a huge impact.