Everyone did a great job, but those kids really shine through with their homemade signs. bsky.app/profile/aftm...

AFT MA is at the State House today with our friends for Common Start Lobby Day! Massachusetts families deserve quality, affordable, accessible child care!

We’re kicking off @aft.org's Protect Our Communities day of action with @btu66.bsky.social at the Curley & Bates Schools! #March4Communities is a national day of action mobilizing union educators, students, & communities to protect our kids, our families, and our communities.

President @jessjtang.bsky.social joined Harvard Kennedy School’s Labor Rights Caucus, Education Caucus, and Professor Archon Fung today for a discussion of public education and unions’ roles in combating rising authoritarianism. (1/3)

Starting off Read Across America Week right at the Greenhalge! President @jessjtang.bsky.social, Secretary-Treasurer Duncan, and AFT MA staff joined United Teachers of Lowell’s own Mickie Dumont today in Lowell to read some of our favorite books to classes across Greenhalge Elementary School.

One union. One community. Countless words. #AFTStrong #UnionProud @aft.org

Reading and literacy are always a priority to us at AFT MA. It was such a joy to partner with @aft.org's Reading Opens the World & Lynn Teachers Union to help make CASA Lynn’s first school library possible! Check out the full story at itemlive.com/2026/02/13/c...

In her new column, @rweingarten.bsky.social writes about how Americans want us to treat each other with dignity, not inhumanity, and seeing reasons for hope in challenging times. www.aft.org/column/toget...

Due process is a bedrock of union values—when our due process rights are violated by an employer, we always fight back. President @jessjtang.bsky.social spoke to unions’ role in fighting back against federal overreach at BC Law. (pc: Reba Saldhana) (1/3) Check it out at tinyurl.com/rappaport2526!

In Boston, MA, I joined @btu66.bsky.social @aftmass.bsky.social members in welcoming students for story time and book giveaways through Reading Opens the World, showing how literacy, joy, and community come together in public schools. #PublicSchoolProud bsky.app/profile/aft....

Love for Local 3954 💙 The incredible educators of the LEA Professional Assn. at Shore Education Collaborative provide essential special education services to students in Chelsea & surrounding communities. Thanks for hosting President Tang at your monthly meeting! Keep up the amazing, work, LEA!

AFT MA lobby team in the (State) House! Another day of making sure your voices are heard on Beacon Hill 💪

Last year’s One Big “Beautiful” Bill is already wreaking havoc on health insurance plans and offerings in unions across the country. Tune in tomorrow night for the latest on what’s happening, how it’s impacting our locals, & how we’re fighting for your benefits. RSVP to join at tinyurl.com/WTH26

Every educator—every local—is feeling the effects of MA’s school funding crisis. Join us tomorrow night for all the news you need on what’s happening, why, and how our union is tackling the funding crisis. RSVP to join at tinyurl.com/WTH26

Join us tonight at 6pm to learn more about what's happening in MN, ways to stand in solidarity with MN, & build our capacity to keep our communities safe and fight back against federal attacks on our rights. Who keeps us safe? We keep us safe. RSVP at tinyurl.com/MA2MNwebinar @btu66.bsky.social

This is what solidarity looks like ✊ Union leaders and members are here in Minnesota standing together in solidarity in response to ICE’s assault on our communities. #ICEOUT @educationmn.bsky.social @mfelocal59.bsky.social #SPFE28 @aftmass.bsky.social @ctulocal1.bsky.social @neatoday.bsky.social

This is not normal. ICE out of MN.

Yesterday, after a lawsuit backed by the AFT, the Trump administration dropped its appeal, ending its attempt to force schools to censor lessons, abandon student supports, and rewrite civil rights law. Read more about this victory for public ed & students everywhere: www.aft.org/press-releas...

It’s time to TURN OUT!! Join AFT MA & 20+ unions, plus community ally groups, for a Solidarity with Minnesota standout this Friday at 3pm. Bring your coworkers, friends, and family and meet us at Boston’s South Bay Mall between Home Depot & Target! Look for the AFT MA flag ✊ @btu66.bsky.social

This weekend President @jessjtang.bsky.social presented at the @aflcio.org Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Human & Civil Rights Conference. Thank you, AFL-CIO, for convening this annual event! Gathering to share best practices with fellow unions & AFT locals is a fitting way to embody Dr. King’s legacy.

81 years ago, Fred Korematsu stood up to injustice and cruelty by challenging Japanese internment during WWII. President Tang was honored to speak at Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties & the Constitution, lifting up our collective work as educators to help pave the path to more justice & equity.

Workers must UNITE! If you’re a union member—get active in your union! If you’re not in a union—join one or form one! The opponent isn’t just masked ICE vigilantes terrorizing schools and communities, it’s the billionaire corporations profiting from terror. But WE THE WORKERS have the power.

Tell Congress: keep ICE out of schools!!

This weekend, AFT MA members rallied for justice & safety! The horrifying acts of the militarized immigration enforcement in cities across this country are not about safety. They are about power, & they are putting innocent working people in danger. These harmful, violent federal actions must end.

SAY IT LOUDER

Wondering what you can do? Find a list of local actions happening statewide at tinyurl.com/FBT-Community-Actions (1/2)

🎉 New TA alert!!   Everett Library Staff Assoc. reached a tentative agreement yesterday that features big wage increases—including 25% over 3 years for library aides!—new paid family medical leave benefits, and boosts to longevity pay. (1/2)

Welcome to AFT MA, Belmont Public Library!
 Their independent staff union chose to affiliate with AFT MA this year because they were eager for the kind of solidarity, training, and resources that weren’t accessible as a single unit union. We’re so proud to welcome another chapter of the MLSA!

Let’s hear it for North Attleboro Federation of Teachers! Last month, NAFT ratified their strongest contract in a generation, winning long-overdue stipend reform, longevity increases, sick leave buy-back, and more. Read the full story at ma.aft.org/naft2025

President @jessjtang.bsky.social joined the Board of Elementary & Secondary Education to celebrate the 2026 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year: Lowell’s own Dr. Tara Goodhue!! A three-year United Teachers of Lowell member, Dr. Goodhue is an exceptional science teacher. (1/2)

President Tang testified at today’s BESE meeting, highlighting the fiscal cliff our schools are facing while they navigate over $120 million in federal funding cuts. Further crippling budgets is the current immigration climate, which has resulted in dramatic drops to attendance and enrollment. 1/3

Today the MA Board of Elementary and Secondary Education announced that Boston’s UP Academy Holland is on track to transition out of state receivership and Dearborn STEM Academy is on track to no longer be considered "underperforming." (1/2) @btu66.bsky.social Read more: ma.aft.org/holland-dearborn

We are grieving. We grieve with the Brown University community, with our Rhode Island AFT & AAUP siblings there, with every student who was scared to go to school today, and with every parent and educator worrying about their children and students today. Read AFT MA’s statement at ma.aft.org/brownu

We’re with Ed! Ed Markey has always had our back, from leading the fight for a para minimum wage, to championing working families & public ed, to fighting the dismantling of the Dept. of Education & attacks on our democracy. That’s why AFT MA endorsed @edmarkey.bsky.social for re-election in 2026.

I am honored to earn the endorsement of @aftmass.bsky.social. AFT MA educators are the backbone, the believers, and the builders of our Commonwealth’s future. In the U.S. Senate, I’ll keep up that fight and make sure every student in Massachusetts has the best public school education they deserve.

Codman Academy families deserve better! Codman Academy Charter Public School educators are fighting for their first contract & the basic safety standards, job security, & fair wages they need to keep serving the students of Boston. Stand with CACPS educators by signing @ tinyurl.com/CACPSletter

Solidarity with Harvard custodians, security officers, & community! AFT MA was proud to join @32bjseiu.bsky.social workers for their United for a Fair Contract rally at Harvard yesterday. Our 32BJ siblings are fighting for fair wages & strong benefits—and we’ve got their backs! Solidarity forever ✊

Stoneham, TODAY IS THE DAY! Vote YES on Questions 1 & 2 to Save Our Stoneham and Save Stoneham Library! The Stoneham Library staff are fellow AFT MA members—but without this override, the Library will close, along with vital town services we all use every day. Make sure to vote by 8PM today!!

So great to be in community this weekend with union siblings from @aft.org and APALA at the @nysut.bsky.social Members of Color Conference! President @jessjtang.bsky.social was honored to lead a plenary on fighting authoritarianism with people power.

Happy holidays from the AFT MA members of the Merrimack Valley Central Labor Council! Such a joy to celebrate another year of cross-labor solidarity with unions across the Merrimack Valley, including the Billerica Federation of Teachers, Lawrence Teachers Union, and United Teachers of Lowell!

Stoneham, it’s time to make a plan to VOTE YES on Questions 1 & 2 this Tuesday, Dec. 9! Vote YES on 12/9 to save Stoneham Library and everything it offers the community! 💪

The 2026 Teacher of the Year is Lowell’s own Tara Goodhue! Congratulations, Tara! AFT MA & United Teachers of Lowell are grateful for all you give to our students!

President Tang was on hand at the release of the Statewide Graduation Council’s preliminary report. As a member of the Council, our priority is to ensure the experiences of and input from our members are heard & incorporated into any final decisions. Read our full statement: ma.aft.org/SGC-prelim —

@AFTMass.bsky.social President @jessjtang.bsky.social makes a great point. This new framework is our chance to build a fairer and more representative graduation system that focuses less on high-stakes testing and focus more on what students have mastered. www.masslive.com/politics/202...

Join us in supporting The Harry H. Dow Memorial Legal Assistance Fund this Friday as they celebrate their 40th anniversary! The Dow Fund provides resources to ensure access to the legal system for Asian Americans facing racial, linguistic, and other barriers. Check out dowfund.org to learn more!

In case you missed it, here are some more photos capturing some of the highlights from our amazing Fall Conference!! From Umass Dartmouth to Pittsfield to Lowell—and truly everywhere in between!—AFT MA members converged on Norfolk Aggie to learn from & with each other at Saturday’s Fall Conference.

THANK YOU to everyone who came out for AFT MA’s 2025 Fall Conference!! With our biggest crowd in years, it was such a joy to be in community with members and leaders from every corner of the state.

💯 @jessjtang.bsky.social: “Spreading services across multiple departments has nothing to do with increasing efficiency. It is just the latest effort to sow confusion.. (&) makes it harder for our students...to access the support they need.” @AFTMass.bsky.social www.masslive.com/politics/202...

“We know the damage is already being felt in our schools, with our most vulnerable students suffering the most. The harm isn't theoretical. It's happening NOW. That's why we're suing. That's why we're fighting.” - President Tang #TrumpCrushesYourDreams www.masslive.com/politics/202...