Videos

December 10th marks the 69th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR is a milestone document in the history of human rights declaring that peoples of all nations have fundamental human rights that should be universally protected.

At the AFT Washington Executive Board meeting, December 2, 2017, the board, college council presidents and staff of AFT Washington read the UDHR aloud in solidarity with the United Nations' "Stand Up for Human Rights - Add Your Voice" campaign.  You can see our video here.

In reading together, we affirmed our commitment to these

Lack of revenue combined with the recession has resulted in $12 Billion in cuts and chronic underfunding that hurt everyone from schoolchildren to our seniors. We have the most unfair and unstable revenue system in the nation, worse than Texas, South Dakota, and Florida. Please sign the petition for fair revenue.

As reported in the New York Times, Washington is at the top of the list of “Terrible 10” regressive tax system because compared to the richest Washingtonians, the people who can least afford it pay a much higher portion of their incomes in state and local taxes that fund schools, health care, public safety, and other investments that create jobs and promote a strong state economy. The people who can least afford it contribute the most into our revenue system, meaning most of us are picking up the tab for the wealthiest few. The burden is even greater on communities of color, who pay a

Maria Haynes, a paraeducator who works in a school office and formerly worked with Head Start parents and students, describes what Reclaiming the Promise of Public Education means to her. She believes that every adult in a child's life has a direct impact on their success and their family's success, even if it means that impact is realized years later.

For too long, about 2 out of 3 hires in our community colleges are contingent faculty (adjunct, part-time). Students pay the same tuition whether a class is taught by full- or part-time faculty, but part-time faculty get paid less for teaching the same class, often don't have office hours for counseling students, and work at multiple campuses to strive to make a livable wage. Adjunct instructor Mike Boggess describes the inequitable hiring situation on his campus and colleges across the country.

Seattle faculty member Tracey Lai talks about how her community college and others are eliminating the word "community" from their name and how that contradicts the important purpose and mission of our community college system.

AFT Washington President Karen Strickland on the importance of a public education system that supports those who work at schools and colleges as well as the community and students. Karen believes that the two major routes that create social and economic justice are public education and the labor movement. 

An excellent video on representing members' Weingarten Rights. Members of the Shop Steward Committee of OPEIU Local 8 in Seattle wrote and acted in the video; it was shot, edited and produced by the Washington State Labor Council.