Texas American Federation of Teachers

01/19/2025 | News release | Archived content

Jan. 17, 2025: Your work has dignity. Your work has worth.

Friday, Jan. 17, 2025

Your work has dignity. Your work has worth.

Monday, Jan. 20, is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a time to reflect on the legacy of one of our finest organizers for social justice and a day of service in our communities.

Monday is also Inauguration Day for a president whose re-election brings great uncertainty for public education, for organized labor, and for our democratic norms and process.

As such, we offer you guiding words for this tenuous point in our shared history. In March of 1968, Dr. King delivered his "All Labor Has Dignity" speechat Bishop Charles Mason Temple of the Church of God in Christ in Memphis, Tennessee. His speech came one month into a strike of over 1,000 sanitation workers, but his words ring true todayas we demand respect and dignity for Texas teachers, faculty, paraprofessionals, and support personnel here in this legislative session:

"So often we overlook the work and the significance of those who are not in professional jobs, of those who are not in the so-called big jobs. But let me say to you tonight, that whenever you are engaged in work that serves humanity and is for the building of humanity, it has dignity, and it has worth. One day our society must come to see this. One day our society will come to respect the sanitation worker if it is to survive, for the person who picks up our garbage, in the final analysis, is as significant as the physician, for if he doesn'tdo his job, diseases are rampant. All labor has dignity."

In this week's Hotline:

  • Our recap of the first week of Texas Legislature
  • Results from our latest member survey
  • A student's bill of rights!
  • Save the date for our monthly organizing call

- Texas Legislature



Texas AFT at the Capitol: Recap of Week 1 of the 89th Legislature

On Tuesday, Jan. 14, the 89th Texas Legislature gaveled in, and Texas AFT was proud to represent K-12 and higher education employees the Texas State Capitol in Austin. Local union presidents from across the state came together, along with Texas AFT President Zeph Capo, to receive training and strategize on our legislative agenda.

Central to our priorities is the Educator's Bill of Rights, developed with input from members, outlines ten fundamental rights for educators. That agenda is both ambitious, but it's also quite simple. Many of the bills to improve working conditions would not even have a cost. We asked our members not only what they needed to remain in their jobs but also what they considered essential rights for all Texas educators - certified and classified, in K-12 and higher education, active and retired.

- Member Survey

Texas AFT Member Survey Results Preview Working Conditions, Funding Fights in Legislative Session

On the eve of the 89th legislative session, Texas AFT released the results of our most recent member surveyon Monday. As has been the case for the past three years, an overwhelming majority of our K-12 and higher education members report they have considered leaving the profession and harbor deep concerns about the threat of private school vouchers to their classrooms.



After a tumultuous year for public education, Texas AFT returns to the Texas Capitol with a list of demands for lawmakers, developed by our members and reinforced by this year's survey results.

- K-12

Texas Student Group Establishes a Student Bill of Rights

On Jan. 7, Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT), a student-led movement demonstratingyouth visibility in educational policymaking, delivered a Student Bill of Rightsto more than 1,200 Texas policymakers in advance of the 89thLegislature.

Over 100 students from various grade levels, backgrounds, lived experiences, identities, and political perspectives participatedin the creation of this landmark piece of student advocacy.



- Event



Growing Public School Power Together: If you'reready to dig in and grow Texas educators' power, join us for monthly organizing calls where we'lltalk about the challenges we face in the Legislature and in our districts and the tried-and-true strategies and tactics that can help us overcome them. RSVP on Mobilize.

- Horace Mann

It's a new year and a good time to get your financial house in order!

The start of a new year is a great time to take charge of your financial future! As a valued educator, you're shaping the minds of tomorrow - let Horace Mann, your trusted corporate supporter, help shape your financial journey. HMScore™ is your complimentary, personalized tool for financial wellness.

With HMScore™, you can:

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Start managing your finances with confidence. Sign up for your free HMScore™ account and start your journey toward a brighter financial future. Thank you for your dedication to education. Horace Mann is proud to support you!

Horace Mann Service Corporation and certain of its affiliates (Horace Mann) enter into agreements with educational associations where Horace Mann pays the association to provide services aimed at familiarizing association members with the Horace Mann brand, productsor services. For more information, email your inquiry to [email protected].

EMX-00174 (Oct. 24)

Recommended Reading

Education news from around the state and nation that's worth your time.

How a school voucher program in Texas could affect policies across US: It'd 'be a big deal'. Any school voucher program, which would use public funds to help parents pay for private school tuition, that passes in Texas would be a significant blow to public schools because so many districts across the state are already facing budgets deficits, said Zeph Capo, president of Texas American Federation of Teachers, which advocates on behalf of its members. (Austin American-Statesman, Jan. 14)

Texas educators celebrate signing of Social Security Fairness Act. Members of the teacher's union, the Texas branch of the American Federation of Teachers, are celebrating the signing of the Social Security Fairness Act. President Joe Biden recently signed the legislation into law. It boosts retirement benefits for some school district employees and other public servants nationwide. (Public News Service, Jan. 13)

Controversial gender policy approved by Cy-Fair ISD trustees without discussion. Despite heavy opposition at Thursday's board meeting, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD trustees voted 5-1 to approve the first reading of a policy that would force staff to "out" transgender or nonbinary students if they request to use a different name or pronoun at school. (Houston Chronicle, Jan. 16)