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Retiree Issues in the Spotlight 

We continue to await news of the final outcome of the bipartisan effort in Congress to pass the Social Security Fairness Act and finally repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) to ensure that public employees – including educators, firefighters, and VA nurses – receive the Social Security benefits they are due.

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This Week At the Legislature: Committees Consider Vouchers, Book Bans, TRS COLA, and more

This week, committees of the Texas Legislature considered bills that had dramatic implications for public education, higher education, and retired educators. Public Education: Senate Considers Vouchers & Teacher Working Conditions, House Considers Book Bans, Curriculum Regulation, and School Funding https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJxPaiper5Q Texas AFT President Zeph Capo provides testimony opposing vouchers to...

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It’s Fully Funded Public Schools, or It’s Vouchers. It Can’t Be Both. 

Texas A-F-T logo

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  March 22, 2023  CONTACT:  press@texasaft.org  The Texas Senate cannot have its tax-funded cake and eat it too — not at the expense of 5.5 million Texas public school students.   AUSTIN, Texas — One day after a smaller-than-advertised crowd “rallied” support for school privatization legislation at the Capitol,...

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March 17, 2023: Fully Funded Public Schools or Vouchers. Not Both.

Friday, March 17, 2023 Respect Public Schools. Reject School Vouchers.  Socorro AFT members wave signs in support of public education and against school vouchers at a rally outside the Texas AFL-CIO on Monday. Photo by Mariana Krueger, CCR Studios.  “When I say ‘respect,’ you say ‘us,’” said Zeph Capo, president...

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Hundreds of Texas School Employees Rally for Respect in Austin

Socorro AFT members wave signs in support of public education and against school vouchers at a rally outside the Texas AFL-CIO on Monday. Photo by Mariana Krueger, CCR Studios. “When I say ‘respect,’ you say ‘us,’” said Zeph Capo, president of the Texas American Federation of Teachers, from a stage...

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TEA Seizes Control of B-Rated Houston ISD

Texas AFT regularly participates in coalition work with allies related to our legislative priorities; in the past week, we have had the chance to join our coalition partners at the Capitol for successful advocacy days. 

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Texas Public School Employees Rally for ‘Respect’ in Austin 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  March 14, 2023  CONTACT: press@texasaft.org Texas Public School Employees Rally for ‘Respect’ in Austin  After more than 500 teachers and school staff members met with legislators, Texas AFT plans to release research on Wednesday that outlines the true cost of respect for public schools.  Texas AFT members...

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What’s in the Teacher Vacancy Task Force Report? Working Conditions

This is the second of three deep dives we will take into the final report from the Texas Education Agency’s Teacher Vacancy Task Force. The recommendations from the report fell into three broad categories:  CompensationWorking ConditionsTraining & Support Last week, we covered topics related to compensation. Today, we will take...

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