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Celebrating Women's History Month at the AFT
Women’s History Month began as National Women’s History Week in 1980 when President Jimmy Carter issued a presidential proclamation that created it. This week was observed until 1987, when Congress officially designated March as Women’s History Month. The AFT is excited to celebrate Women’s History Month and the many contributions women have made to the United States since its inception.
When celebrating the history of women in the United States, there is often a focus on the 19th Amendment; and while it’s a landmark piece of legislation that allowed women the right to vote for the first time, it is imperative to note that this amendment did not guarantee that right for Asian, Black, Indigenous, Latina and other women of color. We also need to address the intersections of women’s identities, whether related to race, ethnicity, religion, sexuality or gender identity. The AFT has championed equality and challenged society to do the same since the very beginning, with women such as Margaret Haley leading that charge. Women's history is AFT's history.
The AFT provides many resources centered entirely around women, from AFT resolutions about women’s rights, to Share My Lesson resources, to the work and differences women are making in policy, in the classroom and in their communities.
Policy For Women, By Women
When it comes to protecting the on-campus community from sexual discrimination, federal policy outlined in Title IX has been key, but with Donald Trump—a man found guilty of sexual abuse—on his way to the presidency, all bets are off. At a webinar Nov. 13, AFT staff and members considered the path forward, discouraged by possible changes but finding hope in the fact that, for now, colleges and universities can craft their own policies around sex-based abuse and discrimination, regardless of who is in the White House.
Civics teacher Sara Waechter always talks to her students about voting—not who to vote for, but how important it is to get out there and exercise their right, to participate in democracy. This year, she rallied students to register nearly 100 percent of the eligible voters in their school, and the kids enthusiastically embraced the task, sending messages on group chats and convening in the hallways to support each other as they took their first steps into an active civic life.
Ternesha Burroughs loves her job teaching high school math, but when student loans weighed her down and her salary just couldn’t keep up, she wondered if it might not be better to grab a job at the fast food restaurant down the street, where they were actually paying more. Many years later, Burroughs worked with her union and now she's thrilled that her loans have finally been canceled, but worries about how student debt and low salaries contribute to the teacher shortage. Read her story on AFT Voices.
In AFT communities
Karen Reyes is usually optimistic, but even she is struggling with threats to immigrant students, their families and herself personally. In this AFT Voices post, Reyes—a Texas teacher for deaf and hard of hearing children and a DACA recipient—describes the fear in her community and her own worry over whether her DACA status will be taken away. She also inspires us to keep fighting to protect our communities.
Esmeralda Soria’s parents were undocumented farmworkers who came to the United States from Mexico. Now four of their children have held elected office, including Esmeralda. In this AFT Voices post, Soria, who is currently running for reelection to the California State Assembly, describes how her mother inspired her to give back to her community, and why it is so important that our elected officials reflect the communities from which they come.
Pittsburgh special education teacher Brittany Shoup was thrilled when she was chosen to introduce Vice President and presidential candidate Kamala Harris at the AFT convention. The whirlwind experience was not only memorable but inspiring. From the electrifying response Harris got from AFT members who packed the convention hall, to the policies that make her the best candidate for working people, educators, healthcare workers and public service workers, Shoup shares her view of the historic visit and the hope and energy it generated.
AFT member Adrienne O’Mara, a case manager at an LGBTQIA+ centered health organization, was eager to sign her first union card when her workplace began to organize. Her AFT Voices post describes how her union heritage—raised by a Granny who put great faith in both church and the picket line—and her commitment to LGBTQIA+ issues come together and exemplify how members of each community take care of one another.
AFT member Mary Moriarty is convinced that community schools—those thriving hubs where children and their families are mutually supported by educators, businesses and community organizations—are the answer for struggling schools in her town, Hammond, Ind. That’s why she is working every angle to help establish them at two existing middle schools, starting from scratch. Here’s her story about how she got started—and how it’s going.
In AFT classrooms
When African American history teacher Renee O’Connor teaches about the cruelty of Jim Crow and the lynchings that marked that era, she knows how heavy those lessons can be. But what does she say to her students when they ask, “Why do they hate us so much?” In this AFT Voices blog post, O’Connor describes the urgency of teaching true history to students who are hungry to learn it and eager to practice the resilience they learn from their own ancestors.
When Lisa O’Nan was a child, she was often asked about her heritage, and it always confused her. Was she a "feather" or "dot"? Today, O’Nan discourages this kind of reduction of Native American people to a "feather"’ and people from India to a "dot," urging educators to offer a richer view to children eager to learn about the people around them. For National Native American Heritage Month, O’Nan reflects on her experiences as a citizen of the Muscogee Nation and offers resources that explore true history instead of the inaccurate, diminishing stories still offered by some of our outdated educational systems.
For AFT member Clare Berke, hands-on learning goes way back: She still remembers the “newspaper” she created in class with a friend when she was a fifth grader. Today she teaches her own high school journalism students through a range of opportunities to “try on” a career that has always inspired her. They recently met the governor of Maryland, reported on an AFT event about experiential learning and began to pursue an investigative project about problems in a nearby school. “When our students are part of experiences that pique their interests, involve their daily lives, and prepare them for what comes after high school, the whole community benefits,” she says.
AFT Publications
The October 2023 murder of home care nurse Joyce Grayson highlighted the worsening crisis of workplace violence against healthcare professionals. In response, AFT Connecticut fought for and won a landmark law with workplace violence protections. In the fall 2024 AFT Health Care, learn from two nurses—Sherri Dayton, AFT Connecticut divisional vice president for healthcare, and Martha Marx, Connecticut’s 20th district senator—what this legislation means and how to fight for similar laws across the country.
Increasing staffing and safety in a Portland hospital
Emergency nurse Diana Bijon learned very early in her career that the violence she and her colleagues routinely experienced at work wouldn’t end without safe staffing. Last year, Diana and her fellow contract bargaining team members with the Association of University Registered Nurses[4] of the Oregon Nurses Association[5] fought through hundreds of hours of negotiations to win AURN’s strongest contract ever, with several new safety and staffing provisions. Read more about their victory in the fall issue of AFT Health Care.