The immediate take-away from the conference is the reminder that, collectively, we are strong. The AFT now boasts more than 1.8 million members, and to sit on the convention floor as a delegate, seeing the age, race, gender, and occupational diversity of our union siblings, feels empowering.
Most of the resolutions coming out of the Higher Ed Committee were unobjectionable, and somewhat quotidian, although the “Safeguarding Academic Freedom” (#28) served as a reminder that free speech on campuses is under assault not only from the current administration but from many state legislatures.
From the Labor and Economy Committee, resolutions 49, 50, and 51 — each initiated by different locals from all around the country — addressed various concerns brought on by AI. Res. #50 from the Washington Teachers Union Local 6, “affirms that critical decisions affecting education … must remain in the hands of human professionals,” rather than being given to AI.
We voted enthusiastically to increase funding for emergency activity, such as supporting striking siblings, because the need is there.
The message that we should bring back is the connectedness we share with K12 teachers, healthcare workers, and support staff—we all benefit when workers are organized and represented, and we all suffer when workers are divided and exploited. We have to see ourselves—remote as we are in Vermont higher education—as part of a larger movement to take power back from corporations and people who do not honor the dignity of those who do the essential work.
–Rich Clark, VSCFF, Castleton Chapter chair | 
