Context

The unrest unfolding across the nation is borne out of centuries of a society founded on racism, a society rooted in the notion that black and brown people have to, time and again, prove their humanity. The murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police is another searing example of the criminalization of blackness in America, and it is emblematic of the profound injustice that permeates nearly every aspect of our society. The story of this unrest is not the broken windows. We cannot and will not be distracted from the root cause, from the cries of pain.

The story of this

Harrisburg, PA, Friday, March 27, 2020— AFT Pennsylvania President Arthur G. Steinberg, on Friday, issued the following statement after Governor Wolf signed SB751, a bill to provide regulatory relief to school districts, educators:

“I applaud Governor Wolf’s quick and decisive action in signing of SB751 today. At a time when educators, students, and their families are facing great uncertainty, this bill provides much-needed guidance and assuredness.

“In an effort to move COVID-19 education relief as quickly as possible, Senators amended SB751 to include measures needed immediately. Therefore, in

Harrisburg, PA, Thursday, March 19, 2020— AFT Pennsylvania President Arthur G. Steinberg, on Thursday, issued the following statement after it was announced that the Pennsylvania Department of Education is cancelling statewide assessments, often referred to as “standardized tests”:

“I applaud Pennsylvania Education Secretary Pedro Rivera and Governor Tom Wolf for making the difficult, but correct choice to cancel statewide assessments for the rest of the school year. This continues to illustrate just how serious COVID-19 is and how serious the Commonwealth’s government is taking it.

“With

Harrisburg, PA, Thursday, March 5, 2020— AFT Pennsylvania, along with the Scranton Federation of Teachers, on Thursday, issued the following statement regarding President Trump’s Fox News town hall taking place in Scranton Thursday evening:

“President Trump’s broken promises to Pennsylvania’s working families are too numerous to list,” said Arthur Steinberg, President of AFT PA. “But the most egregious examples of the Trump Administration’s failure are public education and infrastructure. By appointing, and keeping Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education, Donald Trump has already shown great

Harrisburg, PA, Thursday, February 27, 2020— AFT Pennsylvania, on Thursday, issued the following statement following an Executive Council vote to endorse Harold “Howie” Hayes for State Representative in the 18^th District special election on March 17^th:

On behalf of the 36,000 members across 61 locals in Pennsylvania, I am thrilled to endorse Howie Hayes for state representative,” said Arthur Steinberg, President of AFT PA. “We are especially proud to show labor solidarity by supporting a member of Plumbers Local Union 690.”

Steinberg continued, “With the upcoming special election, we have the