May 1 Day of Civic Action and Defense of Public Education

WHEREAS, public education is facing an unprecedented national assault driven by MAGA politicians, billionaire donors, and corporate interests who seek to privatize our schools, censor educators, ban books, dismantle civil rights protections, criminalize and separate immigrant families, and weaken workers' unions; and

WHEREAS, these coordinated attacks include efforts to expand vouchers that transfer public dollars to private schools; close neighborhood schools; censor curriculum; target LGBTQIA+ students; erode protections for Black, brown, immigrant and non-Christian communities; and use federal power to intimidate school districts into compliance with a white supremacist and anti­democratic agenda; and

WHEREAS, the attack on public education is a central part of an agenda that is breaking any democratic norms, threatening the integrity of upcoming elections, attacking Black and brown communities, ending hard-fought-for voting rights, and attempting to cement authoritarian power in pursuit of enriching the billionaire class even further; and

WHEREAS, educators know firsthand that fully funded public schools, labor rights, and the democratic right to vote are three foundations to the success of our students and their families and that attacks on unions and public education are attacks on our students and their families, particularly working-class communities, communities of color and immigrant communities; and

WHEREAS, billionaires, the ultra-wealthy, and powerful corporations are funding campaigns at the federal, state and local levels to avoid paying taxes and fully funding schools at legally required amounts; and

WHEREAS, we did not fight to win an elected school board to see billionaire donors corrupt the November elections; and

WHEREAS, our union has never stood on the sidelines in moments of local or national crisis, and we understand that the defense of public education from cuts and privatization, the defense of our communities from federal occupation, the defense of our union rights, and the defense of democracy itself are inseparable; and

WHEREAS, May Day is rooted in labor history and represents the global tradition of workers organizing collectively for dignity, safety and justice; and

WHEREAS, in recent years, May Day has become a powerful National Day of Action uniting labor, educators, students, and immigrant and community organizations to demand public schools over private profits, people over billionaires, and democracy over authoritarianism; and

WHEREAS, historic examples from enslaved Africans breaking the confederacy, A. Philip Randolph's organization of a march on Washington, the Civil Rights movement's response to Jim Crow, the late Rev. Jackson's Operation Breadbasket, our own union's countless labor actions for educational justice, the courageous day of truth and freedom in Minneapolis, and international resistance to fascism teach us that the most effective force to strengthen and fortify our country's democracy is workers' collective action in coalition with community; and

WHEREAS, right-wing authoritarian donors via AIPAC, artificial intelligence companies, Common Ground Collective, the Urban Center, Americans for Prosperity, America PAC, Freedom Foundation and crypto currency PACs, that support policies antithetical to our beliefs and values, are flooding our election system with dark money; and

WHEREAS, these entities also seek to divide and misinform Black and brown and working- class communities, upend coalitions, and purposefully confuse the electorate; and

WHEREAS, Trump has illegally declared war on Iran built on lies and deception while using American resources to bomb schools, hospitals and civilian infrastructure that has killed, harmed and displaced countless people in both Iran and Lebanon; and

WHEREAS, our students and students everywhere deserve our love and support, not fear, military assaults, silence, nor complicity, but political education, civic engagement, and school communities prepared to protect one another in the face of massive federal interference:

RESOLVED, that the AFT will formally declare May 1 a Day of Civic Action in Defense of Public Education where we are in community engaging our students, their families and our neighbors, and supporting mutual aid efforts, leading civic education, participating in voter registration, know-your-rights, and mass resistance training from the beginning to the end of the day; and

RESOLVED, that we will join our siblings in Minnesota and the nation by joining the call for a National Day to defend our Democracy, demand ICE out of our cities, and tax the rich to support our schools and vital services; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT members will send petitions and resolutions to their boards of education and mayors asking for their full support and participation in May Day activities by formally declaring May 1 a Day of Civic Action, and in the lead up to May 1 encouraging schools to engage in age­appropriate civic learning, marches and rallies, political education, peace concerts, labor history programming, and community safety trainings that equip students; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT will organize and promote age-appropriate civic education, labor history programming, and know-your-rights trainings in the days surrounding and on May Day to equip educators, students, and families with tools to defend themselves and their communities; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT will call on members to participate in collective actions on Labor Day and May Day, in coalition with labor and community partners, to reject privatization; illegal wars; union busting; anti-immigrant and anti-diversity, equity and inclusion policies; and federal overreach into our classrooms; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT will continue building a national fight-back alongside unions and community organizations across the country to defend public schools as democratic institutions governed by and for the people; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT will review our political endorsement process and questionnaires to defend our values and interests against dark money interference in our elections and mitigate efforts to undermine our efficacy and coalition commitments; and 

RESOLVED, that the AFT affirms that the future of public education will be shaped by educators, students and families—not by billionaires, corporate PACs, or authoritarian politicians—and commits to sustained organizing beyond May Day to protect our schools and our democracy; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT will continue to organize and support working class coalitions to align with the United Auto Workers’ call to have joint contract expirations to build more power that will enable us to win more for working families by May 2028.

Adopted July 18, 2026