PFT Protests Overturning of Roe V. Wade
June 2022
June 2022
June 29, 2022
PHILADELPHIA—In response to the Republican controlled PA State Senate passing an Anti-trans sports bill, a Book Banning bill, and a Don't Say Gay bill, PFT President Jerry Jordan issued the following statement:
"Shame on Pennsylvania Republicans who continue to lead with bigotry and hatred.
"I am disgusted by the State Senate's passage today of an Anti-trans bill (SB972), a Book Banning bill (SB1277), and a Don't Say Gay bill (SB1278).
June 24, 2022
PHILADELPHIA—In response to the 5-4 SCOTUS decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, PFT president Jerry T. Jordan issued the following statement:
"Today's ruling, overturning a woman's right to the healthcare she needs, is disgraceful. Banning abortions will not stop abortions. But it will make abortion unsafe and illegal. It means that women experiencing poverty, especially Black and brown women, will be especially vulnerable amidst an already rigged system.
"Before our eyes, we are watching the horror of a group of right-wing extremists hurtling our nation rapidly towards authoritarianism. Let's be very clear: when Republicans talk about freedom, when they talk about the sanctity of life, when they talk about individual rights, they mean for white, cisgender men.
June 14, 2022
PHILADELPHIA—In response to the Republican controlled state legislature positioning a host of reprehensible bills for consideration instead of finding ways to fully fund public education and implement commonsense gun reform, PFT President Jerry Jordan issued the following statement:
PHILADELPHIA—As part of a panel discussion at the AFL-CIO national constitutional convention, PFT President Jerry Jordan outlined what is at stake in Pennsylvania in our collective efforts to protect and strengthen democracy and safeguard the right to vote.
Jordan's prepared remarks, which can be read in their entirety here, read in part:
June 8, 2022
PHILADELPHIA—Amidst an ongoing scourge of gun violence that continues its catastrophic toll in Philadelphia and across the country, PFT President Jerry Jordan yesterday joined Tuesdays with Toomey to again call attention to this urgent crisis. In addition to the PFT and Tuesdays with Toomey, the event was co-sponsored by Cease Fire PA, March for Our Lives, Indivisible Philadelphia, and Heeding God's Call.
Pennsylvanians will continue to put pressure on Senator Toomey to listen to his constituents and implement gun safety measures that will save lives. The PFT is urging its members, as well as any concerned Pennsylvanians, to take action today and call Senator Toomey. The message is clear: gun reform is urgently needed.
June 7, 2022
This afternoon, PFT President Jerry Jordan joined Tuesdays with Toomey, Cease Fire PA, March for Our Lives, Heeding God's Call, and Indivisible Philadelphia at a die-in and a call to action on gun violence.
Jordan's prepared remarks are as follows:
Good afternoon. I’m Jerry Jordan, President of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers.
June 5, 2022
"The ongoing devastation wrought by gun violence is simply too much to bear. I am sick and enraged over last night’s mass shooting in Philadelphia that left three lives cut short and countless others forever changed. The time for action on gun reform is long overdue. Shame on every single politician who sits on their hands while this catastrophic violence continues.
May 31, 2022
Read the op-ed here.
With burgeoning resources in the Commonwealth’s coffers, coupled with an evergreen moral (and constitutional) imperative, this year’s state budget must meaningfully and sustainably address years of continued disinvestment in our young people.
Just over two weeks ago, a white supremacist targeted a predominantly Black community in Buffalo, NY, killing 10 community members — a teacher, a bus aide, a community activist, and so many others who were deeply loved. And since that day, our nation has endured 33 mass shootings. Over the holiday weekend in Philadelphia, 13 people were murdered, including a 10-year-old boy and his father. Just over a week ago, we saw horror unfold at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, where a gunman terrorized a community and stole the lives of nineteen precious fourth graders and two beloved teachers. In both Buffalo and Uvalde, these acts were carried out by an 18-year-old with legal access to an assault rifle.
The crisis of gun violence is intolerable, and we continue to call for both local and national solutions, including common sense gun reform. Further, both the gun violence crisis and the deadly COVID-19 pandemic have disproportionately affected Black and brown children and their families.
Decades of disinvestment in public education has also hurt Black and brown children. In 2022, communities are still deeply immersed in the fight for equity for our young people — and continue to be forced to justify resources that are seen as nonnegotiable in wealthier, whiter school districts. In fact, advocates have had to sue the Commonwealth for its abject failure to meet its constitutional mandate to provide all of Pennsylvania’s children with a thorough and efficient system of public education.
May 25, 2022
"The murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police should continue to horrify us all. Today, I reiterate this union’s commitment to the fight for racial justice.
"The systems of oppression and racism that we work to dismantle every day remain deeply embedded—in policing, in education funding, and in nearly every facet of our society. Today and often, the loved ones of George Floyd are in my thoughts. Black Lives Matter."
Read our principles of racial justice here.