Press

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.

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 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.

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.