Protect our children--fight for schools

Tomorrow night is our Solidarity Awards Reception, and I hope you'll join us then.

In the meantime, however, I want to call on you to join us in putting our belief in solidarity into action around one of the most urgent crises our working communities face right now.

Our schools are under attack. Under Tom Knudsen, the School District of Philadelphia is threatening to:

• Close 64 public schools;
• Force 40% of students into private charters;
• Turn all our schools over to outside operators;
• Lay off twenty-seven hundred education workers unionized by SEIU 32BJ.

We can't stand for this. We ask you to join us tonight at Bright Hope Baptist Church at 6:30 (12th and Cecil B. Moore Ave.) for an emergency education community meeting hosted by our allies at Action United. Chief Recovery Officer Tom Knudsen and Mayor Michael Nutter have both been invited.


Tomorrow, we stand with 32BJ members and working families, fighting for the jobs of 2,700 bus drivers, janitors, bus attendants, engineers, and maintenance workers. These critical education workers have already received layoff notices from the School District, and we will be rallying with them in solidarity starting at 11:30 a.m. tomorrow at MSB Plaza (15th & JFK), then joining them in marching at noon sharp.

Let's stand up for our children.

Let's stand in solidarity with the workers who serve our schools.

Let's stand up for education.