Updates from AFT Convention 2023 – Good news and Bad news –
We are delighted to report AFT has divested from all Israel bonds!
The International Relations Committee chair confirmed yesterday: AFT no longer holds any Israel bonds & decided not to reinvest in them when last one matured in late 2023.
This is a big victory for all who seek justice for Palestine and all @aftunion members who don’t want to see their dues invested in Israel’s genocide, scholasticide, and apartheid regime!
However, we are disappointed to report our resolutions did not pass & AFT leadership has NOT committed to not purchase any more Israel Bonds in the future. We are particularly disturbed by how AFT leadership removed our resolutions from consideration.
How this happened is important to share:
When the chair of the International Relations Committee reached our resolutions, he summarily declared them “unconstitutional,” blocking ALL consideration and debate on them.
Many in the room objected, and we tried to motion to amend the language he objected to, but the chair blocked all our efforts through this procedural maneuver.
The result was that we were not able to pass an amended version of our resolutions, which would have prevented any future AFT investment in foreign government bonds.
We applaud AFT’s decision to divest from its previously held Israel Bonds, but this is not enough.
Not only must our union commit to not purchase any bonds in the future, but it must commit to truly democratic processes of discussion and debate.
That did not happen yesterday.
And you can count on us, @AFTunion, to be closely monitoring AFT financial disclosures in the coming years to ensure no more of our union money goes towards genocide and apartheid! This is just the beginning of our work to ensure we are living up to our values of equality and justice for students and their families, in our communities as well as around the world.
