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Arthur Steinberg speaks on the steps of South Philadelphia High School flanked by Democratic state legislators.

Remarks at Save Our Schools Press Conference as prepared – July 31, 2023

Good afternoon.

I’m incredibly encouraged to see the Pennsylvania House Speaker in a Philadelphia public school, something that hasn’t happened in a very long time. And Speaker Joanna McClinton and the Democratic Leadership Team should be commended for their steadfast support of public education at a time when it’s under sustained attack by right-wing politicians and the oligarchy.

I’ll be honest—it angered me to read the theme of this press conference, “Save Our Schools” because if the necessary investments in public

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“Now that legislative leaders have tacitly acknowledged that our system of funding education violates the Pennsylvania Constitution, they have a duty to do right by Pennsylvania’s children and communities. Not only is this a moral duty, but a legal obligation prescribed by the Commonwealth Court."

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Arthur Steinberg, President of AFT Pennsylvania, issued the following statement on behalf of the union representing more than 36,000 educators, paraprofessionals, school staff, higher education faculty, and state workers after the Pennsylvania General Assembly, specifically the House, failed to fund state-related universities Lincoln, Penn State, Pittsburgh, and Temple:

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Arthur Steinberg, President of AFT Pennsylvania, issued the following statement on behalf of the more than 36,000 educators, paraprofessionals, school staff, higher education faculty, and state workers represented by AFT Pennsylvania after PA Governor Josh Shapiro committed to signing the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 state budget into law:

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Plymouth Meeting, PA, Tuesday, August 13, 2019 – Arthur Steinberg, President of AFT Pennsylvania, issued the following statement on behalf of the more than 36,000 members of the Commonwealth’s statewide affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers on Tuesday:

“We are very encouraged by Governor Wolf’s announcement today that he will back legislation to address commonsense charter school reforms in Pennsylvania, including transparency requirements, a cap on cyber charter enrollment and a moratorium on new cyber charter schools.

“If these reforms come to fruition, they will be a monumental win

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"Standing in the library of an Overbrook elementary school, Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday announced the state would spend $4.3 million to help remove lead paint from Philadelphia public schools.
 
Including the millions the state paid last year to complete such projects, that means Pennsylvania has allocated almost $12 million to fixing environmental hazards in the Philadelphia School District.
 
“No parent should have to worry about the health risk of sending their child to school, and no student should be at risk from lead paint,” said Wolf, who was flanked by city and state lawmakers.
 
The governor
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AFTPA President Ted Kirsch applauded the vision and funding in the Governor's 2019-2020 budget proposal.

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AFTPA President Ted Kirsch released the following statement following the death of a colleague, friend and union counterpart Dolores McCracken, who was president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association.

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AFT leaders in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Washington offered their condolences in the wake of the mass shooting of 13 congregants at a Pittsburgh synagogue Saturday morning.

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AFTPA President Ted Kirsch released the following statement after a member working in a state correctional facility library was exposed to the substance know as K2.

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