The PFT represents 14,000 educators working in the School District of Philadelphia. We're fighting for more public education funding & a better world for workers. Nothing about us, without us ✊🏽
PFT.org #PHLed1. It was not an accident.
2. It was not a staffer.
3. While the president may have dementia his racism is not due to dementia.
4. He isn’t sorry. He means every racist thought he shares.
5. His base agrees with him.
6. He will do it again.
7. No one in power will hold him accountable.
A good thing you can do about this instead of dooming is Google “how to become a poll observer in [your town]”
Breaking:
The White House press secretary just said she "can't guarantee" that ICE won't be around polling locations in November.
This is Maria, a 6-year-old detained by ICE last year.
She began to unravel soon after arriving at a detention center in Texas, wetting the bed after years without accidents, crying through the night and begging to breastfeed again.
Most of all, she wanted to be reunited with her cat, Milo. 1/
Pour one out for every professional political pundit, writer, consultant whatever that has spent the last decade trying to pretend that the Trump phenomenon was about trade or opiates and not a big chunk of white america losing its mind over having a black president
bsky.app/profile/kyle...A screenshot from a video posted on Trump's Truth Social account:
truthsocial.com/@realDonaldT...
30% more for public education and 70% more for CTE over the course of his administration:
@governor.pa.gov's vision for Pennsylvania is rooted in a belief in public education. We
@pft.org are grateful & ready to do the work to win legislative support of his
#PAbudget plan
pft.org/press/pft-pr...
PFT President Steinberg Cheers Governor Shapiro's Historic Support for Public Schools
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We support public schools because they welcome and serve every student. Too many voucher-funded private schools can discriminate based on disability, religion, sexual orientation, or ability to pay.
📆 Stand up for inclusion and join the conversation Feb. 5:
bit.ly/3NFFkPf$1.5T military budget
$170B for ICE and Border Patrol (over 4 years)
$100B on tax cuts for the 1% (per year)
$1B to refurbish Trump's Qatar jet
$496M to send National Guard into cities
$200M for Kennedy Center renovations
$200M for Kristi Noem's jets
$100M for Trump's golf outings
Priorities.
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Roughly half a million women in the US exited the workforce in 2025, and 42% of those who voluntarily left cited their caregiving responsibilities as the main reason, according to a recent survey from Catalyst.
www.hr-brew.com/stories/2026...
42% of women are leaving the workforce over lack of caregiver support
In a tight employment market, employers that offer less flexibility risk losing working caregivers, according to a Catalyst report.
Riffing off Brendan's method of juxtaposition in this awesome report, I'd like to offer another comparison:
Food assistance cuts versus new funding for DHS in the "Big Beautiful Bill"
Republicans cut food assistance by $187 billion while providing $191 billion in funding for DHS
I spoke with several VA staffers, most in Minneapolis, who say they've heard almost nothing from VA leadership after Alex Pretti was killed. They report low morale, blocked memorials and a feeling that the VA is downplaying it. New from me
@taskandpurpose.com taskandpurpose.com/news/veteran...
Veterans Affairs personnel say ‘silence is deafening’ from leaders after Alex Pretti’s death
Several VA employees report silence and slow responses from national leadership after Pretti was killed last month.
New: Together with colleagues I’ve been testing Grok.
The chatbot still produces sexualized images —
even when told the subjects don’t consent.
even when told the photos will be used for public humiliation.
even when told the subjects are survivors of abuse.
www.reuters.com/business/des...
Exclusive: Despite new curbs, Elon Musk’s Grok at times produces sexualized images - even when told subjects didn’t consent
Elon Musk’s flagship artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, continues to generate sexualized images of people even when users explicitly warn that the subjects do not consent, Reuters has found.
"Nearby, a six-year-old wondered if the unicorn she saw marching earlier was ok. "
New — I spoke to eight people who were present at the ICE protest on Saturday in Portland, Oregon when federal agents deployed tear gas and rubber bullets into a crowd of families, children, elderly and disabled people, and their pets.
These are their stories:
What it's like to see ICE tear gas kids
Attendees at a Portland, OR protest describe a vicious, unprovoked and sudden attack
Therein lies the problem. ICE is terrorizing Los Angeles, and local police are choosing not to enforce the law banning masked federal agents.
This is how trust collapses.
The District loves to tout growing enrollment numbers, but that achievement belongs to our dedicated
@pft.org educators. Creating chaos at schools like SDP has done since Thursday risks squandering the labor and credibility of our members.
pft.org/press/pft-on... #PhlEd
PFT: Ongoing Building Issues Put District at Risk of Losing Trust, Enrollment
Democrats have demanded an end to roving ICE patrols and stricter warrant requirements. If ICE intended to comply they would not need a new $87 million warehouse in our state. A warehouse for human beings.
Totally unacceptable for the District to send students and staff back into buildings without knowing if the heating and plumbing were working. The tech that makes virtual learning possible exists and should be used when health and safety are at risk
www.inquirer.com/education/co... #PhlEd
One Philly schools went virtual Monday because of the cold, and four others dismissed early due to broken heat
Furness High in South Philadelphia moved to virtual instruction and Farrell Elementary in the Northeast closed early as schools are plagued by broken heat and burst pipes.
This afternoon, federal agents returned to Powderhorn Park. There were 4 ICE vehicles staging at Powderhorn Park Recreation Center lot. This is a clear violation of city and park board policy. 1/
I’ve reached out to Mayor Frey, Park Board leadership, and the police regarding the protocol to get them out of our parks when it is a clear violation of city and park board policy. 2/
I will not buy the claims that ICE has bigger guns when the lives of our children are at stake. In general, if local law enforcement can arrest residents who break the law, then they can arrest ICE agents who break the law. 3/
redacting the perpetrators and doxxing the victims
“A review of 47 victims’ full names on Sunday found that 43 of them were left unredacted in files that were made public by the government on Friday, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis. Several women’s full names appeared more than 100 times in the files. “
www.wsj.com/us-news/law/...
Exclusive | Epstein Files Release Exposes Names of at Least 43 Victims, WSJ Review Finds
The Justice Department was required to redact all victims’ names prior to releasing the files.
If you want to know why John Thune agreed to split the Homeland Security bill, this explains a lot. Republicans are bleeding with rural whites on ICE.
And that’s a wrap. The end of three decades of Republican rule. Now, let’s help him hold it in November. People are sick of the heavy-handed attacks on our schools and the culture wars.
The Trump regime illegally redacted the names of various men, including the President, who likely committed heinous crimes against women and girls, while illegally releasing nude photos and names of possible victims.
These people are truly evil.
Just experienced the most intense tear gassing of my life by federal officers outside the ICE facility in Portland where marchers gathered. There was no fast exit as they indiscriminately threw loads of gas and flash bangs. Children were in the crowd screaming.
@oregoncapitalchronicle.com“Let us be clear: we want the power of the state. We wish to hold the criminals of the regime accountable. We wish to seize back the public funds looted by Trump and his cronies. We wish to undo the damage he has done to the government. More than any of that we wish to rebuild.”
From Powerlessness to Power
We will not achieve any of our ultimate goals without exercising state power, and the most effective way to take state power is through nonviolent but confrontational resistance.
In case facts still matter…
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Two things can be true: we’re a competitive authoritarian state with all sorts of efforts to put a thumb on the scale of who has power AND we have sufficiently free and sufficiently fair elections that every month we see the party in power lose.
JUST IN: Democrats flip a red seat in the Texas Senate.
Taylor Rehmet wins against Leigh Wambsganss, a conservative activist who helped lead right-wing efforts to take over TX school boards.
With all early vote, and 95% of precincts, in, Dem up 57/43.
Trump won this seat by 17% in Tarrant County.
Epstein’s economic power among academics was made possible by a capitalist system that makes higher education dependent on the charity economy rather than a public good supported by taxing the rich
A few broader thoughts:
1) This election happened, period.
2) It happened in Texas, no less.
3) It happened even though Trump himself took an intense interest in winning it.
If Trump could cancel elections or ordain their outcomes, then why didn't he do that tonight?
BREAKING: Texas Democrat Taylor Rehmet just won a *massive* landslide to flip a deep-red Senate district. He's up by 14 points in a Trump+17 seat—an overperformance of more than 30 points.
How did he do it? Here's our full writeup:
Breaking: Texas Democrats score landslide upset in race Trump badly wanted to win
Taylor Rehmet just flipped a deep-red seat—and gave his party a shot in the arm
Tom Morello welcomes Bruce Springsteen to the stage at the Defend Minnesota! benefit concert fundraising for the families of Alex Pretti and Renee Good at First Avenue in Minneapolis 🎸
🎥:
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Nothing in the videos from that church show anything worse than disorderly conduct, at the absolute most maybe misdemeanor trespassing. State offenses, and here well within reasonable prosecutorial discretion. There is no federal crime here even for the actual protestors, much less reporters present
Or how about this headline — “American citizen arrested without cause after exercising his Constitutional rights.” Very important that government propaganda not become the default framing.
Don Lemon has been taken into custody after anti-ICE confrontation in St. Paul, Minnesota, earlier this month.
cnn.it/4roAO6t
look at this fucking creep. there are children in this home.
Georgia Fort, an independent journalist and vice president of the Minnesota NABJ chapter, was also arrested by federal agents this morning
I was sent this video of agents at her door:
🛑 ICE agents deployed by the Trump administration are terrorising school communities across the US.
✊🏽 We stand with
@aft.org members on the frontlines to protect students and families and to stop the authoritarian turn at the top of US politics.
➡️
eiie.io/49NmRsM
#ICEOutSchoolsEXCLUSIVE: These Patches Are Clues to Identifying Immigration Agents
We built a guide to patches worn by ICE and CBP to help the public determine which federal agents are in their communities
theintercept.com/2026/01/28/i...
These Patches Are Clues to Identifying Immigration Agents
We built a guide to patches worn by ICE and CBP to help the public determine which federal agents are in their communities.
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Voucher programs send public money to private schools with far less oversight.
According to a new Senate report, fewer than half of states require voucher schools to be accredited, only two require teacher credentials, and many don’t require student assessments.
NEWS: Sanders Releases New Report Detailing How Trump’s Plan to Privatize Public Education Hurts Students | The U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions
WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), today...
The Uber Rich Are Funding “National School Choice Week” to Attack Public Schools
The school privatization PR stunt is a pet project of the Gleason family and Koch family fortunes.
@pft.org members are the most dedicated educators. They showed up to work today even though many streets and sidewalks are still covered with giant piles of icy snow, and were greeted with freezing classrooms and busted plumbing.
Tomorrow must be a remote learning day.
pft.org/press/danger... 
Dangerous Building Conditions Spur PFT Call for Return to Remote Learning on Friday
Disabled students at Penrose Elementary were forced to endure the indignity of unshoveled wheelchair ramps. That is totally unacceptable. We're calling on the District to go remote until conditions are safe for students and staff.
pft.org/press/danger... #PhlEdDangerous Building Conditions Spur PFT Call for Return to Remote Learning on Friday
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ICE meets many of the most salient definitions of a paramilitary, writes an expert in policing and state security forces.
ICE Not Only Looks and Acts Like a Paramilitary Force—It Is One, and That Makes It Harder To Curb
This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and...
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Educators across the country including
@pft.org members are doing their jobs while working to assure terrified students that they are the helpers; the helpers are already here. We support the
#ICEout package to keep our schools safe.
pft.org/press/philad... #ICEout #PhlEd
Philadelphia Federation of Teachers Urges Swift Passage of ICE OUT Legislation
Grateful to
@kendraphlcouncil.bsky.social @ruephilacouncil.bsky.social for introducing these bills today. Contact your Council members to voice your support for keeping armed federal agents away from our schools
#ICEout #PhlEd pft.org/press/philad...Philadelphia Federation of Teachers Urges Swift Passage of ICE OUT Legislation
