Randi Weingarten: “The right to strike should only be a last resort. It should never be a first.”

Paraprofessionals and support staff are the backbone of our public schools, and it is unconscionable that they lack the resources they need to do their jobs.

It shows, once again, that by joining together we can achieve a far better life for educators, students and communities than we ever could alone. That is what a fair contract is all about.

We are grateful that Sen. Ed Markey has made their lives a priority with the PUPIL Act, which will study the working conditions of school support staff and finally give us the real data we need to improve conditions for millions of workers…

And parents, educators, students, and the disability and civil rights communities are rising up — and will fight in every way possible to reverse this in the courts, at the ballot box and in the court of public opinion.