AFT Publishes Full Page New York Times Ad Opposing Trump’s ‘Big, Ugly Betrayal’ Bill

By AFT

Photos: AFT\YouTube Screenshots

WASHINGTON—Together with prominent activists, institutes, unions, legal experts and advocacy groups, the AFT published a full-page advertisement in the New York Times today slamming President Donald Trump’s “big ugly, betrayal,” the billionaire-first agenda that Republicans rammed through Congress at the expense of everyone else.

Cosigned by a coalition of 149 ideologically diverse and distinctive national organizations collectively representing tens of millions of people, the ad reveals how the law will line the pockets of the ultra-wealthy, while working families pay the price.

“This ad shows how Trump’s big, ugly betrayal takes food off the table, abandons public education, and erodes the social programs that support millions of hardworking Americans,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten. “Rural hospitals and communities will be hit especially hard—while the ultra-wealthy become even wealthier. The AFT and our allies know that we must organize, stand up and speak out together in solidarity to reverse the damage wrought by this appalling legislation.”

Click here to view the ad

Transcript:

THEY BETRAYED US.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP AND CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS PROMISED TO MAKE LIFE BETTER FOR WORKING FAMILIES. INSTEAD, THEY PASSED THE SO-CALLED BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL—A MASSIVE TRANSFER OF WEALTH FROM WORKING AMERICANS TO BILLIONAIRES.

THIS CRUEL LAW WILL LEAVE MILLIONS SICKER, HUNGRIER AND POORER. IT SLASHES HEALTHCARE AND FOOD ASSISTANCE, DEFUNDS PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND HIGHER EDUCATION, SHUTTERS RURAL HOSPITALS, CUTS JOBS, TARGETS IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES AND EXPLODES THE NATIONAL DEBT—ALL TO PAY FOR TAX BREAKS FOR THE ULTRA-WEALTHY.

WE’RE APPALLED. WE’RE ANGRY. AND WE WON’T FORGET.

WE WILL REMEMBER WHO TURNED THEIR BACKS ON WORKING FAMILIES—AND WHO WE CAN COUNT ON TO FIGHT FOR US.

JOIN US. ORGANIZE. VOTE.

LET’S UNDO THE DAMAGE FROM THIS BIG BETRAYAL.

Under the new law, America’s public schools will rapidly lose funding as billions in taxpayer dollars are siphoned away to private schools through a national private school voucher scheme, college will be made unaffordable for millions, and hundreds of rural hospitals will be forced to close, as the rich enjoy extended tax breaks.

Despite the president’s rhetoric, the big, ugly betrayal is massively unpopular: Only 31 percent of registered voters support it, and the more the American people know about it, the more they reject it.

The signatories are:

1. A Philip Randolph Institute
2. Acacia Center for Justice
3. AFL-CIO
4. All4Ed
5. Alliance for Retired Americans
6. Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments
7. Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools
8. America’s Voice
9. American Association of University Women (AAUW)
10. American Atheists
11. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
12. American Humanist Association
13. American Jews for Democracy
14. American Pride Rises
15. Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF)
16. Arab American Institute (AAI)
17. Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance – AFL-CIO (APALA)
18. Association of Flight Attendants-CWA
19. Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents
20. Becca Schmill Foundation
21. Bend the Arc: Jewish Action
22. Black Men Vote
23. Brady: United Against Gun Violence
24. Caring Ambassadors Program
25. CBTU
26. Center for American Progress Action Fund
27. Central American Resource Center – CARECEN
28. Children’s Defense Fund
29. Clearinghouse on Women’s Issues
30. Color Of Change
31. CommonDefense.us
32. Communications Workers of America
33. Community Change Action
34. Community Organizing and Family Issues (COFI)
35. Community Voices for Public Education
36. Consumer Federation of America
37. Court Accountability Action
38. Democracy Defenders Action
39. Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO
40. Economic Security Project Action
41. EdTrust
42. Education Law Center
43. Educators for Excellence
44. El Rescate
45. End Citizens United
46. EPI Action
47. Excessive Wealth Disorder Institute
48. Fair Share America
49. Families Over Billionaires
50. Families USA
51. Family Values @ Work
52. Fast-Track Cities Institute
53. Feminist Majority Foundation
54. For Our Future Action Fund
55. Fourth Branch Action
56. Frontera Federation
57. Fund for Leadership, Equity, Access and Diversity (LEAD FUND)
58. GAIN Power
59. GALEO Impact Fund, Inc.
60. Groundwork Collaborative
61. Human Rights Campaign
62. International Association of Providers of AIDS Care
63. International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE)
64. Japanese American Citizens League
65. Journey for Justice Alliance
66. Just Solutions: Bringing In Justice
67. KAIROS DEMOCRACY PROJECT
68. Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA)
69. League of United Latin American Citizens
70. Legal Aid at Work
71. MANA, A National Latina Organization
72. MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger
73. Mi familia Vota
74. MomsRising Together
75. MoveOn
76. NAACP
77. National Action Network
78. National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity
79. National Association for Bilingual Education
80. National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators (NAJIT)
81. National Association of School Nurses
82. National Association of Social Workers
83. National Council of Negro Women (NCNW)
84. National Coalition for the Homeless
85. National Education Association
86. National Equity Project
87. National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice
88. National Nurses United
89. National Organization for Women
90. National Partnership for Women & Families
91. National Women’s Law Center Action Fund
92. Native Organizers Alliance
93. NELP Action
94. Network for Public Education
95. NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
96. Nonprofits Counsel
97. Organized Power In Numbers
98. Oxfam America Action Fund
99. Paid Leave for All Action
100. ParentsTogether Action
101. Patriotic Millionaires
102. People For the American Way
103. People Power United
104. Planned Parenthood Action Fund
105. Power Rising Action Fund
106. PrEP4All, Inc.
107. Pride At Work, AFL-CIO
108. Public Advocacy for Kids (PAK)
109. Public Citizen
110. Race Forward
111. Red Wine & Blue
112. Reproductive Freedom for All
113. Run for Something
114. RuralOrganizing.org
115. Save HIV Funding Campaign
116. Service Employees International Union
117. Social Security Works
118. Stand Up America
119. States United to Prevent Gun Violence
120. Stop AAPI Hate
121. Stop Handgun Violence
122. Strong Economy For All Coalition
123. Student Borrower Protection Center
124. Student Debt Crisis Center
125. Students Engaged (SEAT)
126. Supermajority
127. T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights
128. Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children (TED)
129. Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence Action
130. The AIDS Institute
131. The Alliance for Gun Responsibility
132. The Center for Black Educator Development (CBED)
133. The Center for Progressive Reform
134. The Daily Beans Podcast
135. The Grassroots Democrats HQ
136. The Tech Oversight Project
137. Transformative Justice Coalition
138. UndauntedK12
139. Union Label & Service Trades Department (AFL-CIO)
140. United States Student Association
141. University of California Student Association (UCSA)
142. Venice Resistance
143. Visioning Beyond Violence (previous name was Vision Quilt)
144. Voices of Health Care Action
145. Voters of Tomorrow
146. VoteVets PAC
147. Win Without War
148. Women Lawyers On Guard Action Network, Inc.
149. Women’s March

The AFT represents 1.8 million pre-K through 12th-grade teachers; paraprofessionals and other school-related personnel; higher education faculty and professional staff; federal, state and local government employees; nurses and healthcare workers; and early childhood educators.

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