AFT President Randi Weingarten and Newark Teachers Union President John M. Abeigon were among the notable speakers at the Kill the Cuts rally April 8 at Newark’s Military Park.
The event was part of a national day of action objecting to the Trump administration slashing funds for education, research and health care — and in Newark, related topics were addressed as well.
AAUP President Todd Wolfson served as the rally’s MC, and early on, he emphasized the need for K-12 and higher education to be aligned to fight back on the funding cuts. And with that, he introduced Abeigon, whose AFT local consists of teachers and staff in New Jersey’s largest PreK-12 school district.
“We hope the overwhelming message that you take from these stop-the-cut rallies is one of resistance against these policies that are harmful, unjust and detrimental to the well-being of the American people and the integrity of our institutions,” Abeigon said.
With Trump in the Oval Office, Abeigon added, “it’s a field day for the Confederacy.” He also addressed the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids targeting undocumented families: “You will not come into any Newark school to take a child — not gonna happen.”
Speaking ahead of Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka, Weingarten said about the Trump administration, “When they are taking $100 billion from the Department of Education, when they are actually trying to close the Department of Education … all of these things, every single one of these things, is an attack on knowledge, it’s an attack on education, it’s an attack on our young people. … What we are doing is we help young people have agency.”
TOP: AFT President Randi Weingarten speaks April 8 at the Kill the Cuts rally in Newark; standing behind her are (from left to right) Rutgers AAUP-AFT General Vice President Rebecca Givan (in black knit hat), AAUP President/Rutgers AAUP-AFT President Todd Wolfson and AFTNJ President Jennifer S. Higgins (in baseball cap).
ABOVE: Newark Teachers Union President John M. Abeigon addresses the Kill the Cuts crowd.
(Photos by Chris M. Junior)
