Texas Union Members Respond to Abbott’s State of the State Address
AUSTIN, Texas – Today, the Texas AFL-CIO releases the following statements in response to Gov. Greg Abbott’s out-of-touch State of the State address:
“Tonight’s State of the State address, again, proves that Greg Abbott prioritizes his billionaire buddies over Texas workers,” said Texas AFL-CIO President Rick Levy. “Our school teachers, our energy workers, our union members build this state. And together, they’re building power and organizing to take down out-of-touch oligarchs like Abbott.”
Full remarks from Dior Edison, member of Texas AFT in San Antonio:
“The state of my state — is a state of concern. I’ve been an educator for 15 years, and I wake up everyday knowing that I’m living my dream. In my classroom, we practice hands-on activities, like coding and robotics, that teach kids how to solve problems and work together. When I catch up with some of my former students — now young adults — they tell me how they still carry the lessons we learned together. Hearing how those lessons inspired their dreams reminds me why I do what I do. If you’re a teacher too, you know this feeling all too well.
“But outside my classroom, Greg Abbott and his billionaire friends are pushing an experiment that could ruin our public schools forever.
“Here’s how it works: Private school vouchers take public money — your tax dollars — and send it to private schools. These private schools don’t have to follow the same rules as schools like mine. They don’t have to take all kids, they don’t have the same learning standards, and they don’t answer to taxpayers. Private school vouchers are not for most families. They’re for wealthy families who already send their kids to private schools. The rest of us? We’re left with fewer resources for the public schools our kids depend on.
“If Greg Abbott signs the school voucher bill, public schools will have less money, which means bigger classes, lower teacher pay, and fewer resources for students. Kids with disabilities, kids in rural areas, and vital school programs will suffer the most.
“Instead of giving public money to private schools, we should fully fund public schools. That means paying teachers what they deserve, keeping classes small, and making sure every kid has a chance to succeed — no matter where they live or how much their family makes. For me, the choice is simple: Public schools are the heart of our communities. Let’s keep them strong. Our kids, our families, and our future depend on it.
“A Texas where we invest in teachers, strengthen neighborhood schools, and make sure every child has the chance to dream big. The kids in my classroom deserve that. The families in our neighborhoods deserve that. And the future of Texas depends on it.”
Full remarks from Bobby Ramos, president of Laborers Local 350 in Houston:
“Why is it that here in Houston, in Texas, the energy capital of the world, we can’t even keep the lights on during a light drizzle? It’s embarrassing. Even when we're going without power ourselves, it’s the men and women in Labor out there in the middle of the night when disaster strikes —cleaning up fallen trees and getting power lines back up. It's the workers of Texas, not the politicians, getting us out of this mess — building every watt of energy our state needs so when the next storm hits, the grid doesn't fail again.
“I’m proud to be a union guy. When I see the things I worked on, there’s a feeling knowing I did that. What we do, it’s bigger than me. I feel a sense of pride knowing that I’m making my community better for my kids and my grandkids.
“I used to be an oil and gas guy. We’d go work on pipelines… But a couple years ago, the work for my crew just stopped coming. We felt firsthand what boom and bust is like.
“But today, we see the future of wind and solar energy and the promise it has for our state and our communities.
“Now’s not the time to let politics get in the way. Texas is #1 in wind, at the top in solar, and we need every bit of it we can get. Just because a few oil billionaires aren’t making a buck off it, doesn't mean we need to kill tens of thousands of great new union jobs for working Texans.
“So what’s the state of my state? I’m tired of working people not being seen. We're out here building the future, it would be nice to get some gratitude and respect from the leaders of this great state.”
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The Texas AFL-CIO is the state labor federation consisting of 240,000 affiliated union members and advocates for working people in Texas. Learn more at texasaflcio.org