MTA Board adopts motion addressing humanitarian border crisis

MTA Board adopts motion addressing humanitarian border crisis


The following New Business Item was introduced at the 2019 MTA Annual Meeting of Delegates and was subsequently referred to the Board of Directors. The Board adopted the item at its meeting on June 15.

Whereas we are faced with a humanitarian crisis on the Texas southern border;

Whereas refugees, many women and children, are being forced to wait in dangerous circumstances in order to gain their right to asylum;

Whereas there are no real solutions proposed by our government that would create a just and compassionate end to the crisis;

Whereas the Massachusetts Teachers Association represents education workers who care for and teach students of all nationalities, races, ages, ethnicities, income levels, genders, and status;

RESOLVED, that MTA supports our union sisters and brothers who have made the courageous decision to offer food, clothing, humanitarian aid, and kindness to these refugees;

That MTA stands in solidarity with local leaders, community partners, faith-based networks, legal advocates, and other labor unions to ensure that the health, educational, safety, and legal needs of the refugees are met;

That MTA will inform and remind its membership of the commitments made in the 1951 Refugee Convention ratified by 145 nations, including the United States of America, with the core principle of nonrefoulement, which asserts that refugees should not be returned to a country where they face serious threats to their life or freedom (the document also asserts the principle of unity of the family as an essential right);

That MTA will publish this motion on its website and in MTA Today.