MTA responds to recent SCOTUS decisions striking down anti-discrimination laws, student debt forgiveness and affirmative action
MTA responds to recent SCOTUS decisions striking down anti-discrimination laws, student debt forgiveness and affirmative action
MTA President Max Page and Vice President Deb McCarthy issued the following statement today, in response to recent decisions made by the U.S. Supreme Court:
“The Massachusetts Teachers Association affirms its commitment to fighting for the rights and dignity of all in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, which struck down anti-discrimination laws aimed at protecting LGBTQ+ people.
"As a union of educators, we value diversity of perspectives and fight to ensure equal treatment for all of the members we represent and the students we educate."
“As a union of educators, we value diversity of perspectives and fight to ensure equal treatment for all of the members we represent and the students we educate.
“Nobody should feel unsafe or marginalized because of who they are. No religious or political beliefs can serve as grounds to discriminate or to withhold the basic protections that afford people their dignity and their ability to live without fear or harassment. As Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, wrote in the dissent: ‘Today, the Court, for the first time in its history, grants a business open to the public a constitutional right to refuse to serve members of a protected class.’
“The loss of legal protections for LGBTQ+ people, the ending of affirmative action in college admissions and failing to alleviate the burden of student debt that is keeping tens of millions of Americans from fully participating in our country’s economy were all blows that the Supreme Court dealt to the common good.
“The right-wing majority of the Supreme Court has moved our country backward over the last two years, limiting rights for women, BIPOC communities, LGBTQ+ people and the working class. The Supreme Court has unjustly protected white privilege and entrenched wealth at the expense of others who have been historically blocked from power and shut off from socioeconomic growth.
“We maintain that education will always be the best tool in combating this type of prejudice and discrimination. The MTA will continue to fight for excellent, accessible public education, from preK through higher ed, for every person in Massachusetts.”
Read MTA leadership's statement on the SCOTUS ruling on affirmative action and student loan forgiveness.