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On March 4th, educators, students, parents and community allies stood up against assaults on public education and on opportunity for America’s youth. They called on lawmakers to strengthen, not undermine, local public schools and the services they provide to children, families and communities. Over 2,000 union events were held and the #ProtectOurKids trended on social media on that day.

No to gutting the Department of Education to slash taxes for billionaires

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA), both Education International’s member organizations, are fighting against the new Trump administration wanting to make painful cuts to education and healthcare to slash taxes for billionaires.

They deeply oppose the administration’s plan to “block grant” federal education programs and gut the U.S. Department of Education, as this “would rob 26 million students living in poverty of critical services and 7.5 million students with disabilities of special education support. It would eliminate career and technical education for 12 million students, threatening their future job opportunities. Slashing Medicaid and student loans could strip healthcare coverage from 10.3 million people and end access to student loans, making college unaffordable for another 10 million working-class families.”

Union plan of action

During the day of action, the unions urged members and activists to:

• Pressure decision-makers by urging elected officials at both the federal and state levels to oppose cuts to federal funding and block grants, both of which will hurt kids.
• Raise awareness by educating the public about the devastating consequences of dismantling the Department of Education, gutting federal education funding and providing no-strings-attached block grants.
• Mobilize support by engaging a broad coalition of stakeholders—including educators, students, parents and community members—to participate in actions nationwide.
• Drive media coverage: Generate media attention through storytelling, coordinated events, rallies, etc.
• Lift up our stories: Highlight how these cuts disproportionately harm vulnerable students, including those from underserved communities and students with disabilities.
• Take action in communities: Wage this fight in the communities where students will lose services they rely on, not just in Washington, D.C.

AFT reported that educators, students, parents and community allies participated in more than 2,000 events and social media actions throughout the country March 4th, as part of the AFT’s “Protect Our Kids” Day of Action to fight back against President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s “cruel and irresponsible attacks on public schools.”

Participants called on lawmakers to protect our kids and take a stand against actions that will hurt millions of students to fund tax cuts for billionaires.

The Trump administration’s assault on historic federally funded education programs would have disastrous consequences for the 26 million students living in poverty who count on Title I programs that support literacy and math skills. Its plan would threaten special education services and the critical support that 7.5 million kids with disabilities rely on.

Participants gathered to defend and expand support for public schools so that all kids are engaged and can thrive. Among the events: a virtual teach-in in Detroit; a rally at the New York State Capitol in Albany; a “clap-in” for students in Cincinnati; “walk-ins” in Chicago and Albuquerque, N.M.; letter writing in Pittsburgh and Fairfax County, Va.; and news conferences in Florida, New Jersey and Puerto Rico.

“Trump and Musk’s devastating cuts to the Department of Education will slash opportunities for low-income children, kids with disabilities and first-generation college students. This will force communities to raise property taxes if they want to keep critical support for vulnerable populations,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten during a virtual news conference on that day.

For her, “this is robbing Peter to pay Elon. It's just really reckless and cruel that we would do this to our schoolchildren. Kids really need this funding, and we’ve fought for years to make sure they get it.”

“The message is really clear and simple: It’s not okay to rob students of the education they need and deserve in order to give big tax cuts to the wealthy,” she concluded. “What you’re seeing on the ground across America are people—parents and teachers, together—saying our kids need these services. We cannot cut them.”

Pledge to protect students and public schools

NEA President Becky Pringle went on to note that “Americans love their public schools, and they want to make sure they have more resources, not less. We will be heard at every level of government—from the school board to the Senate—to reject any efforts to gut public schools, expand vouchers, or dismantle the U.S. Department of Education. We are educators, parents, and supporters of public schools.”

She added: “We are uniting to protect our students by advocating from school boards and statehouses to the halls of Congress, urging our elected officials to oppose a deeply unpopular and harmful agenda for schools, students, and educators.”

Reacting to the U.S. Senate’s party-line vote to confirm Linda McMahon as Secretary of Education, Pringle further reminded in her press release dated March 3rd: “Every student - no matter where they live, how much their family earns, or the color of their skin - deserves the opportunity, resources, and support they need to grow into their full brilliance.”

She also stressed that “McMahon was confirmed on a party-line vote, but parents and educators are organizing, advocating, and mobilizing to stop Donald Trump and Linda McMahon from hurting students and gutting public education to pay for their tax handouts to billionaires.”

Solidarity wave from the global education union movement

Throughout Latin America, education unions demonstrated support to their colleagues and students in the U.S.

In Colombia, the Federación Colombiana de Educadores (FECODE) issued a statement saying: “We stand in solidarity with NEA, AFT and the US education community in the face of the attack on the fundamental right to education by the Trump administration, which seeks to eliminate the Department of Education. No more cuts to public education to benefit billionaires.”

The Asociación Sindical de Profesores Universitarios (ASPU) also underlined: “We strongly reject attempts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, as this measure represents a direct attack on democracy and favors private interests that seek to profit from education. Likewise, let us condemn the threat of mass layoffs in the public sector, promoted by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which makes the work of thousands of people precarious and violates their rights.”

The Colombian education unionists reaffirmed their “commitment to the defense of free, quality public education,” and joined “the fight of our sister organizations in the United States” “against these regressive policies”.

In the Dominican Republic, the local branch of the Asociación Dominicana de Profesores (ADP) in Villa Altagracia reported: “Today each of our members wears a white piece of clothes as a symbol of support against the attacks on education and mass deportations promoted by the Trump administration. Education is a right, not a privilege. We remain firm in the defense of our fellow educators and all those affected by these unjust policies.”

In Europe, the Italian Federazione Lavoratori della Conoscenza CGIL (FLC CGIL) stood with the AFT and the NEA “against the recent measures that target the rights of students, teachers, schools, academic freedom, civil rights, public education and democracy”.

With the “Protect Our Kids” Day of Action, education unions in the States and beyond highlighted the harmful consequences of the Trump administration’s attacks on public schools and students, and aimed to build public pressure on policymakers and amplify the voices of those directly impacted.