Washington, DC – American Federation of Teachers New Mexico (AFT NM) President Whitney Holland released the following statement regarding her participation in a White House event entitled Communities in Action: Building a Better New Mexico Forum:

“It was an honor to carry the voices and stories of New Mexico’s thousands of public educators and healthcare workers to our nation’s capital to share our views and experiences during a visit to the White House’s forum on how we can partner to ‘Build a Better New Mexico’ with the Biden-Harris administration.

“Our message to the White House was clear: ‘Keep pushing forward on your family-focused and worker-focused agenda.’

“In particular, under President Biden’s leadership, this administration has fought for our students and families we serve as educators and the patients we serve as healthcare workers to ensure that during the COVID-19 crisis, our schools, institutions, and healthcare facilities were equipped with sufficient personal protective equipment, that we had access to upgraded air quality and ventilation systems, and in particular, supports for our students and families as they navigated a ‘new normal’ during the pandemic. These actions saved lives, improved our community well-being, and gave hope to our students, patients, and families.

“Furthermore, President Biden is the most pro-worker and pro-Labor President in history, bar none. This is important for New Mexico for many reasons, but as union approval has skyrocketed, Americans are seeing strengthened unions – even if they are not part of one themselves – as a pathway to a life with dignity, respect, and workplace protections. Unions built our middle class, and when unions are strong, all our communities benefit from better wages, increased safety on the job, and importantly justice and equality for all in our society.

“Leaving this summit re-energized and with this administration’s pledge to keep working on behalf of the citizens of our great state and all Americans, it is upon all of us to continue to work together to achieve the vision of fairness, justice, and equity we all deserve and demand,” said Holland.