UPTE donates to Doctors Without Borders amidst growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza

On December 27, 2023, UPTE's Executive Board voted to make a $10,000 contribution to Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) to support their humanitarian aid work on the ground in Gaza. MSF offers medical humanitarian assistance to people based solely on need, irrespective of race, religion, gender, or political affiliation. 

The Executive Board also issued the following statement affirming UPTE's long-standing commitment to equality, justice, and peace; demanding that our tax dollars be used to support public healthcare, research, and education—not to provide additional billions of dollars in weapons. Sadly, the number of Palestinians who have been killed in this violence increases by the hour and now exceeds 22,000.

As a union of nearly 20,000 healthcare workers, researchers in the public interest, and workers dedicated to public education, we mourn the tragic loss of nearly as many Palestinian and Israeli lives in the past 3 months. We are horrified by the October 7 attack on Israeli civilians and the ongoing siege, bombing, forced evacuation and destruction of hospitals and schools, and the resulting dire shortage of medical supplies, food, and water in Gaza.

For these reasons, we join the World Health Organization, Doctors Without Borders, the United Nations, and dozens of American unions calling for an immediate ceasefire and release of hostages. 

Furthermore, we call on our elected officials to cease funding of this conflict and instead to use our government's immense influence to end the blockade of Gaza and to insist that all Palestinians and Israelis are granted equal access to healthcare, education, freedom of movement, and democratic rights.