Candidate for governor Dr. Butch Ware joins teachers at Malcolm X Academy in Hunters Point

Dr. Butch Ware, California gobenatorial candidate

San Francisco – Dr. Rudolph “Butch” Ware, candidate for governor of California with the Green Party, joined the picket line at Malcolm X Academy Feb. 9 to demonstrate his enthusiastic support for United Educators of San Francisco (UESF) as they launched their historic strike. As a professor of history at UC Santa Barbara, he expressed strong support for the educators’ demands, which align with the campaign’s policy platform of equitable funding for public schools regardless of ZIP code and a living wage for all educators. 

Dr. Ware promises strong support for unions after he wins the governor’s race: “When we win, I’m going to have the backs of the unions.” 

“Who has led the way in organizing for power in the last century? Unions have,” Dr. Ware emphasized during his remarks on the picket line. “And don’t let nobody cause you to desist from this fight, because this is a sacred struggle for all of our liberation.”

“We see what you and all of our special education teachers do,” Dr. Ware says as he stresses the need for more funding for educators. 

One of the members of the bargaining committee for UESF, a paraeducator, stressed that the union was composed of not just teachers, but many different roles that all contribute to the day-to-day functioning of public schools. Echoing this, Dr. Ware added, “I’m the father of a 15-year-old son with special needs. … We see you – what all of our special education teachers do, our aides, our paraeducators – because the next generation, that’s what we’re investing in and that’s what we’re fighting for.” 

SFUSD has the necessary funding to meet all of UESF demands and is painting a false narrative, according to UESF. 

“These people [at SFUSD, San Francisco Unified School District] are holding $429 million of taxpayer money in reserves, and they are crying poor, telling you that they can’t afford to pay teachers,” Dr. Ware said, echoing UESF’s demand that SFUSD dip into its reserve funds, instead of obstructing union demands with a projected budget deficit. The Butch Ware for Governor campaign is in full support of all of UESF’s demands and hopes that SFUSD will come back to the bargaining table in good faith to keep the schools open for workers and students. 

About Butch Ware for California governor in 2026 

Dr. Rudolph “Butch” Ware is running for the governorship of California with the Green Party. He is a longtime organizer and movement builder, and he is a tenured professor of African and Islamic history at University of California, Santa Barbara. He ran as the vice presidential candidate alongside Jill Stein in the 2024 U.S. presidential election. His campaign is fully grassroots and does not accept corporate or super PAC donations. His platform includes guaranteed affordable housing, universal healthcare, free community and state college for California residents, fully funded and expanded public transit and more. 

To learn more, visit his website: https://www.butchware4gov.org/; Instagram: @butchware; Twitter: @ButchWare; Facebook: ButchWare4Gov2026; or contact Valielza Huynh-O’Keefe at press@butchware4gov.org.

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