National Teachers Union Head Defends Resisting Return to Schools, Blames Trump and DeVos
Randi Weingarten, the head of America’s largest teachers’ union, on Monday defended the public school teachers’ push back against calls to return to classrooms, blaming the Trump administration for not providing resources and guidance they need to safely resume in-person work.
“Every school teacher I know would rather be in person with their kids,” said Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), during an interview with the Washington Journal on C-SPAN. “We know what kids are missing right now. But everyone has a right to be safe.”
Teachers unions around the country are refusing to return to in-person teaching, despite calls from state and local officials to return to classrooms. Pictured: A sixth grade student is the only student in her class at John Hayden Middle School in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 5. (Photo: Evelyn Hockstein/for The Washington Post/Getty Images)
Commentary By
Jonathan Butcher is a senior policy analyst in The Heritage Foundation s Center for Education Policy and a senior fellow for the Goldwater Institute and the Beacon Center of Tennessee.
President Joe Biden’s administration pledged that at least half of K-12 schools in the U.S. will offer in-person learning at least one day per week within his first 100 days in office.
Jonathan Butcher is the Will Skillman Fellow in Education at The Heritage Foundation. If unions keep teachers out of traditional buildings, then policymakers should make the creation of other public options possible right away. JasonDoiy / Getty Imates
Key Takeaways
Students should be allowed to leave their assigned school and transfer to any public school in the state.
State legislators should, according to their state laws, suspend striking teacher salaries, and hire substitutes who are willing to work in person.
Lawmakers have options options that would help students.
President Joe Biden’s administration pledged that at least half of K-12 schools in the U.S. will offer in-person learning at least one day per week within his first 100 days in office. Research using a representative sample of school districts finds that 44% of districts were already offering in-person learning in December 2020, so the administration’s proposal is hardl
Font Size:
Though President Joe Biden campaigned on his strong union support, his administration has not backed them consistently and has adopted policies that have upset leaders of some of the largest in the country.
Biden pledged throughout his campaign that he would scrap the Keystone XL pipeline if elected. But trade and pipefitter unions where nonetheless angered when the president followed through.
Conversely, his administration has sided with teachers unions, some of which have refused to revert to in-person learning despite recent studies that show it is safe if proper precautions are followed.
Additionally, environmental groups donated far more to Biden’s campaign and its affiliated PACs than unions central to the pipeline’s construction and operation. Teachers unions similarly shelled out significantly more cash to Biden’s campaign than those related to Keystone.