Teacher Union Officials Consider Presidential Candidates
Whether they will consult their members on whom they endorse, teacher union officials are eyeing the panoply of presidential candidates like a kid outside a candy store. Cautious after endorsing a losing Hillary Clinton in previous elections, both teacher union hierarchies are taking their time before throwing their millions in dues into the ring. Teacher union officials are riding the tidal wave of publicity strikes have created to foment unrest, and to attract attention.
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO ( AFT), believes their strike actions (and more are sure to be planned) have motivated teachers and others to become more politically active (read that vote with teacher unions) and politicians to sit up and beg for union dues money contributions.
Teachers must be aware they have the right to resign whenever they wish to, and the right to refrain completely from union membership or support if they do not currently belong to a union. Teachers seeking more information should visit MyJanusRights.org, contact CEAFU or the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation for free confidential legal advice.
Dan Merica, Kyung Lah and Alberto Moya have the story on cnn.com.
2020 could become the year of the teacher.
After teachers in California, Kentucky, Oklahoma and a host of other states went on strikefor a series of demands in 2018 and 2019, ranging from better pay to more support in the classroom, Democratic presidential candidates and operatives within their campaigns have stepped up their outreach to teachers’ unions, hoping to seize on the energy that propelled nationwide teachers strikes.