Posts tagged Randi Weingarten
AFT president Randi Weingarten scores $15K annual teacher’s pension in deal with union and NYC
May 16, 2023 // “The New York Post has refused to provide us with the supposed analysis this story is based on. Regardless, it’s pure speculation because Ms. Weingarten is not retired,” AFT spokesman Andrew Crook said. “Ms. Weingarten has worked on behalf of UFT members—including teaching in NYC public schools—for nearly 40 years.” Weingarten began serving as a legal counsel at UFT in 1986 before becoming a teacher. Other records obtained by the Freedom Foundation show she worked about two hours a day as a substitute from September 1991 to August 1994, amounting to about a year of service in her retirement account.
Don’t Be Fooled by Randi Weingarten’s Rehabilitation Tour
May 8, 2023 // Weingarten worked for six years as a history teacher early on in her 40-year career. But for most of her life, she has advocated for teachers' interests, which is demonstrably not the same as "helping kids." To tell parents, many of whom are concerned by the two decades' worth of progress wiped out in math and reading for fourth-graders; the fact that eighth-graders' average math scores fell in all 50 states minus one; and may have in some cases initiated the exodus of some of the 1.3 million children from the public school system, that the person who helped keep schools closed has their kids' best interests in mind is deeply offensive. Her job is fundamentally to secure higher pay and more job protection for teachers who pay union dues, not to make sure your child is happy, healthy, or safe.
Weingarten Called out for Perjury During House Oversight Hearing
May 5, 2023 // Even far-left mayor of Chicago Lori Lightfoot told CNN this week, Weingarten’s claims were “not the reality” of what unfolded under her reign. Congress must hold this radical union boss accountable for not only her crimes against children during the pandemic, but for committing perjury in the process of denying her nefarious actions.
Congressional hearing features union-backed politicians
May 1, 2023 // Six of the seven Democratic Party lawmakers received campaign contributions from AFT, and yet not a single lawmaker publicly acknowledged their financial ties to the union. Zero Republican committee members received AFT funding. According to Open Secrets, a campaign contribution transparency website, AFT’s political action committee (PAC) donated to each of the following committee members between 2021-2022: AFT was not the only teachers union to donate to committee members. The National Education Association donated to 6 of the 7 Democrat lawmakers on the committee, who were Reps. Ruiz ($10,000), Mfume ($10,000), Ross ($4,000), Dingell ($4,000), Bera ($4,000), and Hawaiian Rep. Jill Tokuda ($6,000) for a total of $38,000.
Hunter Tower: Is Pittsburgh a blueprint for other union-dominated blue cities?
May 1, 2023 // SEIU leaders now hold key posts in Gainey’s administration. Silas Russell, SEIU Healthcare executive vice president and political director, co-chaired Gainey’s transition team. Maria Montano, former SEIU Healthcare communications director, is now Gainey’s press secretary. And Lisa Frank, former SEIU vice president and director of strategic communications, is now the city of Pittsburgh’s chief operating officer. Emails uncovered through right-to-know requests by CBS Pittsburgh reveal that Russell provided the mayor with union-generated talking points ahead of a meeting last year with UPMC officials.
Randi Weingarten, teacher’s union helped coordinate CDC’s 2021 school reopening guidance, records reveal
April 27, 2023 // Powerful AFT boss Randi Weingarten spoke twice by phone with CDC Director Rochelle Walensky in the week leading up to the Feb. 12, 2021, announcement that halted full re-opening of in-person classes — including the day before the guidance was released, according to records obtained by the conservative watchdog Americans for Public Trust. AFT and its fellow union, the National Education Association, also asked the White House and CDC for help shaping its press strategy to show the rank-and-file they and the Biden administration were on the same page, emails reveal. The extent of the unions’ role in government policy was revealed the day before Weingarten is set to face a House select subcommittee hearing about the effects of school closures on America’s kids. The records show Walensky took a call from Weingarten on Feb. 7, 2021, five days before the CDC released its “Operational Strategy for K-12 Schools Through Phased Mitigation.”
Op-ed: Expect the Same Familiar Lies From Randi Weingarten on Capitol Hill Today
April 26, 2023 // In July 2020, Weingarten vehemently opposed allowing students to learn in person, even threatening a strike if her demands weren’t met. “(N)othing is off the table,” she said. And she meant it. United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) proudly announced it would not reopen unless certain conditions were met. These included the closure of privately operated, publicly funded charter schools; defunding law enforcement; adoption of a government-run Medicare-for-all healthcare system; implementation of a statewide wealth tax; construction of fully-funded housing for the state’s homeless population; and, increased financial support for the children of illegal aliens. Predictably, none of the conditions had anything to do with educating students and everything to do with pushing UTLA’s radical, leftwing agenda.
Union rally in Florida shows disconnect with teachers
April 24, 2023 // The rallying cry for rally organizers and attendees, “You’re Not Fooling Us Ron!” was a direct barb at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. The event flyer listed several of the union’s concerns for teachers, such as “struggling to keep politics out of classrooms,” “struggling to keep our kids and ourselves safe at school” because state lawmakers are “more concerned about banning books,” and “struggling to educate our kids with massive class sizes, burdensome state testing, and big government overreach” due to state lawmakers’ focus “on taking our unionized voice away.” The flyer also included social media hashtag #NotFoolingUs.
Unions pour on support for Biden’s Labor pick amid confirmation worries
April 24, 2023 // The AFL-CIO this week began rolling out a campaign to drum up support for Su, with an emphasis on getting local affiliates to lean on undecided senators and a six-figure ad buy running in Washington, D.C. and Arizona. The “Stand with Su” effort is a direct counterweight to some of the forces that have been lobbying against her — including the name choice, as one of the main anti-confirmation groups is called “Stand Against Su.” Administration officials are holding nightly “war room” calls with Su’s backers to discuss the game plan for the following day and to track developments, according to a White House official. The administration also holds 15 to 20 check-in calls per day across labor and business groups. Walsh has also been actively engaged in the process and advocating for Su with labor and business leaders and senators, according to an administration official.
Teachers union chief hires seasoned lawyer ahead of Hill testimony
April 20, 2023 // Randi Weingarten is lawyering up. The American Federation of Teachers president has retained a top white-collar defense attorney ahead of her scheduled testimony on school closures during the height of the Covid-19 crisis to the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic next week. Weingarten is taking a swipe at the panel’s Republicans ahead of an all-but-assured grilling from conservatives looking to probe the union’s alleged influence over federal disease-mitigation guidelines the GOP blames for closing schools.