Teachers Unions Increased Donations to Democrats When Congress Debated Reopening Schools
Parents get another reason to keep their children in the private or charter schools they chose after the unions kept public schools closed for months.
Coincidence? I doubt it.
Roll Call revealed large teachers unions increased their donations to Democrats when Congress debated reopening schools earlier this year.
The teachers unions were the loudest force behind schools remaining closed this school year, especially in Chicago.
Congress debated the coronavirus relief package in early February. It included a Republican proposal that schools receiving federal funding must reopen after the teachers get their vaccines.
The Democrats unanimously voted to block it. At the same time:
The American Federation of Teachers political action committee gave $1.6 million to congressional candidates and committees, including $1 million to House Majority PAC, a super PAC that boosts Democratic candidates, a CQ Roll Call analysis of federal filings showed. The same group disclosed giving just $45,000 to federal committees in the first three months of 2019, the same point in the two-year election cycle.
The National Education Association’s PAC increased its federal donations by 38 percent, shelling out $371,000 in this year’s first quarter compared with $269,000 in the same period of 2019.
I don’t believe in coincidences, especially when it comes to politicians.
AFT’s president tried to explain why the large donations just happened to take place during that time:
Randi Weingarten, president of the 1.7-million-member AFT, said in a statement that the 2022 elections “will be a vitally important cycle, and that’s why the AFT moved earlier than usual, mindful of the challenges posed by the pandemic, to ensure our long-term allies could establish a footprint.”
“We will continue our staunch support for candidates who help Americans thrive: by creating opportunity and equity through public education (from pre-K through college), voting rights and labor rights — the three great opportunity agents working people have to get ahead,” she added.
The Democrats and unions remain tone-deaf. They seriously think they are on the “winning side of the debate” concerning reopening schools:
“Democrats in Congress provided $130 billion in the American Rescue Plan to safely reopen our nation’s schools and support state-level education agencies. Every single Republican voted against this critical funding that is helping school leaders return to educating young people,” said DCCC spokesperson Chris Taylor. “Just like teachers, Democrats in Congress are focused on delivering for American families. Our teachers and families won’t forget next November that House Democrats had their backs and Republicans in Congress abandoned them in the middle of a pandemic.”
Yeah, except parents spoke out and begged schools to reopen. We saw private and charter schools open in September with few problems. Catholic schools in New York City became overwhelmed with applications because parents did not want their children to fall behind.
Oh, those parents realized their children would receive a much better education so it’s doubtful that a lot will return to the public schools.
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Comments
What part do we plebs play when an outfit like this that should be disbanded has the m0ney to get what they want?
Campaign donations are used to purchase advertising in order to influence voters. The voter being you.
What can be done?
1. Register to vote
2. Attend School Board Meetings
3. Recruit like minded people
4. Make your presence felt as a bloc of voters
5. Publicly speak against the bad policies
6. Organize rides to the polls for School Board elections, many are in off years in May so teacher union has more impact due to less votes cast.
All those are eminently achievable. Not easy nor will your efforts be appreciated. You will be marked as the ‘gadfly’ who goes to School Board meetings. People will call you names and say mean things about you.
Trite? No, just simple common sense advice in response. All of us have better uses for our time and being a local leader in the community isn’t easy. It can succeed if you are willing. If everyone refuses the effort will fail.
Why on earth would you send a child to an organization that top to bottom needs those changes your methods MIGHT help.
If I hired a roofer and paid money upfront, then found out that not only he’s indifferent, but his results are poor at best, I wouldn’t let him anywhere near my roof. I would attempt to get my money back but failing that, I would do the work myself or scrap and save to find someone who was serious.
The answer is much simpler: under NO circumstances allow a child anywhere near a public school.
ALPAPilot,
Umm…ok? I believe that the tax dollars for education should follow the student. Obviously this allows maximum flexibility to parents.
I don’t see how your proposal to prevent attendance in public school, is going to work in practice. Could you lay out how we achieve your goal and what will replace public school if anything?
Many people, myself included, believe that the current public education workforce is the largest impediment to public schools succeeding.
Does your plan prevent these folks from being hired by private or parochial schools? All of them or only some? What criteria will be used to separate the abject failures from the mediocre or the very good or the absolute best?
Does your plan address the potential legal ramifications of breaking union contracts? How about disposal of the assets; buildings, bus, stadiums?
Is a transition phase required or is your plan simply ‘cold turkey’ so to speak? What do you see as the primary, secondary and tertiary impacts upon students? On parents? Does your plan include mitigation measures to minimize the impact?
Public Schools are run for the benefit of the teacher’s unions. The students interests and their parents are secondary or teritiary.
Is it any wonder that home schooling has increased so much in the last 10 years? Any wonder why people want school choice ?
Public schools have become a cesspool where the educational objective is lowest-common denominator. Sending your kids there is equivalent to child abuse. And the schools in major cities are outright racist. In NYC, teachers were told to give less attention to white and Asian kids. It was documented at meetings of The NYC Board of Education. The rationale for the racism was said to be offsetting the privilege of these other races. But, let me tell you – if it isn’t already obvious – if your kid goes to a public school in NYC – it’s not because they have any privilege. It’s because the parents are poor and/or have no other choice. They know this. But the neo-racists will find any pretext to advance their racist agenda.
the Ace of Spades is a website full of Nazis and bigots
blm, crt advocates, and antifa sow the seeds of nazis and bigots
Based on the factual per student cost vs educational outcomes, the K-12 Public School teachers unions were and are a much greater multi decade pandemic than Covid.