How much power do teachers unions really have?
How do teacher unions work?
The American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association are the two big teachers unions in the United States. Each state has affiliate offices of those unions and they advertise their membership in the teachers lounges and workrooms of public schools. The biggest selling point of membership as far as teachers are concerned is free legal representation in case a teacher has problems with a school district or principal or in case the teacher is sued by a parent. Teachers pay a monthly membership fee in order to get the membership benefits.
What do teachers unions say their mission is?
On its website the National Education Association (NEA) states "In pursuing its mission, NEA has determined that we will focus the energy and resources of our 3.2 million members on improving the quality of teaching, increasing student achievement and making schools safer, better places to learn."
And what is its mission?
Their website tells us. "Our mission is to advocate for education professionals and to unite our members and the nation to fulfill the promise of public education to prepare every student to succeed in a diverse and interdependent world."
Notice the extreme leftist code words: diverse and interdependent. That is code for globalist. They are, however, "determined to increase student achievement". The National Assessment for Education Progress tells us that only 30% of fourth and eighth grade students in Texas are considered proficient in reading. That's pathetic! They say that they are determined to increase student achievement, but are they??! Is student achievement being increased and are schools better places to learn?
American Federation of Teachers (AFT) website
On their website the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) states that:
"The American Federation of Teachers, an affiliate of the AFL-CIO, was founded in 1916 and today represents 1.7 million members in more than 3,000 local affiliates nationwide."
They also describe in their State of the Union that:
"We are facing three crises in America—a health crisis, an economic crisis and an overdue reckoning with a history of racial and social injustice—all made worse because of Donald Trump.", , , "Through both activism and elections, we change the narrative, enact new policies and create a better life for all. The State of the Union 2018–2020 is full of inspiring examples of how we have mobilized community partners to decrease racial injustice, used collective bargaining to increase student services and patient safety, created a new era of strikes to address the needs of working people and helped union members and union-friendly candidates win elections."
This is a public education organization?! Why should they concern themselves with health, economic, and social issues and what is their area of expertise in these issues?? Are they physicians, economists, or sociologists? This is crazy.
How does the National Education Association (NEA) affect public schools and
public policy?
NEA's press releases from 2021 include the following titles:
NEA supports widespread use of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccinations for students
NEA blasts Senate’s failure to secure voting rights for all Americans
NEA applauds Supreme Court’s rule to uphold Affordable Care Act
NEA: House bills pave way to citizenship for aspiring Americans
NEA urges passage of John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021
Becky Pringle: Educators welcome humane bicameral immigration bill (Becky Pringle is the NEA President)
NEA President: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell blocks Freedom to Vote Act. Our students are watching as politicians fail to protect democracy, stack the deck against them
You might be wondering what these actions have to do with educating our students. You might also ask these questions: Are people in the NEA physicians and how can they recommend COVID-19 vaccinations for students? Are they economists and physicians and are, therefore, able to support upholding the Affordable Care Act and its consequences? Are they judges and do they have the expertise to speak about the legal concerns in the elections? Ridiculous if you ask me.
www.opensecrets.org provides transparency about organizations and their political donations and its slogan is "Following the Money in Politics". They have precise information about the political activities and donations of the NEA affiliates and AFT affiliates. Here below is a screenshot from their website:
In case you are wondering who some of these recipients are, on their website the "For Our Future" Florida affiliate office states,
"For Our Future Florida connects issues and elections, because the two go hand-in-hand. Strong issue advocacy leads to better campaigns, better campaigns lead to better elections, and better elections lead to stronger outcomes on the issues that we care about in Florida. Our mission is to mobilize and empower people and community-based organizations to drive real change and advance our shared agenda – this is community organizing to win!
Fundamental to our core are progressive values, like creating shared economic prosperity, building strong public schools, addressing climate change, and supporting racial justice. What sets us apart in this hyper-political circus-like atmosphere is our ability to listen to and talk with people, not at people, and work with people, not around people."
The website for Ohio's "For Our Future" affiliate office states:
"For Our Future Ohio’s mission is to mobilize and empower people and community-based organizations to drive real change and advance our shared agenda – this is community organizing to win!
Fundamental to our core are progressive values, like creating shared economic prosperity, building strong public schools, addressing climate change, and supporting social and racial justice. What sets us apart in this hyper-political circus-like atmosphere is our ability to listen to and talk with people, not at people, and work with people, not around people.
Our model is to respect, empower, and include – because we are more powerful working together. Through a robust field and digital organizing program, earned media, and expansive partnerships that empower local leaders and organizations, For Ohio’s Future will cut through all of the noise as we educate and engage on local, state, and national issues."
It's pretty darn close that these two have the same statement on their websites yet they claim they are "set apart in this hyper-political circus-like atmosphere, , ,"
They also have a graphic on their website showing their four main priorities:
Here is another screenshot from the www.opensecrets.org website regarding the NEA:
What about the American Fedetaion of Teachers (AFT)?
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”
and she also stated, “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."
Notice the Marxist code word: equity!!!!
These are screenshots of the donations of AFT affiliates found on the website at www.opensecrets.org:
Evil collaboration between the American Fedration of Teachers (AFT) and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) !
Indiana school administrator Anthony Kinnett wrote on www.thechalkboardreview.com
"Recent reports from the New York Post and other media outlets have shed light on a concerning series of emails between American Federation of Teachers (AFT) union president Randi Weingarten, and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky (MD, MPH), in which their offices collaborated in changing CDC guidelines in reopening schools to fit the alternative views of the AFT. In February 2021, a series of “suggested changes” to guidelines for public schools was directly implemented in the CDC’s K-12 Operational Strategy, updated only a few days after the emails were sent." and " In 2020, the American Federation of Teachers began lobbying for several key bills in Congress that would drastically increase the budget of the Centers for Disease Control and the scope of its power and reach in the United States. In 2020 alone, $1,560,000 was spent by the AFT in part to benefit the CDC directly. Specifically, H.R.1227, H.R.1976, H.Con.Res.11, S.187, S.386, and S.531 all would directly benefit the upper administration salaries of the CDC."
*You can read the New York Post article by clicking on the button below.
Money from Teachers Unionc to Democrat Congress with Love
Congress Qarterly staff writer and reporter Kate Ackley wrote an article on www.rollcall.com
She titled "Donations from teachers unions spiked as Congress debated school reopening, virus relief; Funding from AFT, NEA went primarily to Democrats".
She wrote:
"Both the AFT and the NEA have broad federal policy and legislative agendas, according to recently filed lobbying disclosure reports.
The AFT disclosed lobbying on COVID-19 relief and vaccine priority for educators, as well as voting rights legislation and a sweeping overhaul of campaign finance, elections and lobbying laws known as HR 1 and S 1.
The NEA, too, disclosed lobbying on the campaign finance and elections overhaul, as well as a measure that would overhaul policing after the killing of George Floyd last year."
She also wrote that:
"Rory Cooper, a former congressional GOP aide who is active in the push to reopen local public school districts, said the uptick in political donations amounted to the unions rewarding Democratic lawmakers 'for paying the ransom money,' his term for the billions to education in the COVID-19 relief measure this year.
The donations, he added, 'should be toxic, frankly, at this point because the stances the unions are taking are just so deeply unpopular. It reinforces that teachers unions are political organizations designed to accrue political power.'"
Teachers Union's Strength Over Congress and the CDC
Corey DeAngelis wrote an article in the New York Post published August 9, 2021 titled "Teachers unions’ mask demands have gotten them into a Catch-22 dilemma"
"Many teachers unions are also pushing to force all children in public schools to wear masks for another year. The demands for mask mandates are unleashing renewed calls for school choice."
She also told us that
"Ten states have now required all public schools to force students to wear masks each day. All are run by Democratic governors, and most are controlled by some of the strongest teachers unions in the nation. Six — California, Illinois, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii and New Jersey — are ranked in the top 10, according to Fordham Institute’s ranking of teachers union strength."
On nationalreview.com Caroline Downey published an article on September 8, 2021 titled "CDC Announced Stricter School-Masking Guidelines after Teacher Union Threat"
and she wrote:
"The CDC adopted stricter mask guidance for public schools after a major teachers’ union pressured the agency with a reproving statement. Email correspondence obtained by Fox News between officials from the National Education Association, the nation’s second largest teachers’ union, and the White House reveal collaboration to push the CDC to release more rigorous mask recommendations."
Why do teachers unions oppose charter schools?
The Texas Tribune published an article by by Aliyya Swaby on Aug. 29, 2018 and updated on Aug. 30, 2018 titled "Texas Teachers Unions Sue Education Agency Over Charter Partnership Law".
Swaby wrote that:
"Two teacher associations sued Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath and the Texas Education Agency on Wednesday, arguing they rolled out a law incentivizing partnerships with school districts and charter schools in a way that weakened protections for public school employees.
The lawsuit, filed in Travis County District Court, centers on Senate Bill 1882, which lets traditional school districts partner with outside organizations — including charter schools and nonprofit organizations — to turn around low-performing schools and receive a temporary reprieve from harsh state penalties and gain additional state funding.
The Texas State Teachers Association and the Texas chapter of the American Federation of Teachers, a national teachers union, argue in the suit that Morath exceeded his authority in releasing schools seeking partnerships from existing state regulations — harming teachers who benefit from those rights."
Swaby also wrote that
"SB 1882 was intended to serve as a lifeline for school districts that needed more resources and more time to get students in chronically failing schools performing better on standardized tests and meeting state standards. Under this law, districts turn over management of their low-performing schools to their partner organizations, which could be universities, nonprofits or charters.
But as school districts started publicly weighing potential partnerships, some heard loud resistance from teachers unions concerned about losing rights in their existing employment contracts and community members angry about giving up the management of their struggling schools, many of which are located in majority black and Hispanic neighborhoods."
Thankfully, Senate Bill 1882 was signed into law in 2017 despite protests and lawsuits from the teachers unions. In addition, you can see how the teachers unions are only concerned with their own power and control, not about what is best for Texas children including the children these teachers unions say they are working for the most.
In Conclusion
In conclusion, the answer to the question "How much power do these teachers unions really have?" is "A LOT!" And their power and influence extend way beyond the boundaries of educating our children. They exist to promote their Marxist agendas, not to educate, and the data on student achievement supports this claim.
The truth is that teachers unions do not care about students. Most teachers who belong to the unions probably do care about students, but teachers unions only care about furthering their agendas. Most teachers are completely unaware of what their union membership dues actually get used for. Perhaps the teachers unions wanted schools closed for a year so that they could ask the federal government for money to fund programs to help students recover lost learning, Ultimately, teachers unions don't care if students learn much anyway because they know that the biggest threat to their Marxist radical agenda is "an educated populace".
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