Attacks on teachers never ‘as bad as right now’: union chief

The president of the American Federation of Teachers, one of the largest teachers unions in the country, said attacks on teachers have never been “as bad as right now.” 

Randi Weingarten, who has served as the leader of the union since 2008, told USA Today that she began representing teachers in New York City in 1986, when there was a “Mother Theresa attitude” that teachers were “wonderful” people. She said teachers’ push for more economic power and fair wages challenged a lot in the country and that politics changed in the 1980s and 1990s into “we vs. them.” 

“But it's never been as bad as right now — where it's not just political, it's cultural,” Weingarten said. “People had a different view of how to do education, but there was not this attack on people's basic humanity. This is really new.” 

Weingarten’s comments come as education has taken a major role in national political and cultural discussions in recent years. 

Gun violence in schools remains a concern for students and teachers, she said. 

She said the most important part of the bipartisan gun legislation that President Biden signed into law in the aftermath of the May shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and other mass shootings was that the federal government “did something.” But she said it did not go far enough. 

Weingarten said the law — which includes enhanced background checks for gun buyers under 21 years old and further restricts those convicted of domestic abuse from obtaining firearms — will save lives, but “weapons of war” like AR-15 and AK-47 rifles need to be taken “off the streets.” 

The shooter in Uvalde used an AR-15-style rifle in the attack that killed 19 children and two teachers. 

Weingarten said the union is opposed to arming teachers, as Uvalde demonstrated that “good guys with a gun” cannot stop a bad guy with a gun. 

Law enforcement officials faced sharp criticism following the shooting after it was revealed that officers waited more than an hour while the gunman was inside the school before confronting and killing him. 

Public education has also been brought into a national culture war as some states have passed legislation banning certain books from curricula and restricting what teachers can discuss in the classroom. 

Some states have banned discussing certain concepts about race, sexual orientation and gender. Among the highest profile of these efforts has been Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law, which critics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay" law.

The law bans teachers from instructing on topics related to sexual orientation and gender identity that are not “age appropriate” for children. 

Weingarten said “extremists on the right wing” hate teachers unions and that those unions are “trying to help kids figure out how to think, not what to think.” She said such extremists are going to attack the union regardless, but the union’s job is to create a safe and welcoming environment. 

“Our job is about what kids need, what communities need,” she said. “Because when you're doing that, you're also doing what your members need.”