President Biden received more contributions from teachers’ unions than any other candidate during the 2020 election cycle by a wide margin – underscoring the puzzle that can reach the White House if those same unions continue to oppose efforts to open schools for learning presential .
Biden’s campaign raised just over $ 232,000 from teacher unions during the 2020 election cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics’s “Open Secrets” website. The website claims that the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) “account for virtually all” political spending by teacher unions.
The second biggest recipient was Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Who received $ 50,996.
The amount of money that went directly to any candidate, however, pales in comparison to the money donated by teacher unions to liberal groups in general – more than $ 23.5 million from the NEA and more than $ 14 million from the AFT . Combined, these two groups spent $ 43 million in political spending during the 2020 election cycle, according to Open Secrets.
Both endorsed Biden for the presidency in March.
President Joe Biden talks about the economy in the White House State Dining Room, Friday, February 5, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo / Alex Brandon)
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And the influence of unions on democratic politics does not stop at money – the AFT has 1.7 million members, according to its website, while the NEA has more than 3 million members according to its website. This represents well over half of Biden’s popular vote margin for victory over former President Trump in November – a large chunk of the electorate. According to the NEA, one in 39 voters lives in a household with at least one member of the NEA.
That influence could put the Biden White House on a collision course with some of its most powerful political supporters, while the president tries to keep a promise he made before taking office – taking the children to classrooms.
“If Congress provides funding, we will need to protect students, educators and staff. If states and cities implement strong public health measures that we all follow, my team will work to ensure that most of our schools can be opened until the end of my first 100 days, “said Biden in December.
This priority is widely supported, with parents and children across the country talking about the mental distress caused by isolation and distance learning – as well as the economic costs for parents – and a generation of students falling behind in school.
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But education in the United States is divided into thousands of systems at individual locations, and unions are firmly resisting many local governments.
Supporters of the Chicago Teachers Union participate in a caravan of caravans, while negotiations with the Chicago Public Schools continue over a coronavirus disease safety plan (COVID-19) agreement in Chicago, Illinois, USA, January 30, 2021. REUTERS / Eileen T. Meslar
In one example, as Chicago and its mayor, Lori Lightfoot, aim to bring students back to schools, their local teachers’ union is fighting hard against city terms.
A statement from the Chicago Teachers’ Union last week complained that the city had not come to terms with its demands for “comprehensive testing for students and staff, remote teaching for educators with at-risk relatives, improvements in remote learning or reopening in phases. tied to vaccinations. “
Washington Teachers Union added this week: “[I]If District of Columbia Public Schools continues to refuse to work with us to ensure the safety of our school facilities, we must continue to discuss ways to protect our health and that of our students. This could include a vote to authorize a strike later this week. “
Meanwhile, the unions of the San Francisco United School District and the San Francisco Labor Council protested on Wednesday against a notoriously progressive city lawsuit against their school district aimed at putting children back in classrooms, calling the effort of “frivolous and disturbing”.
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One of the main demands of unions is vaccinations for teachers, despite repeated comments recently by CDC Director Rochelle Walensky that schools can be opened without teachers being vaccinated.
CDC director Rochelle Walensky speaks during a press conference at the Queen Theater on December 8, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)
“I also want to make it clear that there is growing data that suggests that schools can reopen safely and that this safe reopening does not suggest that teachers need to be vaccinated to reopen safely,” said Walensky earlier this week.
“So while we are implementing the Advisory Committee’s criteria and state and local guidelines for vaccinating these eligible communities, I would also say that safe reopening of schools is not – that vaccination of teachers is not a prerequisite for safe reopening of schools, “Walensky added.
But White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Thursday seemed to distance the White House from Walensky’s comments and declined to say whether the government would face the unions if necessary.
Psaki said that Walensky “talked about it in his personal capacity” and that before pressing schools to reopen without vaccines, the White House will await “the final orientation”.
Vaccination of teachers and other school staff is an additional layer of prevention that can be added to these key mitigation measures.
Psaki, meanwhile, questioned whether the White House would stand against union obstruction if the negotiations continued to paralyze “unjust”. Asked again on Friday whether Biden would use the “aggressive pulpit” to pressure unions to allow children to return to schools, Psaki said: “I will reject the issue’s premise.”
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Teachers, said Psaki, are “the first people to tell you that being – teaching in the classroom and being able to engage with children in the classroom, or elementary or high school students in the classroom, makes yours more enjoyable work, makes them more effective at what they do. The president is absolutely committed to reopening schools … safely. “
Psaki reiterated that the CDC’s guidance on reopening schools “has not yet been officially released,” but that Biden wants to ensure that, once schools are opened, they remain open and do not need to be closed because of coronavirus outbreaks. When asked whether his answer was a “yes with an asterisk” – that the president will use the “attacking pulpit” against the unions if necessary – Psaki declined to clarify.
A CDC spokesman, meanwhile, responded to Psaki’s statement that the director spoke “in her personal capacity” about vaccines and schools in a statement to Fox News on Friday.
“Dr. Walensky’s comments are based on her review of science. The accumulation of data suggests that when the main mitigation measures are followed strictly, COVID-19 does not spread quickly in schools,” said the spokesman.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki speaks during a press conference at the White House on Wednesday, February 3, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo / Evan Vucci)
The spokesman added: “These measures include wearing masks, staying at least 6 feet away, ensuring proper cleaning and ventilation of schools and practicing good hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette. Vaccinating teachers and other school staff is an additional layer of prevention that can be added to these key mitigation measures. ”
Walensky appeared at a briefing ahead of Psaki’s comments on Friday, and seemed to backtrack on his previous comments after the White House’s public resistance on Thursday.
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“I just want to emphasize that our goal is to get children back to school. Schools should be the last places closed and the first are opened, ”said Walensky. “Our goal is to ensure and get children back to school that we do so with the safety of children and teachers, the most important and critical to ensuring that this happens.”
She continued: “One of the things we need to do to make sure schools are safe is to make sure that the spread of this disease in the community decreases. And that means that it is our responsibility to work, get our children back to school safely and our teachers back. to school safely. “
Walensky said the CDC is “actively working” on producing “official guidance” on what needs to happen for schools to be opened.
Walensky said the official guidance would be released “next week”.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how the president’s political relationship with the unions will affect the way he handles the reopening of schools.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.