WASHINGTON—AFT President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement after the United Teachers Los Angeles House of Representatives voted to endorse Sen. Bernie Sanders for the Democratic nomination for president:
“The AFT fundamentally revamped our presidential endorsement process (link is external) this cycle, and in our first phase we have seen unprecedented engagement and empowerment of our 1.7 million members across 3,500 locals and 40 state federations. Our members have engaged with campaigns and candidates, asking questions about the issues that matter most to them, during our 10 candidate town halls and numerous other events and actions. This first phase of the process will culminate in a national candidate forum on public education, which we will host with our allies on Dec. 14 in Pittsburgh.
“As part of this AFT Votes endorsement process, we have enabled locals and state federations, if they choose, prior to any national endorsement, to endorse a candidate for the purpose of their state primary or caucus. Last night, UTLA voted to endorse Sen. Bernie Sanders using its own iteration of that process, based on its long history with the senator and his long-standing support for a pro-public school agenda.
“We anticipate that other AFT affiliates may endorse other candidates prior to their states’ primary or caucus. Our recent member polling indicates that Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren have healthy double-digit support, followed by Sanders and several other Democratic candidates.
“Educators, healthcare professionals and public employees across this country are engaging in the 2020 election with unprecedented enthusiasm, and we are thrilled that our members are already so involved in this campaign; when our democracy is at stake, no one can afford to sit on the sidelines. We look forward to continuing our engagement with the campaigns as our national endorsement process plays out, and to uniting around an eventual nominee as we work together to beat Donald Trump next November.”
34 comments:
The right wing Freak Sideshow commenters here should be very happy. They agree with Randi not to endorse Sanders. You folks have more in common with Randi than you think.
It is true, I prefer not to be that left ring. President Bill Clinton is more my type.
If you want a complete nanny state, sanders, warren, de blasio would be prefect. Not my cup of tea. Dem or not. Biden is just being guilted into going so left. Hillary did the same in 2016. Middle right is the way to go. But all the current candidates do is pander.
Comparing de Blasio to Sanders is ridiculous. De Blasio is in the pocket of the real estate donors he so loves. He is pay to play personified. Sanders' donors are regular people, more teachers and nurses than any other profession.
Middle right got us ed reform. Public schools have not done well under Republican or corporate Democrat rule.
Why not support Bloomberg? He is a real centrist,now apologizing for stop and frisk. Strategy to buy off black leaders like he did as mayor.
He can buy off Randi and Mulgrew too to forget about the schools. Some of the people here can get on the payroll too.
Holy Moly! Bernie’s on a Roll-y!
Senator Sanders is currently coming off a monumental month, scoring the endorsements from the squad, National Nurses United, and United Teachers Los Angeles.
Sanders is also tied for first in Iowa and momentum is on our side. At the end of October the movement made 2,000,000 phone calls in 2 weeks. Who else has the capability to do that?
We are going to rally together on Wednesday night in downtown Brooklyn! Bring your co-workers!
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I may have supported bloomberg, until he apologized for stop and frisk, a policy that worked. He is now a panderer, just like the others.
Any NYC teacher who supports Bloomberg is a fool. He ruined our profession in NYC.
Since bloomberg left have things gotten better? Anybody who thinks so is a fool. Mulgrew thinks what is going on now has gotten better. He is the only one who has benefited. bloomberg raises were bigger than de blasio's. Yes, there were more givebacks under bloomberg. he is the far better negotiator. Thats why i am so upset about the last 2 contracts, which covered almost 14 years.
Bloomberg killed teaching in NYC. DeBlasio just buried the corpse. He had more money and is as good if not better a negotiator than Bloomberg by giving us tiny raises.
Anyone supporting Bloomberg, the man who killed our profession, is a complete fool.
"The billionaire class is scared. They should be scared, because we are bringing millions of people into the political process and building a multi-racial, working class movement. When so few have so much, and so many have so little, we are saying to the billionaire class, you cannot have it all. We are standing up to your greed and corruption, and whether you like it or not, you are going to pay your fair share in taxes." Bernie Sanders
So after sanders wins and nothing changes, then what?
No, the uft is a horrible negotiating team...
You have a good point there about UFT's lack of negotiating skills but Bloomberg killed us. He does not deserve any reward for that.
You say the UFT's odds of supporting Sanders are about a billion to one. Let me just point out that with the UFT's terrible endorsement record, no UFT endorsement is great news for Bernie
The only possible explanation for any NYC teacher supporting Bloomberg is Stockholm Syndrome where someone kidnapped falls for the kidnapper.
The only reason he came to my church was to hustle his brand of bull for support he should never get! He destroyed the NYCDOE with his policies that weaponized principals and ruined the lives of hundreds of tenured teachers. Before he decided to jump into the presidential race, he couldn't care less about what he inflicted on the agencies in NYC!!! His REFUSAL to settle contracts in good faith!! His battles to demonize all city agencies and unions!! He single handily made teaching in the NYCDOE a part time JOB. Career teachers were made to look like a plagued group of leprosy victims, who should not be touched once thrown out of a position that was eliminated due to school closings that he sanctioned. So, no all will never be forgiven and will not soon be forgotten. The damage he has done is still effecting many lives in NYC! We don't need that in the White House! There is enough destruction being done as we live in this day, there is no need for another rich dude to come in and finish this country off!!! The damage he did in NYC was ENOUGH! How about he use some of that money to fix the lives of some of us he destroyed during his his time as mayor in NYC??? He left this city with about four times the personal wealth he started with as mayor! Give some back!!
Interesting comments. Some of these folks were in grade school when the slave master was in charge. They don’t know about teachers rights, a strong union or careful principals. That’s all Bloomberg’s doing. I’m sure he’ll be seeing Randi, who’s quivering with anticipation. It wouldn’t surprise me if she endorsed him. She’ll have to wait until he buys off some big groups first, of course. Then she’ll renegotiate with him while simultaneously waiting for her pretend survey. If he fails, she will endorse Elizabeth Warren.
So things were going well in 2002? I dont think so.
A lot better for teachers than now in 2002. What planet are you from?
In case there was ever any doubt, Obama revealed himself when he warned that the Democratic Party is moving #toofarleft . Even the tepid leftward swing in rhetoric is too much for him.
*I’m damn proud to be #toofarleft *
Right, left, far right, far left, Democrat, Republican? Folks should not allow themselves to be labeled. It is a pair handcuffs that will lead you where you never intended to go. Does a Democrat have to support gun control or abortion? Does a Republican have to support gun rights or be anti- union? Do those that are far right or left have to be Democrat or Republican? No. Both parties are the same in many ways, especially the one on everyone’s mind - they both agree Bernie will not get to the White House - even if the fraud in office has to remain. That’s the main reason Bloomberg is now running.
For once i agree with obama.
Yeah, great. Amid infighting, Chancellor Carranza has stopped attending his own parent advisory group
1129, have you read this blog, chaz, fb atr page, fb nyc teachers page...constant complaints.
@12:36, What do you expect? Should teachers ask for an increase and intensity of beatings or perhaps some more undefined health cost savings for the city while deBlasio gets rich rezoning the city for real estate billionaires and Mike builds that mansion in the mountains of PR for his retirement?
So it is bad either way...AT least bloomberg gave 3% raises. And remember, de blasio is the dem the uft wanted, after their 1st choice lost.
CNBC’s Jim Cramer says Elizabeth Warren’s two-step “Medicare for All” transition proposal shows “she is not as left as you thought.”
“A softer Elizabeth Warren is something we’re going to have to start expecting,” says the “Mad Money” host.
However, Cramer adds that he was “shocked that she did this” with one of her signature plans. “She is the single-payer option.”
I am not shocked at all. I see her as a deBlasio type of politician.
Corporate Democrats suck almost as bad as Republicans 2:03.
To me, de blasio and sanders are way left in terms of how they govern, who they are trying to help...Seems like the same social justice, anti-white deal. Not sure how the middle class improves. They clearly want to take more from the highest earners, but give to the lower class earners.
Sanders is not in the pocket of the Real Estate interests or other big corporations. You are not one of the highest earners so taxes won't go up except to pay for Medicare for All.
However, with the workplace plan, you will get back the extra money the city will no longer have to pay for your healthcare. Right now city pays around $20,000 for our plans. Medicare tax for someone earning around $100,000 would be somewhere between $6000-8000. That's $12,000 to $14,000 coming back to you. In theory that is much better by far than any candidate is offering that would keep our dysfunctional system where costs keep rising.
As a single payer insurer, the government would have much lower administrative costs so they could lower costs. If younger, healthier people were paying into system in much greater numbers, we all would save.
Insurance companies would have to make money in supplemental coverage. They will spend a fortune to stop Medicare for All.
UFT is in a panic because the welfare fund jobs would phase out in five years. They don't want Medicare for All. Why should teachers care if we no longer have a UFT drug card but could get prescription drugs where we want at much lower cost?
�� We all know @ewarren was a Republican until 1996. But did you know that just a few years ago @PeteButtigieg spoke at Tea Party event and praised them for their concerns about the "direction" of the country?
Just a reminder, @BarackObama was president then.
The @UFT must support the UTLA endorsement of BERNIE SANDERS for President. NO candidate has a more consistent and honest history of fightong for ordinary people and workers than #BernieSanders2020
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