Teachers union endorses Clinton for 2016 Democratic nomination
The National Education Association, the nation’s largest labor union, endorsed Hillary Rodham Clinton on Saturday for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination.
“We recommended Hillary Clinton on the incredible and lengthy track record she has, that is just wrapped around children, working families and education, from preschool to graduate school,” NEA president Lily Eskelsen Garcia said.
Seventy-five percent of the union’s 170-member board backed Clinton.
The nod from the NEA gives Clinton a much-needed boost, after the International Association of Firefighters earlier this week backed away from plans to endorse her.
Before the vote Clinton appeared before the board — at NEA’s Washington headquarters, five blocks from the White House — to make the case for their endorsement. She spoke and answered questions in a town-hall style setting for about 90 minutes, addressing topics ranging from special education to standardized testing to historically black colleges.
“She knew what she was talking about,” Eskelsen Garcia said. “You could see people sit up straighter and think ‘Oh my gosh, she understands our world’. I think they were simply blown away.”
But the endorsement triggered an immediate backlash among some of the union’s three-million members. Some argued that an endorsement was premature, while others said Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was a better choice.
“I’m very disappointed,” said Marie Corfield, an art teacher from New Jersey, who had organized a lobbying effort against the Clinton endorsement. “I think the NEA is going to get a lot of pushback from its members over this.”
The Massachusetts state chapter was among several that either abstained from voting or voted against endorsement of any candidate. Barbara Madeloni, president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, said her members want a “real conversation about the candidates and the issues. We want to talk about the corporate reform movement that is looking to privatize education and a chance to educate the candidates about what is happening.”
In June, the Vermont NEA chapter endorsed Sanders in his bid for the Democratic nomination.
“I am proud to have the support of many hundreds of thousands of members of the National Education Association and trade unionists all across America,” Sanders said in a statement Saturday. “We are going to win this Teachers union endorses Clinton for 2016 Democratic nomination - The Washington Post: