Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton snagged the Democratic primary endorsement of the American Federation of Teachers on Saturday, but the question remains: Where does she stand on the seismic education issues of today? School choice, standardized testing, vouchers? As Ferris Bueller’s teacher asked: Anyone? Anyone?
The 1.6 million-member AFT is the first national union to announce its endorsement. The union said it will be “engaging and mobilizing” its members and supporters to “reclaim the promise of America” by helping Clinton get the nomination next year.
It’s not surprising that the AFT national membership backed Clinton…she also got the nod over Barack Obama back in 2008. President Randi Weingarten and the Clintons also have a long and strong relationship.
But for someone who is promising to put education “at the heart of my campaign,” as she told the AFT, the former First Lady is extremely reluctant to talk specifics. Her campaign website barely mentions education, and that’s to touch on the issue of sky-high student debt. She promises that “we will—finally and forever—make college affordable and available.”Teachers' union endorses Hillary Clinton, but her positions on education issues remain murky:
The Teachers Union Votes Hillary
So much for liberating poor kids from failing schools.
While the media chase the Bernie Sanders rallies, keep your eye on the political crowds that matter. On Saturday the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) endorsed Hillary Clinton—16 months before Election Day.
This counts in the fight for the Democratic Party nomination because the 1.6 million member union boasts it can make a million phone calls and knock on 500,000 doors. Bernie’s Birkenstock irregulars can’t match that political power and money.
The endorsement is even more notable as another sign of Hillary’s left political turn. Democrats in New York and elsewhere have been debating education reform, but by embracing the AFT Mrs. Clinton is choosing the union status quo that opposes school choice and teacher accountability.
Listen to AFT president Randi Weingarten’s endorsement: “Hillary understands that to reclaim the promise of public education, policy makers need to work with educators and their unions. She’s ready to work with us to confront the issues facing children and their families today, including poverty, wage stagnation, income inequality and lack of opportunity.” Translation: Mrs. Clinton will send unions more money without hassling them on tenure and charter schools.
At the AFT executive council meeting in June, Mrs. Clinton sent the same signal by declaring that, “It is just dead wrong to make teachers the scapegoats for all of society’s problems. Where I come from, teachers are the solution. And I strongly believe that unions are part of the solution, too.”
The AFT wouldn’t be backing Hillary this early if it didn’t expect to be repaid in policy if she wins. Poor children will be the losers. The Teachers Union Votes Hillary
The message we heard was clear: By huge margins, you wanted us to endorse in the primary, and to endorse Hillary Clinton. AFT members support Hillary by more than 3 to 1. She's seen as the strongest candidate by an 11-to-1 margin, and 79 percent of those who will vote in a Democratic primary want us to endorse in the primary.
