BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers
How/where are you celebrating your birthday and with whom? “I am celebrating with my wife, Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum, and friends. We always try to do something that neither of us has done yet -- so we’re going to the new MoMA and seeing ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ -- in Yiddish!”
How did you get your start in politics? “Canvassing door to door when I was in the 11th grade at Clarkstown High School North in New City, N.Y. The school district had cut music, art, drama and other programs, and we were trying to save them. We didn’t want teachers let go or the programs we loved to be eliminated, so we joined together with students at the other high school to protest and create a ballot initiative to change the budget process. As a result, we averted some cuts. Three decades later, one of the music teachers saved by the action was at a school meeting I did as her national union president.”
What’s an interesting book/article you’re reading now or you’ve recently finished? And why? “Like my predecessor Al Shanker there are always 10 to 20 books on my desk. I’m making my way through Steve Greenhouse’s ‘Beaten Down, Worked Up,’ which explains why unions are still the best way to fight inequality in this country. Another is the amazing ‘Desk 88’ by Sherrod Brown, which shows how the pulse of economic justice runs CONTINUE READING: BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers - POLITICO
