When teachers were upset about the stringent accountability measures Barack Obama imposed on them as president, their union boss turned to Joe Biden for some empathy.
“He listened,” recalls Randi Weingarten, who heads the 1.7 million-member American Federation of Teachers. Obama’s vice president may not have agreed with her during those conversations, Weingarten said in an interview this week, but Biden became her “go-to” when things got tense amid the regime of education reform
Now the good cop has to call the shots — and Biden’s rhetoric and policies suggest the president-elect is still listening closely to teachers unions in a way Obama often did not, including as Biden’s team considers potential nominees for Education secretary.
Obama was questioned about possible signs of daylight between the two men on education policy in a recent interview with New York magazine. When asked whether Biden seemed intent on rolling back his “education-reform legacy,” Obama demurred, “Ah, we’ll see.” CONTINUE READING: Biden breaks the Obama mold on teachers union strife - POLITICO