The latest Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/union2.nr0.htm">report</a> confirms the continuation of a decades-long trend: American workers are rejecting union membership in record numbers. For the first time since the BLS began tracking this data in 1983, less than 10% of the workforce belong to a labor union.
This historic decline isn&#8217;t happening by accident — it’s the direct result of workers having the freedom to choose whether their hard-earned dollars fund unions that consistently prioritize political activism over member interests.
The numbers tell a stark story. While overall union membership sits at 9.9%, Big Labor still maintains a stranglehold over public employees, 32.2% of whom are union members.
Of the 14.3 million union members nationwide, half work in government jobs, with teachers unions alone accounting for nearly one-quarter of all union members.  
The National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers together report around 3.5 million working members — but even this has declined consistently in recent years, especially since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling in Janus v. AFSCME striking down laws requiring public employees to pay union dues or fees as a condition of employment.
In states like Florida, where recent reforms ended government deduction of union dues from public employees’ paychecks, many workers didn’t feel the need to sign up to pay the union directly. The Florida Education Association alone lost <a href="https://www.freedomfoundation.com/labor/florida-teachers-union-loses-20000-members-after-government-stops-collecting-dues/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more than 20,000 members</a> in just one school year when teachers were given a meaningful choice about whether to fund union activities.
Overall, the percentage of public employees who were union members <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/union2.t03.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">declined</a> from 32.5% in 2023 to 32.2% last year. That’s down from <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/union2_01182019.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">34.4% in 2017</a>, the last year before the Supreme Court made union membership voluntary for government workers, despite government growth.
This exodus speaks volumes about the disconnect between union leadership and rank-and-file members.
Across the country, public employees are waking up to the reality that their unions aren’t fighting for their salaries, their benefits or their working conditions. In fact, government unions have morphed from worker advocacy organizations into political machines more interested in advancing progressive causes than representing their members’ interests.
They collect millions in dues from workers’ paychecks, then funnel that money into political campaigns and causes that many of their own members oppose.
My organization, the Freedom Foundation, has seen firsthand how workers respond when they learn the truth about their union’s political spending via its ongoing education campaign to help public employees understand their rights and make informed decisions about union membership.
The results are clear: When workers know they have a choice and understand how their dues are being spent, huge numbers of them choose to opt out.
This trend isn&#8217;t just about numbers — it’s about fundamental fairness and worker empowerment. Public employees shouldn’t be forced to fund political activities they disagree with just to keep their jobs. The dramatic membership declines indicate that when workers are given the freedom to choose, they often decide their unions no longer represent their best interests.
The success of reforms like Florida’s payroll protection law provides a roadmap for other states. When unions can no longer extract dues directly from workers&#8217; paychecks, individual employees are empowered to make their own decisions about union membership.
This isn&#8217;t union-busting — it’s democracy in action.
As union membership continues its historic decline, union executives face a choice — return to their core mission of representing workers&#8217; interests or continue losing members as they prioritize political activism. The numbers suggest they’re choosing the latter, and workers are voting with their wallets.
The path forward is clear. More states should follow Florida’s lead in implementing reforms that protect worker freedom.
Meanwhile, the Freedom Foundation will continue educating public employees about their rights and options. The era of unions treating worker dues as a blank check for political activism is ending — and the latest BLS numbers prove it.
The decline in union membership isn’t just a number — it&#8217;s a wakeup call. Government unions can no longer take their members for granted or assume their political agenda aligns with their members’ wishes.
Workers are speaking clearly through their actions. They want unions that represent their interests, not unions that see them as ATMs for progressive political causes.
* * *
Aaron Withe is the CEO of the Freedom Foundation, a group dedicated to combatting government unions. He is the author of the book &#8220;Freedom is the Foundation: How We Are Defeating Progressive Tyranny By Taking On The Government Unions.&#8221;
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Side view of worker welding airplane wing at night

Government Unions Are Hemorrhaging Members. Here’s Why.

Government Unions Are Hemorrhaging Members. Here's Why.

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Education

Federal Government

Florida

Labor Unions

Opinion

Teachers Unions

Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/011325zor_5425.pdf">declined</a> to hear a challenge to New York’s “Taylor Law,” which gives unions monopoly bargaining privileges in the public sector. At best, the Court missed an opportunity to protect the First Amendment; at worst, the Court endorsed Marxism.
We are Jewish academics who have been forced to accept the “exclusive representation” of unions that we consider anti-Semitic. One of us, a professor at the City University of New York, <a href="https://www.nrtw.org/goldstein/">brought the eponymous challenge</a>, Goldstein v. Professional Staff Congress/CUNY. The other, a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, similarly <a href="https://www.nrtw.org/news/jewish-mit-students-eeoc-03212024/">filed federal charges</a> against the MIT Graduate Student Union. Both unions engage in the anti-Israel “Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions” movement (BDS), which we vehemently oppose.
At CUNY, the faculty union in 2021 <a href="https://2022.psc-cuny.org/sites/default/files/Final_Resolution_in_Support_of_the_Palestinian_People.pdf">condemned Israel</a> “dating back to its establishment as a settler colonial state in 1948.” At MIT, the graduate student union in 2024 <a href="https://mitgsu.org/resolutions/ceasefire">called for</a> “an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza,” without mentioning Hamas or the hostages they still hold. The resolutions compare Israel to apartheid South Africa — ironic, given that the unions treat objectors like us as second-class citizens without voting privileges.
One need not share our opposition to BDS to see that these unions cannot represent us at the bargaining table. Yet that is exactly what is happening. Had the Supreme Court taken up Goldstein, the Justices could have struck down the Taylor Law on the grounds that it violates employees’ freedom of speech and association. Instead, the Court let stand the Second Circuit&#8217;s <a href="https://www.fairnesscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Second-Circuit-Goldstein-v.-PSC-Decision.pdf">ruling</a> that “Designating PSC as Plaintiffs’ exclusive bargaining representative does not impermissibly burden Plaintiffs’ ability to speak with, associate with, or not associate with whom they please, including CUNY and PSC.” In other words, it is permissible to subordinate individual rights to collective interests — classic Marxism.
The Supreme Court knew this when it declined to take the case. An <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/24/24-71/323009/20240821101037349_240806a%20AC%20Brief%20for%20efiling.pdf">amicus brief</a> supporting the petitioners, filed by the Upper Midwest Law Center and the Manhattan Institute, cites the MIT Graduate Student Union as an example of the problem: “Jewish students are being compelled to associate with and implicitly endorse these views despite their most sincere religious beliefs, so they filed discrimination charges with the EEOC.”
The outcome of those charges was that religious students at private universities could divert their union dues to charity, but they would still be subject to exclusive representation. Public employees, including CUNY professors, already have the right to opt out of union dues under Janus v. AFSCME, but they too remain subject to exclusive representation by a union they abhor. While the Supreme Court <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/17pdf/16-1466_2b3j.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recognized</a> in Janus that “Designating a union as the employees’ exclusive representative substantially restricts the rights of individual employees,” the validity of exclusive representation was not squarely before the Court — until Goldstein, which the Justices declined to hear.
The result has been predictable. Ten days after the Court denied the petition, the CUNY faculty union adopted a <a href="https://psc-cuny.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/PSC-and-NYCERS-Israeli-Investments-Divestment-Resolution-1-23-25.pdf">resolution</a> “expressing its support for complete disinvestment from Israel,” further resolving to “divest its own funds from any investment vehicle that includes in its portfolio stocks and bonds of Israeli companies and Israeli government bonds.” In response, a Jewish civil rights organization <a href="https://x.com/_SAFECAMPUS/status/1884323681675141318">filed a complaint</a> with the New York State Division of Human Rights, arguing that the union “has abandoned their sacrosanct Duty of Fair Representation.” Under Janus, “That duty is a necessary concomitant of the authority that a union seeks when it chooses to serve as the exclusive representative of all the employees in a unit.”
There is another way. New York and other states could amend their labor laws to give employees the right to opt out of union representation. Unions could thus continue to engage in BDS, but not on behalf of those who oppose it. Additionally, the states could adopt laws that give private employees the right to work without paying compulsory dues to unions that they oppose. Twenty-six states already have such a law, which Congress could extend to all fifty states by passing the National Right to Work Act.
The Soviet Union put up a physical wall to keep people in; New York’s labor law puts up a legal one. If unions are as good as they claim to be, they should not need to compel representation or financial support. To borrow a phrase: Governor Hochul, tear down this wall!
* * *
<a href="https://x.com/AvrahamGoldste3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Avraham Goldstein</a> is an assistant professor of mathematics at the City University of New York.
<a href="https://x.com/WillSussmanPhD/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Will Sussman</a> is a collegiate associate at the Manhattan Institute and a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

CUNY Students Hold Rally In Support Of Palestine

Did The Supreme Court Just Endorse Marxism?

Anti-Semitism

City University of New York (CUNY)

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

New York

SCOTUS

Supreme Court

Unions

Two teachers union heads in Florida have been indicted on fraud and conspiracy charges, accused of stealing more than $2 million from union members.
The indictment against Terrie Brady, who was president of Duval Teachers United, and Ruby George, who was executive vice president, was unsealed on Monday.
Brady, 69, and George, 81, could face decades in prison if convicted of the charges, which <a href="https://jaxtoday.org/2025/01/13/teachers-union-fraud-indictment/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">include</a> conspiracy to commit wire fraud, eight counts of aiding and abetting wire fraud, and three counts of aiding and abetting mail fraud.
The indictment accuses the two women of cheating the union out of <a href="https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/local/2025/01/13/florida-teachers-union-execs-terrie-brady-ruby-george-indicted/75914930007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more</a> than $1.2 million each between 2013 and 2022, in part by claiming much more unused vacation time than they had. According to the indictment, they tag-teamed on signing each other&#8217;s union checks for fraudulent vacation time payments and additional bonus payments.
Brady was also charged with two counts of money laundering for allegedly using nearly $44,000 of the money to pay personal American Express credit card debt.
Then, the women filed false documentation to a union auditor, the indictment claimed.
The bombshell charges come after agents from the FBI and Internal Revenue Service raided the union&#8217;s headquarters in San Marco in September 2023, sparking confusion and speculation. Agents were spotted carrying computers, bags, and boxes of financial documents out of the building.
Brady and George resigned just weeks later after leading the union for 24 years, saying they wanted to spend more time with their families.
Back in 2023, Brady <a href="https://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/local/governor-ron-desantis-takes-aim-teachers-unions/XEPIGBHODZB7PEWRRJNWN2XYCE/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">complained</a> about Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis trying to impose new financial transparency requirements on the unions.
“We think we’re pretty transparent in the work that we do,” Brady said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Terrie Brady, President of the Duval Teachers United union, put in a rare appearance at the DCPS school board meeting to discuss…not receiving dues for 12 days because of the new Florida law making teacher dues opt in and not mandatory. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MomsForLiberty?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MomsForLiberty</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Florida?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Florida</a> <a href="https://t.co/71OLVS4MSc">pic.twitter.com/71OLVS4MSc</a>
&mdash; Moms For Liberty &#8211; Duval Co., FL (@DuvalMoms) <a href="https://twitter.com/DuvalMoms/status/1686628447953555456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 2, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
DeSantis had accused the unions of being too political and promised better pay for teachers and a cap on the salaries of teachers union officials.
“Having partisan groups basically get special privileges for deductions and all these other stuff, you know, that doesn’t work and so, I think this will be a huge, huge boon for transparency and efficiency in our school system,” DeSantis said at the time.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?_gl=1*1lail3r*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3MzIyMDEyNDkuQ2owS0NRaUEwZnU1QmhEUUFSSXNBTVhVQk9JSkM0VnNsMFVreURxYXUxVWVEVWdOdjZkNzR2Y1pEeEZQeHVBcGl2R3BLaTdBMjVzT1p5TWFBdG1nRUFMd193Y0I.*_gcl_au*NDUxNDQ0NzYwLjE3MzY3ODI2NDY.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczNjk1NzYwMy4zNDAuMS4xNzM2OTU3NzE2LjYwLjAuMA.." target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?_gl%3D1*1lail3r*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3MzIyMDEyNDkuQ2owS0NRaUEwZnU1QmhEUUFSSXNBTVhVQk9JSkM0VnNsMFVreURxYXUxVWVEVWdOdjZkNzR2Y1pEeEZQeHVBcGl2R3BLaTdBMjVzT1p5TWFBdG1nRUFMd193Y0I.*_gcl_au*NDUxNDQ0NzYwLjE3MzY3ODI2NDY.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczNjk1NzYwMy4zNDAuMS4xNzM2OTU3NzE2LjYwLjAuMA..&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1737044249231000&amp;usg=AOvVaw15fpgzSqdekU8AKrqgMU6V">CELEBRATE #47 WITH 47% OFF DAILYWIRE+ MEMBERSHIPS + A FREE $20 GIFT</a>
Duval Teachers United represents about 13,000 teachers and other school employees in the Jacksonville area. The local union is affiliated with both the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA).
The union <a href="https://jaxtoday.org/2025/01/13/teachers-union-fraud-indictment/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">brings</a> in about $5 million in revenue a year.
In 2022, Brady received a lifetime achievement award for “a long record of excellent leadership” from the Florida Education Association.
She also chaired the Florida Democratic Party in the 1990s.

Money

Teachers Union Heads Indicted For Fraud, Stealing More Than $2M From Union

Teachers Union Heads Indicted For Fraud, Stealing Millions From Union

Crime

DeSantis

Fraud

Public Schools

Ron DeSantis

U.S.

Opponents of school choice can’t be happy. The past three years have seen a flood of school-choice victories – and, ironically, we can thank two very “progressive” groups.
Two thirds of all states now have some form of private school-choice policies. Notably, 11 states have universal education choice, a policy no state had just three years ago. Even in states where school choice is still elusive, the dam is breaking. In Texas, opponents of education freedom were roundly defeated in the primaries this past spring.
What has transpired in these 36 months? As scholars who have closely studied and chronicled these developments, the only response we can give is that American parents rebelled against what happened four years ago.
So as people who fully welcome policies that liberate American families and leave them free to educate their children as they see fit, and not remain shackled to bad public schools set on indoctrinating their young children, we’d like to thank Black Lives Matter.
Yes, BLM.
If it weren’t for all the damage they have inflicted on society, we would consider sending handwritten thank-you notes to founders Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and the rest.
Without the chaos and violence created in 2020 by the BLM organizations — founded by these Marxists with the express goal of achieving systemic-wide societal change — combined with the radical gender ideology infecting local schools, parents maybe have been slower to demand an escape hatch to let them opt out of the indoctrination meted out in public schools.
They did, and the progress speaks for itself.
Of course, we don’t want to leave out the teachers&#8217; unions. Bless them, they also did their part.
The shutdowns they demanded were the first instance of public schools breaking faith with families; failing to reopen their doors long after we knew it was safe for them to do so. In rapid succession, parents saw the second instance: emergency remote learning gave them a window into what their children were being taught, raising red flags in school board meetings across the country.
States responded, giving parents the ability to vote with their feet. And vote they did. The number of children exercising school choice – using a voucher, tax credit scholarship, or education savings account – has roughly doubled from the 2019 pre-pandemic level to nearly 1 million students.
Today, 19 states have Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) or ESA-style policies enabling families to choose schools and learning options that are right for their children. ESAs are accounts into which the state deposits a portion—usually 90 percent—of the money that would have been spent on a child in their district school.
The parents can use the money in the account to pay for private school tuition, online learning, special education services and therapies, tutoring, textbooks, and a host of other education-related services, products, and providers. And unused funds can be rolled over from year to year, and even rolled into a college savings account.
This year alone four states established ESA options: Wyoming, Louisiana, Alabama, and Georgia. Louisiana went all-in with universal ESAs, opening up eligibility to every family in the state, regardless of income.
In Texas, up until this year, state legislators who call themselves Republicans had stood in the way of school choice programs out of concern for what it might mean for the district public school.
Well, this year the Lone Star State had elections. Six out of eight incumbent Republican lawmakers who had stood in the way of school choice lost their primaries or the runoffs.
This was a big win for Gov. Greg Abbott, who made school choice a hill to die on, and now more than ever looks like a reality in the Lone Star State.
If Texas finally adopts school choice, some 40% of all kids in the country would be eligible to choose a school other than their assigned district school. At that point, we can reasonably say that Milton Friedman’s vision of breaking the public schooling monopoly – some 70 years in the making – has come to fruition.
Which brings us back to how we got here. Four years ago, this country was caught up in one of its biggest political convulsions in decades, after BLM manipulated the tragic death of George Floyd to carry out their plan. We had weeks of rioting, burning, and looting.
As if the physical damage didn’t take enough of a toll, the stewards of our cultural institutions — our schools and universities, our libraries and museums, our theaters and movie studios, everyone involved in industries that create meaning and content — then capitulated and accepted as facts a number of falsehoods they should have had the confidence to dismiss.
America is systemically racist; white supremacy is the operating system of our society; the founding of America took place in 1619, when a group of Africans arrived in Jamestown, not 1776, when America’s founders signed the Declaration of Independence. These and other fabrications were accepted as facts.
The idea was to stain and destroy the idea of America. Rather than being conceived in liberty, everyone was told to believe that ugly racism and oppression was the post-partum reality.
Then there were the sexual delusions. Among these were that a man could become a woman or vice versa, or that children could be born in the “wrong body.” America circa 2020 thus fell into what can only be described as a moment of mass hysteria.
These ideas swarmed into our classrooms and children began to be indoctrinated into these hallucinations. Their purveyors intentionally targeted our schools, fully cognizant of the fact that if you capture a generation of children, if you interrupt the transmission of culture and facts and you change the narrative, you have created a new hegemony.
This movement had the wind fully at its back in 2020. The world was going its way.
But then something happened: parents and grandparents, especially mothers and grandmothers, started to fight back, a counterrevolution that gathered force in early 2021. They organized, went to school board meetings, and voted. They demanded the freedom to opt out of the frenzy. School choice was the way out.
They put pressure on politicians in states like Texas. And they voted out recalcitrant politicians standing in their way.
If you ask us, that is the reason why education choice has met the success it has.
So special thanks go to Randi Weingarten, Nicole Hannah-Jones, Ibram Kendi, and Robin DiAngelo. The school choice movement couldn’t have done it without you.
###
Lindsey M. Burke is the Mark A. Kolokotrones Fellow and Director of the Center for Education Policy at the Heritage Foundation.
Mike Gonzalez is the Angeles T. Arredondo E Pluribus Unum Senior Fellow at the Heritage Foundation, <a href="http://www.heritage.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">www.Heritage.org</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Back to school. View from the back of a happy dad escorts his sons schoolchildren to school. Parental care for children

Thanks To BLM And The Teachers’ Unions, School Choice Keeps Winning

Thanks To BLM And The Teachers' Unions, School Choice Keeps Winning

Charter Schools

Heritage Foundation

School Choice

Schools

Texas

Anti-Semitism doesn’t belong in the workplace.
But in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), a group of Jewish teachers are forced to fund the anti-Semitic habits of their workplace representative, the United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA).
Beginning in 2020, UTLA’s support for anti-Semitic and anti-Israel sentiments in and outside of the classroom raised red flags among Jewish educators.
During “Teach Palestine” gatherings, for example, the union offered members curriculum to <a href="https://teachpalestine.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">help</a> “educators bring Palestine into their classrooms.” A project of the Middle East Children’s Alliance, similar union-sponsored strategizing sessions across the state of California <a href="https://mynbc15.com/news/nation-world/anti-israel-org-training-teachers-on-silencing-of-palestinians-amid-israel-hamas-war-california-oakland-palestine-middle-east-childrens-alliance-teach-palestine-project-terrorism-education-crisis-in-the-classroom" target="_blank" rel="noopener">represent</a> “a coordinated effort to brainwash children.”
One union official made use of this curriculum in the classroom, likening life in Gaza to imprisonment in Holocaust concentration camps.
Outside of the classroom, anti-Semitism began to permeate union ideology. During a 2021 UTLA meeting regarding ethnic studies, union President Cecily Myart-Cruz dubbed the Museum of Tolerance, a Holocaust museum, the “enemy,” while another speaker’s profanity-riddled remarks attacked Israel directly.
And, despite its name, UTLA’s standing “Human Rights Committee” continues to spew similar anti-Jewish rhetoric to this effect.
UTLA’s flirtation with anti-Semitism quickly devolved into outright discrimination against Jewish teachers.
As members challenged UTLA’s ideology, union officers began to forcibly remove teachers questioning the anti-Semitic status-quo from Facebook forums and in-person meetings.
During Zoom meetings, teachers were booted for displaying backgrounds with nonpolitical Jewish imagery, while other members and guests were encouraged to display politically charged backdrops, so long as they were the right kind of politics.
The last straw for many Jewish teachers represented by UTLA, however, followed the horrific terrorist attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023.
Instead of issuing a statement of solidarity following the massacres, UTLA remained silent, speaking up only to label Israel an “apartheid state” and “occupier.”
Further, UTLA’s Executive Board permitted multiple re-introductions of a motion criticizing Israel while advocating for protection of the Hamas attackers without concern for the victims and hostages lost on October 7th.
Doubling down again on its anti-Semitic tendencies, UTLA endorsed Kahllid Al-Alim for election to the LAUSD school board. Al-Alim’s social media accounts, fraught with vulgar anti-Semitic rhetoric, featured blood-libel and conspiracy theories, including blanket accusations against the Jewish people for “<a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-02-21/lausd-school-board-kahllid-al-alim-social-media-posts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">collaborating</a> with and even financing such racial terrorists as the Ku Klux Klan.”
After intense backlash, UTLA pulled support for Al-Alim after contributing more than $700,000 worth of membership dues towards his campaign.
<h4><a href="https://www.amiracist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Am I Racist? Is In Theaters NOW — Get Your Tickets Here!</a></h4>
Per the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Janus v. AFSCME (2018), public employees cannot be forced to pay union dues, especially those that support a hateful political ideology like UTLA’s.
Regardless, the requests of eight Jewish teachers to cancel UTLA membership and fees were ignored.
Left with no option to defend themselves from a union hostile to their identity and value system, several Jewish members reached out to the Freedom Foundation, a government union watchdog that provides pro-bono legal assistance to those held hostage within dues-paying membership.
“The Employees no longer wish to support UTLA as members, or financially through deductions from their lawfully earned wages,” our demand letter read. “Hence, they are withdrawing affirmative consent to affiliation with UTLA and demand that UTLA immediately release them from membership and further dues deductions.”
Despite its promise to “uphold educators’ rights,” UTLA disregarded its members’ demands, ignored the letter, and sent a lawyer to inform teachers of their inability to cancel dues payments.
The Freedom Foundation’s effort to liberate LAUSD’s marginalized Jewish teachers doesn’t end here. The union’s resounding commitment to anti-Semitism at the expense of its members begs the question of whether UTLA is capable of responsibly representing educators at all.
Until UTLA releases those Jewish teachers desperate to cease involuntary support for a union that hates them, the answer will remain “no.”
* * *
Shella Alcabes is litigation counsel for the <a href="https://www.freedomfoundation.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Freedom Foundation</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Downtown Los Angeles Skyline and Snow Capped Mountains

Anti-Semitic California Union Prohibits Jewish Teacher Exodus

California

Israel

Jewish

Los Angeles

Pro-Hamas

school district

Massachusetts’ largest teachers union is threatening to sue a group of Republican state lawmakers who condemned the group for tapping an anti-Israel activist to create learning materials about the Gaza war.
The Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) said this month that it “will not hesitate to take legal action if warranted” against the Massachusetts House and Senate Republican Caucuses for a July letter objecting to the union tasking Ricardo Rosa with developing model curricula about Israel and “Occupied Palestine.”
The Republicans objected to Rosa — who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/turning-classrooms-into-arenas-of-radicalism-teachers-union-tasks-anti-israel-activist-to-create-curriculum-about-israel">has a record</a> of anti-Israel and anti-American rhetoric — developing the materials. The lawmakers observed that Rosa advocated for a “Free Palestine” in the days following October 7, called the United States a “settler colony,” glorified terrorist and plane hijacker Leila Khaled, and voiced his support for a professor who called Zionists “swine” and encouraged protests in Jewish neighborhoods.
In response, the MTA board of directors called the Republicans’ letter “reprehensible,” defended Rosa from the lawmakers’ criticism, and threatened legal action.
<div id="attachment_756447" style="width: 375px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-756447" class="size-large wp-image-756447" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/06/Screenshot-2024-06-27-at-4.26.08%E2%80%AFPM-365x576.png" alt="" width="365" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/06/Screenshot-2024-06-27-at-4.26.08%E2%80%AFPM-365x576.png 365w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/06/Screenshot-2024-06-27-at-4.26.08%E2%80%AFPM-190x300.png 190w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/06/Screenshot-2024-06-27-at-4.26.08%E2%80%AFPM-768x1211.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/06/Screenshot-2024-06-27-at-4.26.08%E2%80%AFPM.png 880w" sizes="(max-width: 365px) 100vw, 365px" />Ricardo Rosa&#8217;s posts of pro-Palestine protests.</div>
“Ricardo Rosa, MTA’s Director of Training and Professional Learning, has been reprehensibly attacked for simply performing his job at the MTA,” the MTA <a href="https://icanaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/BOD-Letter-to-MA-House-and-Senate-Republican-Caucus-Members-080524_COPY.pdf">wrote</a>,  in response to Republican lawmakers’ claim that Rosa’s inflammatory statements “demonstrate a clear commitment to a political agenda rather than educational integrity.”
The union, which represents 117,000 educators, came under fire for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/massachusetts-teachers-union-says-u-s-is-complicit-in-genocidal-assault-in-gaza">condemning</a> the United States for being complicit in a “genocidal assault” in the wake of Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel.
The lawmakers called for Rosa’s appointment to be revoked, lest his influence undermine the safety of Jewish and Israeli students and risk “turning classrooms into arenas of radicalism.” They pushed the MTA to instead focus on creating a healthy work environment for teachers and providing a quality education to students.
The union in response called Rosa a “respected scholar” and said they are “privileged to have him on staff.”
Rep. Steven Howitt, who organized the Republican letter, told The Daily Wire that he stands by the statement.
“Our office mobilized members of the Republican Caucus to issue a joint statement condemning the decision and called on the MTA to revoke Dr. Rosa’s appointment and pause the development of these educational materials,” Howitt said. “In response, the MTA issued a statement containing inconsistencies and have chosen to defend Dr. Rosa and the development of these materials. I stand by the original statement issued by our caucus.”
The MTA board of directors said it decided to respond to the lawmakers after ignoring other public criticism because the letter “encouraged unprovoked threats against our staff and our public schools and have forced us to report the most serious threats to the FBI and the Massachusetts Attorney General.”
The MTA  attempted to refute the lawmakers by noting that it held workshops about anti-Semitism and allowed for a “broad range of presenters” to speak in its workshops.
In March, the MTA faced criticism after Rosa’s department hosted a “The Struggle Against Anti-Palestinian Racism,” <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/massachusetts-teachers-union-hosts-webinar-by-professor-who-praised-hamas-enraging-membership">webinar</a>, featuring a presenter who once praised Hamas terrorists for their “courage” on October 7. The webinar aimed to persuade attendees that there was no connection between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism.
“Holding such forums does not suggest MTA endorsement of each and every idea presented. Rather, it models the highest democratic value and exchange of diverse and at times competing ideas that is a hallmark of our labor union,” the group wrote.
It added that the MTA “does not develop curriculum” but instead “provide[s] research and resources” for its members to “critically review and utilize as they see fit in their professional development.”
After October 7, the MTA rejected an anti-Semitism workshop proposal from Jany Finkielsztein, a retired instructional coach for the Waltham Public Schools who has created many teacher training programs throughout her 17-year career.
“I believe my workshop proposal, titled ‘Jewish Ethnic and Cultural Diversity at a Time of Rising Anti-Semitism’ was likely declined due to a potential conflict with the narrative promoted by certain members of the MTA, including Rosa, who advocate for portraying Israel as a settler colonial enterprise and Jews as white oppressors,” Finkielsztein told The Daily Wire.
<div id="attachment_756437" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-756437" class="size-large wp-image-756437" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/06/Cover-images-26-1024x576.png" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/06/Cover-images-26-1024x576.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/06/Cover-images-26-300x169.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/06/Cover-images-26-768x432.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/06/Cover-images-26.png 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Ricardo Rosa&#8217;s posts about Aaron Bushnell, a Houthi-run rally, and terrorist and plane hijacker Leila Khaled. (Photo: Instagram)</div>
In recent years, Rosa has taken to social media to <a href="https://archive.is/s2yvO">declare</a> that “Western humanity is a lie,” <a href="https://archive.is/u7Sxc">accuse</a> Israel of committing genocide, and post “Free Palestine” with an image of a <a href="https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20240308-thousands-of-yemenis-rally-in-support-of-gaza-in-houthi-held-sanaa/">Houthi-run</a> rally calling for supporting Gaza and increasing attacks.
Rosa also <a href="https://archive.is/9XVeY">advocated for</a> the reinstatement of Danny Shaw, a former John Jay College professor, who he described as a “good brother.” Shaw was dismissed after calling Zionists “Babylon swine,” encouraging protests in “their neighborhoods,” and pushing other anti-Semitic tropes, <a href="https://x.com/canarymission/status/1775897208895967331">according to Canary Mission</a>. Rosa also <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C30_1xTvJYp/">praised</a> Aaron Bushnell, the U.S. airman who set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C., in February.
The MTA has not responded to a request for comment.

Cover images-25

Teachers Union Threatens To Sue Critics After Putting Radical Activist In Charge of Israel Curriculum

Hamas

Massachusetts

The leaders of America&#8217;s two largest teachers unions, which fought to keep public schools closed during <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/covid" target="_blank" rel="noopener">COVID</a> and have pushed to bring radical leftist ideology to the classroom, spoke at the final night of the Democratic National Convention Thursday.
American Federation For Teachers president Randi Weingarten <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6_mEFVYca0">claimed</a> that former President Donald Trump and Ohio Senator J.D. Vance &#8220;can&#8217;t claim they&#8217;re pro-child while gutting funding for public schools,&#8221; and that &#8220;being pro-family means we support access to good union jobs, affordable housing, health care, and higher education.&#8221;
Weingarten, who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/teachers-union-boss-randi-weingarten-mocked-for-unhinged-politicized-speech-warning-of-fascism">claimed</a> last month that Trump was an &#8220;existential threat to democracy,&#8221; heads the nation&#8217;s second-largest teachers union. The labor leader has come under fire in recent months for asserting that she fought to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/randi-weingarten-is-gaslighting-us-she-fought-to-keep-schools-closed-not-open">keep schools open</a> during the coronavirus pandemic, when in fact she did the exact opposite. Weingarten in 2020 called the Trump administration&#8217;s push to reopen schools “reckless,” “callous,” and “cruel.”
Though research showed as early as 2020 that children could safely return to the classroom, teachers unions fought to keep schools closed. School closures caused significant learning loss across the country, studies have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/teachers-union-exec-suggests-learning-loss-made-us-all-equal">shown</a>.
Joining Weingarten on stage was National Education Association President Becky Pringle, who told the crowd in Chicago that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are the best hope for American students.
<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amiracist.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1723831707612000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0pyrv88A5nsmWM2F2Wr9As">Tickets for “Am I Racist?” are on sale NOW! Buy here for a theater near you.</a>
&#8220;They will strengthen our schools, support our educators, and help our students live into their brilliance,&#8221; Pringle said, hours before the vice president is slated to officially accept the Democratic presidential nomination. &#8220;Donald Trump and J.D. Vance are not just wrong — they&#8217;re dangerous,&#8221; Pringle said.
Pringle last month was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/teachers-union-head-mocked-for-totally-unhinged-speech">slammed</a> for delivering a &#8220;totally unhinged speech&#8221; in which she said &#8220;we have to transform&#8221; the public education system &#8220;into something it was never designed to be — a racially and socially just and equitable system that prepares every student!&#8221; A known partisan, Pringle heads the nation&#8217;s largest teachers union, which in 2022 gave <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nations-largest-teachers-unions-dump-at-least-2-25-million-on-michigan-gov-whitmer-re-election-campaign">$1 million</a> to Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer&#8217;s (D) re-election campaign.
Whitmer was one of several Democratic governors who pushed to keep schools closed during COVID. She was joined in those efforts by Walz, who as Minnesota governor instituted some of the nation&#8217;s strictest COVID lockdowns.
Walz, who in March 2020 <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/flashback-walz-implemented-covid-hotline-to-snitch-on-neighbors">established</a> a hotline and encouraged Minnesotans to snitch on neighbors who violated lockdowns by attending worship services, kept schools closed and mandated students wear masks well into the COVID pandemic. Critics <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/walzs-covid-emergency-powers-were-challenged-as-overreaching">challenged</a> those restrictions in court, though the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled they were constitutional.
Pringle pointed to Walz&#8217;s work as a public school teacher to underscore her claim that the Harris-Walz ticket is the best thing for American students.
The Daily Wire reported this week that Walz has made <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tim-walzs-misleading-claims-about-winning-teaching-awards">misleading claims</a> about winning &#8220;teacher of the year awards,&#8221; just days after he caught flak for making similarly misleading claims about his military service and his wife&#8217;s use of in vitro fertilization.
The Harris campaign has emphasized Walz&#8217;s work as a teacher, though his positions on education as governor have come under scrutiny. As governor, Walz signed legislation requiring that Minnesota public schools put <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/did-tim-walz-really-put-tampons-in-the-boys-bathroom">tampon dispensers</a> in boys bathrooms, and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/former-public-teacher-walz-attacked-school-choice-schemes-that-leaves-our-teachers-in-the-short">slammed school choice</a> as a &#8220;scheme&#8221; that &#8220;leaves our teachers in the lurch.&#8221;

Randi Weingarten

Teachers Union Heads Who Fought To Keep Schools Closed During COVID Speak At DNC

American Federation of Teachers

Democratic National Convention

Elections

Kamala Harris

National Education Association

Politics

School closures

The American Federation of Teachers&#8217; 88th National Convention centered not on workplace conditions or the resolution of deep issues rampant throughout the nation’s classrooms but underscored the union’s longstanding devotion to progressive politics, culminating in a resounding endorsement of presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
The convention, which hosts AFT delegates from across the nation to vote on resolutions which guide the union’s internal operations for the year ahead, was markedly partisan as the infamously progressive union preps its members for election season.
Resolutions passed by this year’s delegates covered a swath of hot button political issues:
“The AFT <a href="https://www.aft.org/resolution/committing-end-lifetime-alert-physical-and-psychological-violence-against-lgbtqia-youth" target="_blank" rel="noopener">will</a> recommit resources,” for example, to “support LGBTQIA+ affirming and inclusive school environments and curriculum,” according to a resolution regarding “physical and psychological violence” against queer youth.
Another <a href="https://www.aft.org/resolution/opposing-overreach-us-supreme-court" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resolution</a>, “Opposing the Overreach of the U.S. Supreme Court,” details the union’s commitment to “reverse the decisions” of those Justices AFT accuses of “eliminating guarantees of the fundamental rights and freedoms of the American people.”
According to a <a href="https://www.aft.org/resolution/what-stake-2024-elections-democratic-republic-committed-liberty-and-justice-all" target="_blank" rel="noopener">third</a>, “the basic institutions and principles of U.S. democracy…are under attack” by “Donald Trump and the ultra-right MAGA faction.” In addition to democracy, AFT writes, Republicans have attacked public education through “voucher schemes,” reproductive freedom through “draconian anti-abortion laws,” and “the very humanity of marginalized and stigmatized communities.”
But the key <a href="https://www.aft.org/resolution/endorsement-kamala-harris-president" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resolution</a> passed by the AFT was the union’s “Endorsement of Kamala Harris for President.”
“Kamala Harris has a clear record under the Biden-Harris administration to compare with Donald Trump’s, offering voters a stark choice,” AFT explained. The union pledges to mobilize its members in support of Harris’s presidential campaign, plus join the rest of Big Labor in its “collective effort to elect Kamala Harris.”
Amid talk of a variety of progressive topics, AFT’s support for Harris was constant.
Before delegates arrived in Houston, the union’s executive council preemptively <a href="https://www.aft.org/press-release/aft-executive-council-unanimously-endorses-kamala-harris-president" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pushed</a> a unanimous call on AFT members to ratify its endorsement of Harris for the American presidency.
AFT President Randi Weingarten’s keynote address amplified strong support for Harris, through which “progress is possible.” “But so is the eradication of the rights and progress we hold dear,” continued Weingarten, through former President Donald Trump, who poses an “existential threat to democracy and freedom.”
Throughout the convention, among the <a href="https://www.aft.org/news/convention-sneak-peek-were-fighting-better-life-all" target="_blank" rel="noopener">speakers</a> who addressed the union in support of Harris included United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson.
Harris, whose address was the convention’s grand finale, again emphasized the responsibility of educators to vote in support of her dedication to “freedom, compassion, and rule of law,” in opposition to Right-wing “chaos, fear, and hate.”
A vote against her campaign, Harris emphasized, would “return America to a dark past.”
AFT’s longstanding devotion to progressive causes and candidates is nothing new. For years, the union has <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/teachers-unions-spend-big-democrats-ahead-midterm-elections" target="_blank" rel="noopener">transferred</a> millions directly from the pockets of dues-paying teachers to its Democratic friends.
Though American teachers continue to <a href="https://www.the74million.org/article/teachers-union-membership-drops-by-59000-across-the-nation/#:~:text=The%20National%20Education%20Association%20and,member%20loss%20the%20previous%20year." target="_blank" rel="noopener">flee</a> AFT in search of refuge from the progressive agenda included in membership, this year’s convention emphasizes that the union’s loyalty to the left-wing will not fade anytime soon.
According to a <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2024/04/04/teachers-views-on-the-state-of-public-k-12-education/#:~:text=A%20majority%20of%20public%20K,or%20lean%20toward%20the%20GOP." target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pew Research survey</a> of over 2,500 public K-12 school teachers, a significant percentage of teachers presumably disagree with their union’s endorsement. The AFT, however, couldn’t care less.
For the AFT, it seems as though disregarding the inconvenient interests of teachers unsupportive of union ideology is a worthy sacrifice in pursuit of the political agenda that continues to dominate Big Labor’s priorities across the board.
* * * 
Aaron Withe is Chief Executive Officer of the Freedom Foundation.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Daily Wire.

Vice President Kamala Harris Delivers A Keynote At The American Federation of Teachers’ 88th National Convention In Houston

‘Democracy Under Attack’: Teachers Union Convention Backs Progressivism, Endorses Kamala Harris

'Democracy Under Attack': Teachers Union Convention Backs Progressivism, Endorses Kamala Harris

Houston

LGBTQ

Progressivism

The president of the nation&#8217;s second-largest teachers union went on a politicized rant about &#8220;violence&#8221; and &#8220;fascism&#8221; just days after the head of the largest teachers union was mocked for doing the same thing.
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), was mocked for her &#8220;unhinged&#8221; keynote address at her union&#8217;s annual convention in Houston on Monday.
“The November elections will determine which path we take as a nation. Progress is indeed possible, but so is the eradication of the rights and freedoms we hold dear,” Weingarten <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xux0jNAHqEI" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> at the event.
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Randi Weingarten says Trump is an &quot;existential threat to democracy&quot;:
&quot;The November elections will determine which path we take.. it is seldom a dramatic event or attack that lets fascism in the door. The violence comes later, after they are voted in.&quot;
Unhinged lunatic. <a href="https://t.co/87K6mYDhKP">pic.twitter.com/87K6mYDhKP</a>
&mdash; Corey A. DeAngelis, school choice evangelist (@DeAngelisCorey) <a href="https://twitter.com/DeAngelisCorey/status/1815456591682187465?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 22, 2024</a></blockquote>
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It’s official! <a href="https://twitter.com/AFTunion?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@aftunion</a> delegates just voted to endorse <a href="https://twitter.com/KamalaHarris?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kamalaharris</a>. I spoke in support of the resolution—for our students, our patients, our families, our communities, our democracy and ourselves! Let’s win this! <a href="https://t.co/O2CeFULlBT">pic.twitter.com/O2CeFULlBT</a>
&mdash; Randi Weingarten 🇺🇸💪🏿👩‍🎓🟣🌴🥥 (@rweingarten) <a href="https://twitter.com/rweingarten/status/1815446063849013286?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 22, 2024</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Imagine a country where hate has no harbor and freedom rings, the freedom to vote, to live, to breathe, the freedom to marry, the freedom for families to make reproductive choices, the freedom to read, the freedom to teach, and the freedom to join a union!&#8221; the union boss shouted.
As she neared the end of her speech, Weingarten waved her arms and appeared to be jumping up and down behind the podium.
&#8220;Historians &#8230; who study threats to democracy and how fascists come to power conclude that it is seldom a dramatic event or attack that lets fascism in the door,&#8221; she said. &#8220;The violence comes later after they are voted in. Voting is still our best defense against tyranny and fascism, and it&#8217;s our best offense to create the better future we dream of and march for.&#8221;
The union boss went on to suggest former President Donald Trump is an &#8220;existential threat to democracy&#8221; and urged her members to vote against him.
&#8220;When the history books are written about this moment, let them record that we the people, united, mobilized, and voted down this existential threat to democracy and freedom, that we continued the march for progress, that we laid the foundation for our better future, and that we sought to create a more perfect union! Progress is possible! Keep marching!&#8221; Weingarten shouted as the crowd of union members erupted into applause.
Also on Monday, Weingarten touted that AFT union delegates had voted to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for president.
&#8220;Let’s win this!&#8221; she <a href="https://x.com/rweingarten/status/1815446063849013286">posted</a> on X.
School choice activist Corey DeAngelis <a href="https://x.com/DeAngelisCorey/status/1815456591682187465">called</a> Weingarten an &#8220;unhinged lunatic&#8221; after her speech.
&#8220;Randi Weingarten just gave a 4,000 word keynote speech to her teachers union. She didn’t mention learning loss a single time,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/nickineily/status/1815745937060278772" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Nicki Neily, founder and president of Parents Defending Education, a nonprofit &#8220;working to reclaim our schools from activists imposing harmful agendas.&#8221;
&#8220;Just days after he was shot in an attempted ass*ss*nat*on, Randi Weingarten suggests Trump is an &#8216;existential threat to democracy and freedom&#8217; and that he&#8217;s a violent, tyrannical, fascist. Is this what &#8216;toning it down&#8217; looks like? Deranged,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/libsoftiktok/status/1815464697036247312">posted</a> the X account Libs of TikTok.
Earlier this month, the president of the country’s largest teachers union was also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/teachers-union-head-mocked-for-totally-unhinged-speech" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mocked</a> for a &#8220;totally unhinged&#8221; speech in which she shouted about winning “all the things.”
Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association (NEA), banged on the podium, waved her arms, and laughed out loud as she <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2ifRgiOOJ8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shouted</a> about social justice at the union’s Annual Meeting and Representative Assembly in Philadelphia.
“We have to transform it into something it was never designed to be — a racially and socially just and equitable system that prepares every student! Every student! Every student! Every one! With conviction and commitment,” Pringle said.
Pringle also railed against Trump and what she called a “stacked” Supreme Court.
“We worked hard to rid ourselves of a tyrannical, deceitful, and corrupt White House. We did. But the reality is that the seeds that were sown during that horrible season continue to germinate,” Pringle said.

PowerUp & Build Back Better With Care

Teachers Union Boss Randi Weingarten Mocked For ‘Unhinged’ Politicized Speech Warning Of ‘Fascism’

Teachers Union Boss Randi Weingarten Mocked For 'Unhinged' Politicized Speech Warning Of 'Fascism'

The president of the country&#8217;s largest teachers union was mocked for a “totally unhinged” speech in which she shouted about winning &#8220;all the things.&#8221;
Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association (NEA), banged on the podium, waved her arms, and laughed out loud as she <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2ifRgiOOJ8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shouted</a> about social justice last week at the union&#8217;s Annual Meeting and Representative Assembly in Philadelphia.
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Teachers union president Becky Pringle lets the mask slip admitting they &quot;organize for POWER.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/8nJtotJ8vr">https://t.co/8nJtotJ8vr</a>
&mdash; Corey A. DeAngelis, school choice evangelist (@DeAngelisCorey) <a href="https://twitter.com/DeAngelisCorey/status/1810154851080528316?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 8, 2024</a></blockquote>
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If you had any doubts about the priorities of teachers unions, just watch this bizarre speech by NEA President Becky Pringle.
Believe it or not this isn’t from the Democratic National Convention — it’s the NEA annual convention. <a href="https://t.co/W8lDsqFG2T">pic.twitter.com/W8lDsqFG2T</a>
&mdash; Nicki Neily (@nickineily) <a href="https://twitter.com/nickineily/status/1810314623025119676?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 8, 2024</a></blockquote>
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During her speech, which frequently <a href="https://www.nea.org/about-nea/media-center/press-releases/remarks-prepared-delivery-becky-pringle-president-national-education-association-103rd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">departed</a> from her published prepared remarks, Pringle vowed that the union would &#8220;reclaim&#8221; public education.
&#8220;But you and I know we can&#8217;t stop there,&#8221; she said. &#8220;We have to transform it into something it was never designed to be — a racially and socially just and equitable system that prepares every student! Every student! Every student! Every one! With conviction and commitment.&#8221;
Pringle also reaffirmed the NEA&#8217;s opposition to school choice.
&#8220;With determination and defiance, we will protect public education,&#8221; she said. &#8220;We will fight privatization. We will fight vouchers. We will fight any and all schemes to drain resources from our beloved public schools!&#8221;
Pringle also railed against former President Donald Trump, as well as what she called a &#8220;stacked&#8221; Supreme Court.
“We worked hard to rid ourselves of a tyrannical, deceitful, and corrupt White House. We did. But the reality is that the seeds that were sown during that horrible season continue to germinate,” Pringle said.
&#8220;Today, they sprout as vitriol toward our profession, increased marginalization of black, brown, AAPI, and Indigenous communities, rising hatred toward our LGBTQ+ siblings,&#8221; she said. &#8220;The seeds of hate manifest themselves as attacks against our freedom to teach and our students’ freedom to learn. They&#8217;ve mushroomed into poisonous spores of a stacked Supreme Court — one that continues to render decisions that attack, diminish, and disregard the needs and lived experiences of far too many Americans.&#8221;
“Our students are depending on us to win all the things,” Pringle said.  “All the things! All the things! All the things!”
&#8220;Did I say we ain&#8217;t going back? Ain&#8217;t going back!&#8221; she added.
&#8220;Like Harvey Milk, we will stand in our authenticity!&#8221; Pringle said. &#8220;Like Cesar Chavez, we will practice relentless activism!&#8221;
On social media, critics compared Pringle&#8217;s exuberant remarks to a famous scene with Dwight Schrute on the hit television show The Office, a scene that was based on actual speeches by famous Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini.
School choice advocate Corey DeAngelis called Pringle&#8217;s speech “off-the-rails” and said she &#8220;pulled a Dwight Schrute.&#8221;
“These power-hungry control freaks think they own your kids. They’re in a cult that worships government and detests parents. It’s time to defund teachers unions and allow the money to follow the child,” DeAngelis <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/07/08/us-news/teachers-union-president-mocked-for-copying-the-office-in-totally-unhinged-speech/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Fox News. “Becky Pringle pulled a Dwight Schrute. She is off-the-rails and desperate to maintain control over the minds of other people’s children.”
DeAngelis <a href="https://x.com/DeAngelisCorey/status/1810154851080528316" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a> on X that Pringle let the &#8220;mask slip&#8221; in admitting union members &#8220;organize for POWER.&#8221;
Nicki Neily, founder and president of Parents Defending Education, also criticized Pringle.
&#8220;If you had any doubts about the priorities of teachers unions, just watch this bizarre speech by NEA President Becky Pringle. Believe it or not this isn’t from the Democratic National Convention — it’s the NEA annual convention,&#8221; Neily said.
Pringle <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/our-righteous-fight-for-freedom-teachers-union-president-goes-full-dwight-schrute-in-unhinged-speech/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">delivered</a> a similar speech last year that was also panned as over the top.

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Teachers Union Head Mocked For ‘Totally Unhinged’ Speech

Teachers

‘Turning Classrooms Into Arenas Of Radicalism’: Teachers Union Tasks Anti-Israel Activist To Create Curriculum About Israel

The Portland Association of Teachers, an affiliate of the state teachers’ union which has 4,500 members, reportedly created an anti-Israel and anti-America curriculum for children as young as kindergarteners that says Zionists are “bullies” and blames Israel and the United States for “settler colonialism.”
Journalist Christopher Rufo, the author of <a href="https://manhattan.institute/book/americas-cultural-revolution-how-the-radical-left-conquered-everything" target="_blank" rel="noopener">America’s Cultural Revolution</a>, <a href="https://www.city-journal.org/article/in-portland-the-intifada-begins-in-kindergarten" target="_blank" rel="noopener">published the information</a> and obtained the curriculum materials called &#8220;Teach Palestine!&#8221; Pre-kindergarten teachers are urged to use a workbook by the Palestinian Feminist Collective with a story of a fictional Palestinian boy named Handala who states, “A group of bullies called Zionists wanted our land so they stole it by force and hurt many people.”
“Students are encouraged to come up with a slogan that they can chant at a protest and complete a maze so that Handala can ‘get back home to Palestine’—represented as a map of Israel,” Rufo notes.
Other leftist tropes are urged for the pre-kindergarteners, including a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/BFil0gN8Ql0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">video</a> stating, “I feel safe when there are no police,” and a <a href="https://www.wokekindergarten.org/teachpalestine/visualhistoryinstazine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">slideshow</a> that salutes the First and Second Palestinian Intifadas. According to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Institute_for_Counter-Terrorism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">International Institute for Counter-Terrorism</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilian_casualties_in_the_Second_Intifada">during</a> the Second Intifada from September 2000 to February 2005, 887 of the 1,137 Israelis murdered in the attacks were civilians.
“The recommended resource list also <a href="https://www.wokekindergarten.org/teachpalestine/so-you-made-it-to-a-protest" target="_blank" rel="noopener">includes</a> a ‘sensory guide for kids’ on attending protests. It teaches children what they might see, hear, taste, touch, and smell at protests, and promotes photographs of slogans such as ‘Abolish Prisons’ and ‘From the River to the Sea,&#8217;” Rufo writes.
Once the children are in kindergarten through second grade, a <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vTGX9wjjqX4S2Au0c8gFe5ir18Ex6Tw73pcezd5VQxj5hph0MJVHeQh-VqtQ6PCPa1QtQg2Woxe0_ue/pub">lesson</a>, “Art and Action for Palestine,” is provided to teach the children to “connect histories of settler colonialism from Palestine to the United States” and to “celebrate Palestinian culture and resistance throughout history and in the present, with a focus on Palestinian children’s resistance.”
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“75 years ago, a lot of decision makers around the world decided to take away Palestinian land to make a country called Israel. Israel would be a country where rules were mostly fair for Jewish people with White skin,” the lesson reads. “There’s a BIG word for when Indigenous land gets taken away to make a country, that’s called settler colonialism.”
Among the “suggested materials” are “keffiyehs, flags, and protest signs.” The curriculum also <a href="https://actionnetwork.org/user_files/user_files/000/098/772/original/All_Out_Palestine_Toolkit_3.0.pdf?fbclid=PAAaaGnQ7Ub7uar7rFqlTaVoBEH4SJ7X0yF-AZNoAjumR5BZW2DTVtVhlsTmY_aem_AbjMoHW4HB3HGHoSsk0D2LO9UewWamevwaDlwAtfE0NGXhxeLy1RXQdsvP7XKxsqtxQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">includes</a> a pamphlet called “All Out for Palestine,” which states, “STOP THE GENOCIDE! END U.S. AID TO ISRAEL! FREE PALESTINE!” The pamphlet refers to “Zionism‘s long genocidal war on Palestinian life,” adding, “End all US aid to Israel and nullify all joint US-Israeli agreements and collaboration in arms trade and policing.”
“The pamphlet includes chants that teachers can adopt in the classroom,” Rufo points out. “Some imply support for militancy and political violence: ‘Resistance is justified when people are occupied!’; ‘We salute all our martyrs! mothers, fathers, sons and daughters!’; ‘Justice is our demand! No peace on stolen land!’”

Toddler is playing with a wooden toy block

Portland Teachers’ Group Offers Kindergarten Curriculum Teaching Anti-Israel Hate

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