Randi Weingarten And Unions Only Care About The Money

December 2, 2024

Randi Weingarten And Unions Only Care About The Money

by Toni Williams in Education Post Comment

31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

John 8:31-32

Don’t come at me, bro. I know the above quote is about spiritual liberation, but the truth is always freedom. Randi Weingarten, current President of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), told the truth about unions, teachers and bureaucracy, for the first time to our knowledge. From the Post Millennial:

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), made waves during an interview on MSNBC last week where she suggested her union members “don’t really care” whether the Department of Education remains intact under President-elect Donald Trump’s administration.

“My members don’t really care about whether they have a bureaucracy at the Department of Education or not,” Weingarten said. She also referenced the union’s historical stance, noting that former AFT president Al Shanker opposed the department’s creation in the 1970s, believing its responsibilities should remain within the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to better address “the whole child.”

Their desires to educate “the whole child” have led us to the sorry state of American education today. Here are the words coming right out of the horse’s mouth:

Randi Weingarten accidentally admits how unnecessary the Department of Education is:

“My members don’t really care about whether they have a bureaucracy at the Department of Education or not. In fact, Al Shanker and the AFT in the 1970s were opposed to its creation.” pic.twitter.com/ldGfh9BnN8

— Nicki Neily (@nickineily) December 2, 2024

Truth telling, especially about money, is not really popular on The Left. Randi Weingarten had to walk back her comments, proving yet again that she is not that smart and can’t read the room:

Following backlash from her remarks, Weingarten took to X to clarify her comments. On Wednesday, she posted that “something like the Dept of Education” is needed because it “creates career pathways and ensures federal aid reaches our poorest students while protecting vulnerable learners’ rights.”

Anyone who has synapses firing and has been in a government school since about 1980 knows that there are unbelievable layers of bureaucracy that do nothing for the individual student and the poorest and vulnerable are given short shrift. Unless each student is blessed to have a strong parent advocate. During Covid-19 even a strong parent advocate was not enough. Where was the Department of Education? Not advocating for children that’s for darn sure.

WHAT DOES THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION DO?

From the Washington Examiner:

Just what does the Department of Education actually do anyway? Mostly, it writes rules, houses an expansive bureaucracy, and funnels dollars to states and institutions of higher education. Contrary to the claims of the teachers unions and aggrieved Democrats, it doesn’t educate anyone — and a glance at its thousands of regulations is a reminder that most have much more to do with accounting than with learning. When it comes to K–12 schooling, the federal government only contributes about 10% of what the United States spends each year (the lion’s share is supplied by states and localities).

The bulk of the department’s work boils down to throwing vast sums at higher education, mostly by issuing, managing, and (not) collecting payments for student loans. That’s why insiders have long described the department as a gargantuan bank with a second-rate policy shop attached. Meanwhile, the department employs an army of 4,000 bureaucrats — including 86 senior executive service employees, who earn over $200,000, and more than 1,000 GS-15 managers, all of whom earn more than $160,000 if they work in Washington, D.C. Heck, there are more than 100 staff members just in the office of communications, at an average salary of over $100,000 and an annual cost to taxpayers of more than $13 million.

If this description makes hysterical defenses of the department seem a little unhinged, you’ve got the idea.

Unhinged? Money grubbing grifters is more like it.

Before 1979, the Department of Education was under Health, Education and Welfare. Jimmy Carter created the new department. Thanks to the Tenth Amendment , the Department can mostly just make rules. Unless you just really love layers upon layers of bureaucracy. Personally, I love Granny’s attitude.