{"id":157161,"date":"2021-02-21T16:23:56","date_gmt":"2021-02-21T21:23:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=157161"},"modified":"2021-02-21T16:43:34","modified_gmt":"2021-02-21T21:43:34","slug":"american-federation-of-teachers-teachers-union-barrier-to-students-being-put-in-danger-by-republicans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/american-federation-of-teachers-teachers-union-barrier-to-students-being-put-in-danger-by-republicans\/","title":{"rendered":"American Federation Of Teachers: Teachers Union \u2018Barrier\u2019 To Students Being \u2018Put In Danger\u2019 By Republicans"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Famerican-federation-of-teachers-teachers-union-barrier-to-students-being-put-in-danger-by-republicans%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=157161&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/GettyImages-1228245942.jpg?w=1200&#038;h=800&#038;ixlib=react-9.0.3\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p>The American Federation of Teachers, the nation\u2019s second-largest teachers union, and its leader, Randi Weingarten, set out Sunday to \u201cdebunk\u201d the myth that teachers unions are standing in the way of in-person learning in much of the country. While Weingarten claimed more \u201cspace\u201d and \u201cmore teachers\u201d are necessary for classrooms to reopen fully, the AFT\u2019s social media swiped back at a Wall Street Journal op-ed blaming unions for being anti-science.<\/p>\n<p>The AFT tweeted Sunday that \u201cTeachers, staff, and the unions behind them are not a barrier to schools reopening,\u201d in contrast to the WSJ column that noted, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), that schools are not hotbeds of coronavirus transmission and that in-person learning can be accomplished with basic safety measures designed to halt the virus\u2019 spread.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, the AFT insisted, they are a barrier between students at \u201cRepublican talking points.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTeachers, staff, and the unions behind them are not a barrier to schools reopening. We are a barrier to staff and students being put in danger for Republican talking points,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n<p>Education analyst Corey DeAngelis <a href=\"https:\/\/reason.com\/2020\/08\/19\/school-reopenings-linked-to-union-influence-and-politics-not-safety\/\">pointed out, in response<\/a>, that there is a strong correlation between whether a school district is open for in-person learning and whether that same district has a strong teachers union.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><em>Education Week<\/em> recently compiled\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.edweek.org\/ew\/section\/multimedia\/school-districts-reopening-plans-a-snapshot.html\">data<\/a>\u00a0on the reopening decisions made by 563 school districts in the U.S. The data indicate a stark relationship between school district reopening plans and whether the school district is located in a state that requires union membership as a condition of employment as a teacher. Right now, school districts in states that require union membership are 25 percentage points less likely to plan to reopen with full-time in-person instruction available than school districts in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nrtw.org\/right-to-work-states\/\">right-to-work<\/a>\u00a0states. About 38 percent of school districts in right-to-work states have decided to offer full-time in-person instruction, whereas only around 13 percent of school districts in states that require union membership are offering the same.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>No less than the CDC, however, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/cdc-director-admits-its-not-just-science-that-affects-our-guidance-on-opening-schools\">admitted, just last week that \u201cscience\u201d is not the sole deciding factor<\/a> in whether children are able to return to classrooms, and that its official guidance is the result not just of scientific inquiry, but of \u201cengagement\u201d with \u201cmany education and public-health partners.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have conducted an in-depth review of the available science and evidence base to guide our recommendations, and we have also engaged with many education and public-health partners, to hear firsthand from parents and teachers, directly, about their experiences and concerns,\u201d Biden administration CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said. Among those stakeholders, a parents\u2019 group discovered, was a Biden administration education strategist, Donna Harris-Aikens, \u201cwho came to DOE last month after 14 years as a Senior Policy Director at the NEA,\u201d the nation\u2019s largest teachers union.<\/p>\n<p>AFT president Randi Weingarten tried to \u201cdebunk\u201d further the idea that teachers unions were dictating classroom coronavirus policies, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/us\/teachers-union-reopen-fall-semester-cdc-aft-weingarten\">Fox News noted Sunday<\/a>, but her requirements seemed to run parallel to union demands of fewer students, more teachers, and more money for education \u201cinfrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI do want to debunk this myth that teacher unions, at least our union, doesn\u2019t want to reopen schools,\u201d Weingarten said on \u201cMeet the Press\u201d Sunday. \u201cTeachers know that in-person education is really important and we would have said that pre-pandemic. We knew that remote education is not a good substitute.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does full school opening mean? If you do six-feet of physical distancing, you\u2019re essentially saying in a school you\u2019re going to have about 50 or 60% of people in there at any one time. Not 100%,\u201d Weingarten said when asked whether she would commit to helping schools reopen for in-person learning this year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe issue really becomes, do we have 30% more space, do we have 30% more teachers,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat I think we need to do, we need to actually get as much in-person as possible right now. Have the mitigation strategies, have a real great summer semester to get kids\u2019 mojo back in a voluntary way, and then really be planning for next year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This has largely translated into a plea for more federal aid money \u2014 a plea that the Biden administration is addressing in the available draft of its $1.8 trillion COVID-19 relief bill. The problem, though, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/cbo-fraction-of-covid-relief-will-be-spent-on-schools-in-2021-despite-bidens-funding-demands-for-in-person-learning\">as the Daily Wire has reported<\/a>, is that much of the money already set aside for schools in the three other Congressional COVID-19 relief bills have yet to be spent, and the money earmarked for education in the forthcoming Biden bill is designed to be allocated over the course of several years, with 95% of the money held in trust for future \u2014 not present \u2014 expenses.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPresident Biden\u2019s COVID-19 relief\u00a0package\u00a0would put\u00a0$128 billion toward helping\u00a0K-12 public schools deal with the coronavirus pandemic, but the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that just $6 billion would flow to schools in 2021,\u201d Fox News reported. \u201cThe CBO estimates that the\u00a0number would\u00a0increase to $32 billion in 2022 and 2023, respectively. The rest of the money would be paid out through 2028, according to a\u00a0cost estimate released Monday.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\">a member<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The American Federation of Teachers, the nation\u2019s second-largest teachers union, and its leader, Randi Weingarten, set out Sunday to \u201cdebunk\u201d the myth that teachers unions are standing in the way &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2273880,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/GettyImages-1228245942.jpg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"American Federation Of Teachers: Teachers Union \u2018Barrier\u2019 To Students Being \u2018Put In Danger\u2019 By Republicans","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-157161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/GettyImages-1228245942.jpg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"American Federation Of Teachers: Teachers Union \u2018Barrier\u2019 To Students Being \u2018Put In Danger\u2019 By Republicans","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=157161"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157161\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2273880"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=157161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=157161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=157161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}