A set of demands from teachers unions in July, which addressed how to safely reopen schools amid a pandemic, was criticized by The Wall Street Journal editorial board as "political extortion." The board argued that unions were taking advantage of a health crisis to advance their own ideological agendas and to eliminate competition from charter schools.
Who was it that said, "Never let a crisis go to waste"?
"If there’s a silver lining here, it’s that Americans are getting a closer look at the true, self-interested character of today’s teachers unions," The Wall Street Journal editorial board added.
"Nobody wants to see students back in the classroom more than educators, "It is time to take a stand against Trump’s dangerous, anti-science agenda that puts the lives of our members, our students, and our families at risk," said UTLA President Cecily Myart-Cruz, The Daily Wire reported. "Even before the spike in infections and Trump’s reckless talk, there were serious issues with starting the year on school campuses."
Serious racial social justice issues.
Frederick M. Hess, director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, argued that before Trump, teachers unions were on the ropes. Yet Trump "the boogeyman" invigorated their causes. But once Trump is out of office, teachers unions' political wish lists will look selfish and unfocused on student needs, Hess wrote.
"In the last few years, things have turned around for the unions ‐ they've effectively positioned their members as sympathetic underdogs while riding an anti-Trump progressive wave to great effect," Hess wrote.
"If Biden is wearing his mask and pushing for more school funding, unions will no longer be able to insist that school reopening is just a Trumpian rush back to business-as-usual. A reluctance to get teachers back to school will look less responsible and more self-interested," Hess continued.
To the blind who will not see.
Related:
Teachers union: 2020-07-19 N.C. teachers union demands complete state shutdown, suspended mortgages before school can reopen
Teachers union: 2020-07-12 L.A. teachers union says schools can't reopen unless charter schools get shut down, police defunded
Teachers union: 2019-06-14 De Blasio makes DNC debate despite lackluster donations
Teachers union: 2020-07-19 N.C. teachers union demands complete state shutdown, suspended mortgages before school can reopen
Teachers union: 2020-07-12 L.A. teachers union says schools can't reopen unless charter schools get shut down, police defunded
Teachers union: 2019-06-14 De Blasio makes DNC debate despite lackluster donations
