Teacher Union Boss Randi Weingarten Denies Group Delayed School Openings Or Wrongly Meddled With CDC Guidelines

American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten Denies Union Extended School Lockdowns

In a hearing before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten denied that her union extended school lockdowns or improperly influenced the CDC’s pandemic response policies. Weingarten claimed that the hearing was based on a “faulty” and “patently false” assertion that the AFT wielded its influence with Democrats to keep schools closed even after data indicated that young children were at minimal risk from COVID.

Union’s Response to School Reopenings

Weingarten claimed that the AFT “acted quickly” to implement “science-based measures needed to resume in-person schooling safely.” However, the union threatened a strike days ahead of a planned reopening of District of Columbia Public Schools in February 2021, even as Weingarten insisted that her organization was “not trying to stand in the way of reopening.” As late as July 2021, Weingarten remained cagey on school lockdowns and insisted that increasing vaccination rates was necessary to “keep kids safe” and “keep our members safe.”

Impact on Children’s Education

The school lockdowns drove unprecedented learning loss among children who attended government schools: average reading scores plummeted five points and average mathematics scores dropped seven points among 9-year-olds who took the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress. Parents have since responded to disruptions in the nation’s education system by homeschooling their children at record levels, a phenomenon which Weingarten called an “extremist scheme” to “erode trust in public schools by stoking fear and division.”

Controversy Over CDC Guidelines

The AFT provoked controversy after House Republicans revealed that the CDC offered Weingarten and other union officials “unprecedented access” to view and shape pandemic response guidelines. Weingarten claimed that the involvement of the AFT in crafting public health policies was “completely fitting and proper” since the CDC should be expected to “consult with education groups.”

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