National teachers union American Federation of Teachers (AFT) is a partner for the upcoming “No Kings” protests being held across the country this Saturday.
AFT president Randi Weingarten hosted a webinar on the protests Tuesday night, the “No Kings” website showed. Angela Morabito, a spokesperson for the Defense of Freedom Institute (DFI), attended the webinar and said Weingarten encouraged members to attend protests and organize events in their local communities.
The union president also urged protestors to remain peaceful, according to Morabito. Commenting on the partnership in an interview, Morabito called AFT “radical” and “out of touch.”
“I’m not surprised at all [that AFT is partnering with ‘No Kings’], but I think a lot of parents and teachers would be surprised that a major teacher union is backing this radical political endeavor that a lot of their members might not agree with at all,” Morabito said.
Research suggests teachers as a whole tend to be a liberal-leaning demographic, with a 2024 Pew Research poll finding 58% of teachers preferring the Democratic Party compared to 35% preferring the Republican Party. Their campaign contributions also appear to trend significantly in favor of Democrats.
Morabito “[finds] it incredibly hard to believe that the average rank-and-file teacher wants their union engaged in these radical political efforts.”
“These protests that we’re gonna see erupt across the country on Saturday, they don’t do anything to help teachers teach or students learn,” Morabito said.
Speaking about the webinar, Morabito said the overall message was “a very thinly-veiled anti-Trump hate-fest.” She also argued the rhetoric of the webinar could lead to heightened political tension despite Weingarten’s emphasis on peaceful conduct.
“The rhetoric that’s coming from these unions, of ‘we must resist, resist, resist,’ that’s not peaceful language … [Weingarten] is inciting her teacher members to take a very radical stance, that comes with risks, I don’t know if she has thought through those risks, but one thing I know for sure is that the way Randi Weingarten speaks about the political climate is ratcheting up the temperature, ratcheting up the conflict, it’s not doing anything to take those tensions down,” Morabito said.
Off The Press reached out to AFT for comment but has not received a response. This article will be updated if a response is received.
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Author: Kristina Watrobski
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