Weingarten Acknowledges Union Mistakes During Pandemic
On a recent episode of “The Conversation with Dasha Burns,” Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), admitted that teachers’ unions made some errors during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, she quickly pointed fingers at the Trump administration for its handling of the situation.
Throughout the pandemic, the AFT, along with Weingarten, often hesitated to support the reopening of schools, collaborating closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Burns pressed Weingarten on whether unions and Democrats erred in their approach to school closures. Weingarten responded, “Of course, there were mistakes. We all made them. The Trump administration really dropped the ball by not being clear and focusing on safety—it was all about reopening.” She feels that reopening schools, unfortunately, turned political, rather than being based on safety priorities.
She also expressed concern over the lack of adequate funding for essential measures like ventilation and testing, emphasizing that a key reflection for the future should be how to make school reopening a priority without compromising safety. “If we face another pandemic, how can we ensure we prioritize reopening schools while also focusing on safety?” she posed.
Working with the CDC, Weingarten helped shape guidance for reopening schools. Rochelle Walensky, the former CDC Director, had reportedly sought clear justifications for school closures and pushed for a system that would dictate when schools could close again.
Interestingly, texts published in June 2023 showed that Weingarten and Walensky communicated frequently during the development of school reopening protocols.
Back in January 2021, AFT labeled the idea of reopening schools as “reckless and dangerous.” Weingarten in July 2021 even remarked on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s claims that the state reopening would lead to “millions” of deaths, later acknowledging he had exaggerated. In several cities, including Chicago and Los Angeles, teachers under Weingarten’s leadership resisted returning to work until specific COVID-19 safety measures were in place. Even the Democratic Mayor of Chicago at the time was critical of the union’s stance.
Additionally, Weingarten had previously criticized Trump’s emphasis on reopening public schools as “reckless and wrong.” She also testified in April 2023 that Biden’s transition team had reached out to AFT to coordinate reopening plans before he took office.
