There were never any doubts that the American Federation of Teachers was going to be more proactive than it has been in recent years, under the leadership of Randi Weingarten. This coming Monday, the president of the 1.4 million-member AFT will give what the union’s flacks are billing as her first speech in Washington, where she will share her ideas on education and the economy.
Introducing Weingarten, who was elected president of the American Federation of Teachers in July, will be Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City with whose administration &mdash and that of schools Chancellor Joel Klein’s &mdash Weingarten has both clashed and collaborated in her other role as president of the United Federation of Teachers.
According to a statement from the AFT, Weingarten is expected to “offer her provocative brand of thinking on the best ways to strengthen public education,” including continuing to invest in education during tough economic times.
We will be bringing you more about this speech on Monday, so stay tuned.