Biden received more money from unions in 2020 than any other candidate

President Biden received more contributions from unions than any other candidate during the 2020 election cycle by a wide margin. It highlights the mystery that could lead to the White House if the same unions continue to oppose efforts to open schools for personal learning. .

According to the Center for Responsive Politics ‘website “Open Secrets”, Biden’s campaign raised just over $ 232,000 from teachers’ unions during the 2020 election cycle. The website says that the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) make up ‘virtually all’ political spending of teachers’ unions.

The second highest recipient was Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Who received $ 50,996.

However, the amount of money allocated directly to one candidate pales in comparison to the money donated by teachers’ unions to liberal groups in general – more than $ 23.5 million from the NEA and more than $ 14 million from the AFT. Together with the two groups, they spent $ 43 million on political spending during the 2020 election cycle, according to Open Secrets.

They both endorse Biden for the presidency in March.

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And the influence of trade unions in Democratic politics does not hold money – the AFT has 1.7 million members, according to its website, while the NEA, according to its website, has more than 3 million members. That’s more than half of Biden’s popular margin of victory over former President Trump in November – a hefty share of voters. According to the NEA, one in every 39 voters lives in a household with at least one NEA member.

This influence could put the Biden White House on a collision course with some of its most powerful political supporters, while the president tries to keep a promise before taking office – to get children into classrooms.

“If Congress provides the funding, we need to protect students, educators and staff. If states and cities put in place strong social measures that we all follow, my team will work to see that most of our schools can be open by the end. of my first 100 days, ‘Biden said in December.

The priority is broadly supported, with parents and children nationwide talking about mental anguish caused by isolation and distance education – as well as the economic cost to parents – and a generation of students left behind in school.

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But education in the US is divided into thousands of systems in individual areas, and unions place a lot of resistance to local governments.

In one example, while Chicago and its mayor, Lori Lightfoot, are trying to get students back into schools, his local teachers union is fighting hard against the city’s conditions.

A statement from the Chicago Teachers’ Union last week complained that the city had not reached an agreement on its demands for “comprehensive testing for students and staff, distance learning for educators at risk with family members, improvements in distance education or a phased reopening not after vaccinations. ‘

The Washington Teachers’ Union added this week: “[I]If the public schools in the District of Columbia refuse to work with us to ensure the safety of our school facilities, we must continue to discuss ways to protect our health and that of our students. This may include a voting authorization later in the week. ‘

Meanwhile, unions from the San Francisco United School District and the San Francisco Labor Council on Wednesday fought a lawsuit from the infamous progressive city against the school district to get children back into the classrooms, calling the attempt “frivolous and distracting.”

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One of the biggest demands from unions is vaccines for teachers, despite repeated comments from CDC director Rochelle Walensky that schools can be opened without teachers being vaccinated.

“I also want to be clear that there is increasing data indicating that schools can reopen safely and that safe reopening does not indicate that teachers need to be vaccinated to be able to reopen safely,” Walensky said earlier this week.

While applying the criteria of the Advisory Committee and the state and local guidelines for vaccination in these appropriate communities, I would also say that safe reopening of schools is not – that vaccination of teachers is not a prerequisite for safe reopening not. of schools. Walensky added.

But White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Thursday apparently removed Walensky’s White House comments and refused to say whether the government would take action against unions if necessary.

Psaki said Walensky “spoke on this in her personal capacity” and that the White House would wait until “final guidance comes out” before pushing the schools to start again without vaccinations.

Vaccination of teachers and other school staff is an extra layer of prevention that can be added to these important mitigation measures.

– CDC spokesperson on school reopening

Psaki, meanwhile, has raised the question of whether the White House will take a stand against the union’s obstacle if negotiations remain ‘unfair’. Asked again on Friday whether Biden would use the “bullying pulpit” to put unions under pressure to let children go back, Psaki said: “I’m just going to reject the premise of the question.”

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Teachers, Psaki said, are “the first people to tell you that the fact that they teach in the classroom and are able to interact with children in the classroom, or middle or high school students in the classroom, makes their work more enjoyable, “It makes them more effective at what they do. The president is absolutely committed to reopening schools … in a safe way.”

Psaki reiterated that CDC guidelines on reopening schools ‘are not yet officially available’, but that Biden wants to ensure that once schools open, they remain open and do not have to close due to coronavirus infections. Asked if her answer was “yes with an asterisk” – that the president would use the “bully pulpit” against unions if he needed it, Psaki refused to clarify.

A CDC spokesman, meanwhile, responded to Psaki’s statement that the director spoke ‘in her personal capacity’ about vaccines and schools in a statement to Fox News on Friday.

“Dr. Walensky’s remarks are based on her review of the science. Open data suggests that COVID-19 is not spreading rapidly in schools if important mitigation measures are followed,” the spokesman said.

The spokesman added: “These measures include wearing masks, staying at least 6 feet apart, ensuring the cleaning and ventilation of schools, and practicing good hand hygiene and breathing etiquette. The vaccination of teachers and other school staff is added an extra layer of prevention to these important mitigation measures. ”

Walensky appeared in an information session before Psaki’s comments on Friday, and she appears to be stepping back from her previous comments following the White House’s public backlash on Thursday.

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“I just want to emphasize that our goal is to get kids back to school. Schools should be the last places to be closed and the first place to be open,” Walensky said. “Our goal is to make sure and to get children back to school that we do this with the safety of the children and the safety of the teachers as the biggest and critical thing to ensure that this happens.”

She continued: ‘Among the things we need to do to make sure schools are safe is to make sure the spread of the disease in the community is down. And that means we are all responsible for working, getting our children back to school safely and our teachers safely back to school. ‘

Walensky said the CDC is working “actively” on producing “official guidance” on what needs to happen for the opening of schools.

Walensky said official guidance would be “in the coming week”.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how the president’s political relationship with unions would affect the reopening of schools.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.