AFT President Randi Weingarten Says State of the Union Message Is Clear: President Biden Has Our Back

WASHINGTON—AFT President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement on President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address: 

“President Biden was on fire tonight, with a speech that embodied the promise of America. When the president took office, he inherited a country reeling from an insurrection and despairing from a pandemic. But challenge by challenge, the Biden administration has turned those setbacks into a comeback. 

“Where the previous administration governed by grievance, chaos, disruption and fear, Biden has chosen a path of progress and possibility for all Americans. Negotiating bipartisan agreements whenever possible, this president has stood up for our freedoms: be it the freedom to vote and have that vote counted, freedom from the scourge of gun violence, or reproductive freedom. From stabilizing public education, higher education and public services; to delivering more than $130 billion in student debt relief to nearly 4 million people; to making it easier for people to form unions, this president has shown up for working families.

“As the president made clear, there’s more work to be done. And he’s ready to fight for real solutions to the issues families face—solutions like expanding child care and elder care, providing opportunities for hands-on learning and ensuring all third-graders can read, investing in a cure for cancer, protecting in vitro fertilization, lowering medical costs, giving teachers and other workers a raise, and making wealthy corporations pay their fair share of taxes. It’s a muscular vision of America that stands up for what’s important both at home and abroad. 

“Tonight, we were reminded that Joe Biden embodies the fundamental values of America—freedom, democracy, and opportunity—in word and in deed. America’s educators, healthcare professionals and public employees are proud to have his back, and we know he has ours.”