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The Nation鈥檚 Second-Largest Teachers Union Endorses Kamala Harris for President

Delegates to the American Federation of Teachers 2024 convention voted Monday to put the union鈥檚 full political weight behind Harris as the nominee.

AFT Union delegates voted Monday afternoon to endorse Kamala Harris.

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This article is part of 蜜桃影视鈥檚 EDlection 2024 coverage, which takes a look at candidates鈥 education policies and how they might impact the American education system after the 2024 election.

American Federation of Teachers delegates representing the union鈥檚 1.8 million members overwhelmingly voted to endorse Kamala Harris鈥檚 fast-moving bid to become the Democratic presidential nominee today. 

鈥淚 spoke in support of the resolution 鈥 for our students, our patients, our families, our communities, our democracy and ourselves!鈥 union President Randi Weingarten wrote on from the AFT鈥檚 2024 convention in Houston. 鈥淟et鈥檚 win this!鈥

The delegates ratified the AFT Executive Council鈥檚 unanimous vote Sunday evening to endorse Harris, mere hours after President Joe Biden upended the race with his historic announcement that he was giving up his embattled candidacy. The council鈥檚 swift action positioned the country鈥檚 second-largest teachers union as one of the first major labor organizations to get behind the vice president.

鈥淰ice President Harris has fought alongside Joe Biden to deliver historic accomplishments and create a better life for all Americans,鈥 Weingarten said in the statement released early Sunday evening.

鈥淭rump left his successor a country in crisis and chaos, with soaring inflation and an economy in free fall,鈥 she added. 鈥淛oe Biden and Kamala Harris turned it around. They stabilized schools, saved pensions for hundreds of thousands of retired union workers and remade the economy.鈥澛

The AFT has placed its significant political heft alongside other key unions supporting Harris, including the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the nation鈥檚 largest private sector union, and the United Farm Workers, the nation鈥檚 largest farm workers鈥 union.

The labor endorsements followed Biden鈥檚 own for Harris and were promptly joined by a chorus of other , including former House speaker Nancy Pelosi, Bill and Hillary Clinton and several governors, who were either being considered themselves as potential Biden successors or , such as Michigan鈥檚 Gretchen Whitmer, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania. U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona also came out in support of Harris on Sunday.

After Biden鈥檚 announcement, Weingarten scrambled to rewrite some of her planned remarks at the kickoff to the convention, according to reporting from Just earlier that morning she criticized efforts to push Biden out of the race, telling Weekly Education, 鈥淭his fantasy that billionaire donors are having, that they can yoke this away from the president because they don鈥檛 like his performance at the debate, is wrong.鈥 

By the afternoon, though, she emphasized the importance of uniting around

In Harris鈥檚 for president, she advocated for universal preschool and free college and called for a $13,500 raise for every teacher by the end of her first term.

Becky Pringle, president of the nation鈥檚 largest teacher鈥檚 union, the National Education Association, took a different approach to the game-changing news, leaving out any mention of Harris in her tweets Sunday thanking President Biden for his service. Instead, she noted that the NEA will 鈥渞enew our efforts to ensure he is succeeded by a leader equally dedicated to building the future our students, educators, and families deserve.鈥

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