蜜桃影视

Teachers union officers and activists had a lot to say in 2017, and others had a lot to say about them. Here are the 10 most memorable teachers union quotes of 2017, in countdown order:

10. 鈥淎nd if they vote, they will lose 鈥� they will get slaughtered. It鈥檚 not democracy to let them vote. What would be democratic is to let them build their union.鈥� 鈥� Kate Bronfenbrenner, director of labor education research at Cornell University鈥檚 School of Industrial Labor Relations, commenting on the American Federation of Teachers鈥檚 decision to cancel a representation vote at Paul Public Charter School in Washington, D.C. (April 3, )

9. 鈥淎s long as the teachers union hates him, I鈥檒l support him for governor.鈥� 鈥� Richard Riordan, former mayor of Los Angeles, speaking of former L.A. mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who once worked for the teachers union but has since gotten on its bad side. (Feb. 17, )

8. 鈥淸UFT鈥檚 ruling Unity Caucus] will come out and call anyone pushing a fragmentation drive real nasty names long before it ever got to the stage where there is a new union. I would expect they would say anyone signing or spreading a petition to make a separate bargaining unit was Hitler, Mussolini, the devil, and maybe Stalin all rolled into one.鈥� 鈥� James Eterno, United Federation of Teachers chapter leader, curbing any enthusiasm for the idea of splitting off a high school teachers union from UFT. (Oct. 5, )

7. 鈥淥bviously, these charges are based on lies, and they鈥檙e using it as a negotiating tool because we鈥檙e in bargaining. That is a tactic that unions can use. I personally find it without honor, dishonorable, to use that kind of tactic. But they are within their rights to do that.鈥� 鈥� Mike Gandolfo, president of the Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association in Florida, describing unfair labor practice complaints filed by the union鈥檚 own employees against him. (Aug. 18, )

6. 鈥淚 assure you, in a relatively short period of time, there will be an uprising that will in fact fuel a more progressive future. That鈥檚 what鈥檚 going to happen. When it happens, we need to have the infrastructure in place to take advantage of it.鈥� 鈥� John Stocks, executive director of the National Education Association, during a at the Hayden Lakes Country Club in Idaho.

5. 鈥淏e prepared to lose 30%鈥�40% of your membership base. I don鈥檛 believe it will go that high in CTA, but we need to be prepared.鈥� 鈥� Joe Nu帽ez, executive director of the California Teachers Association, predicting the consequences if agency fees are eliminated, .

4. 鈥淲e know why parents sometimes embrace these voucher schemes. They move their kids to these programs because they want smaller class size, safer environments, and less and more-sensible testing. That鈥檚 exactly what we want for public schools.鈥� 鈥� Joanne McCall, president of the Florida Education Association, after the state Supreme Court rejected the union鈥檚 appeal against Florida鈥檚 tuition tax credit program. (Jan. 18, )

3. 鈥淎s Secretary of Education, would you carry your intent to destroy Detroit Public Schools to all public schools?鈥� One of the American Federation of Teachers鈥檚 #Questions4Betsy during Betsy DeVos鈥檚 .

2. 鈥淎s England was preparing for invasion during WWII, Winston Churchill said, 鈥榃e shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.鈥� And it is in that vein that we will prepare for the fights to come. 鈥� We will fight this battle and, if we persist, our enemies won鈥檛 land on our shores. Rather, like England, it will be us who storms across the channel to fight on their turf.鈥� 鈥� Martin Messner, secretary-treasurer of New York State United Teachers, comparing the union鈥檚 fight to keep agency fees to the Battle of Britain in an to the NYSUT Representative Assembly. Messner resigned his position in November.

1. 鈥淭he people of Van Wert are proud of their public schools. They鈥檝e invested in pre-K and project-based learning. They have a nationally recognized robotics team and a community school program that helps at-risk kids graduate. Ninety-six percent of students in the district graduate from high school. This community understands that Title I is not simply a budget line but a lifeline. Why I am telling you about this town? Because these are the schools I wanted Betsy DeVos to see 鈥� public schools in the heart of the heart of America. 鈥� Make no mistake. This use of privatization coupled with disinvestment are only slightly more polite cousins of segregation. We are in the same fight, against the same forces that are keeping the same children from getting the public education they need and deserve.鈥� 鈥� Randi Weingarten, American Federation of Teachers president, speaking at the AFT TEACH conference in Washington, D.C. Of 2,037 students in the Van Wert public schools, .

Did you use this article in your work?

We鈥檇 love to hear how 蜜桃影视鈥檚 reporting is helping educators, researchers, and policymakers.