AFT Leader Outlines Vision to Build Better Public Education System

by James Parks, Jul 9, 2010

Saying America’s teachers would “lead and propose, not wait and oppose,” AFT President Randi Weingarten outlined a vision to “build a system of public education as it ought to be.”

She said real changes could be made by focusing on good teaching, creating a curriculum that provides opportunity for students to learn and sharing responsibility and accountability with parents and administrators.

Weingarten spoke yesterday at AFT’s biennial convention in Seattle, which runs through Sunday. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka will address the convention tomorrow.

Alliance for Retired Americans - Friday Alert, July 9, 2010

Social Security: House Minority Leader Raises Renewed Privatization Fears
Social Security: House Minority Leader Raises Renewed Privatization Fears

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) stated this week that he is unsure whether the Republican Party will revive their 2005 movement to privatize Social Security. Recently, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), a member of the president’s Fiscal Commission on addressing the national debt, released a budget blueprint that included dramatic cuts to Medicare and Social Security before effectively privatizing both systems. Boehner has distanced himself from Ryan’s blueprint without mentioning where he stands, leaving many advocates for seniors uneasy about the fate of these programs should Republicans return to power. “Representatives Ryan and Boehner must not have seen what I saw when we put unbridled faith in the markets and Wall Street,” said Barbara J. Easterling, President of the Alliance. “We need to continue our work to protect Social Security. It is a valuable lifeline which has kept millions of retirees out of poverty.”