Posted on 10/11/2022 6:10:00 AM PDT by MtnClimber
American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten is in Ukraine this week to meet with Ukrainian students and teachers and “to offer solidarity and support” to Ukrainian students and teachers “amid heinous attacks on Democracy,” according to the AFT website.
The Ukrainian teachers union, the Trade Union of Education and Science Workers, invited the AFT reportedly, “to bear witness and call attention to the effects on children, families and educators and the impact of Russia’s attacks on democracy and democratic institutions.”
“Woke up this am to reports of disgusting Russian missile strikes in Kyiv, Lviv & other cities,” Weingarten tweeted on Monday. “Heading to the border now to assess the situation. This Russian attempt to frighten civilians & the effect on children (who are learning online today) is why this 🇺🇦 trip is so important.”
Weingarten’s tweet highlighted a video of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy calling his Russian enemies “terrorists” in the wake of Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure.
(Tweet at link)
Zelenskyy’s words follow massive attacks on Russia’s infrastructure that resulted in extensive damage to Russia’s Nord Stream Pipelines, and a huge bridge connecting Russia to its annexed territory of Crimea. Russian President Vladimir Putin called both attacks terrorist acts.
Public health activist Dr. Irwin Redlener, Karen Redlener and Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum joined Weingarten on the trip to “deliver assistance to Ukrainian teachers in the west of the country who have taken in thousands of internally displaced children learning in challenging conditions far from home.”
Weingarten and the Redleners will distribute children’s books and other educational materials at school visits in Lviv on Tuesday, Oct. 11. On Wednesday, Oct. 12, they will meet with refugee teachers in Drohobych and Truskavets to shine a light on Vladimir Putin’s attempt to impose autocracy on Ukraine by targeting schools and civilians.
“As Putin tries to take a blowtorch to democracy, we stand in solidarity with the educators, students and families in Ukraine,” said Weingarten in a statement. “They are fighting against Russian aggression to uphold their democracy, their freedom and their self-determination—and after nearly eight months of conflict their righteous resistance grows stronger each day.”
“The war’s effect on kids and families has been brutal, and the Ukrainian teachers’ persistence, compassion and bravery in helping students continue their learning in an active war zone should be lifted up and championed,” she added.
Weingarten will address educators in Warsaw, Poland, on Friday, Oct. 14, during a rally for Polish Teachers Day.
The delegation will report its findings to representatives of the global union movement, the AFL-CIO and the State Department. The AFT and TUESWU are members of the Global Union Federation Education International.
Weingarten is reportedly a member of the hard-left donor collective Democracy Alliance, and is reportedly a personal friend of Hillary Clinton. Under her leadership, according to Influence Watch, “AFT political spending has grown from $15 million to $44 million in less than a decade.”
Weingarten earns an annual salary and expenses of roughly $500,000 from teachers’ union dues and mandatory agency fees while overseeing a union budget that spends over $1.6 million on luxury hotels, travel, and cars for union executives.
Weingarten’s trip to Ukraine was met with derision by conservatives on social media, some of whom argued that her time would be better spent improving American schools.
(numerous Tweets follow at link)
Is she handing out puberty blockers and books about two mommies to the kiddies...and calling anyone who disagrees with her racists?
Poor teachers paying union dues to support this?
Yet another reason we should NOT support the war in the Ukraine... :(
> What the hell is a teachers union president doing assessing a war situation? <
This of course has nothing to do with teaching, or education. Weingarten is there simply to support the Biden regime. Just like a good little apparatchik.
If tomorrow Biden decided to cover the nation’s highways with cow manure, Weingarten would be out there with a shovel, ready to go.
The AFT membership should be outraged by Weingarten‘s visit to Ukraine. And trust me, many of them will be. But they can do nothing about it (see my post #11).
:: but I have not figured out just what it is yet ::
They have a couple trillion of OUR money to give Klaus and the other motherW.E.F.ers.
Teachers could care less what their dues go for as long as they get their 10% annual raises.
Or give a seminar on how they MUST suppress their whiteness and be ashamed that they even exist.
When the far left, the media and the RINO neocons all support this war, you don't need to buy a vowel to figure out it's a bad deal.
Hatch Act
Maybe the Russians will take her captive and demand ransom for her release. I’m sure the US citizens would be able to collect one or two hundred dollars for her release .... maybe.
Is she bringing foreign language skills to negotiate amounts and accounts?
Is she being sent because of her familiarity with shell corporations and fund transfers learned from her years in Democrat unions?
Is she dealing with a different syndicate than the Vindmans did, or is she replacing the Vindmans?
No doubt she’ll be returning with two more suitcases than she left with.😉
But then recall that her standards, objectives, and tactics are consistent with implementation of a Fascist agenda.
(Zelenskyy had his political opponent arrested, outlawed the party, and took control over the media)
(This observation of the facts does not mean I support Putin!)
You know that the Russians are firing missiles on civilian targets. Randi is in Ukraine. Put 2 and 2 together. No need for hostage negotiations either.
Another feather in the cap for our local neocons! You people are batting 1000. Take that Putin!
She’s doing nothing. She’s only big news in the minds of anti-American, pro-commie leftists.
Um, she is in The Ukraine. I don't think they hand out much of Russian anything. Maybe you are confused and she is picking up her WEF creds.
She, like all of the other leftist, is supporting your cause. Why would you want to throw her under the bus like that?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.