Ben Austin, a former Kamala Harris campaign aide, has called on the Democratic Party to distance itself from Randi Weingarten, the head of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). In an opinion piece published on The Hill, Austin stated that the party should ‘break up’ with Weingarten, who he believes has damaged Democratic credibility by pushing for anti-school choice policies and obstructing pandemic-era education reforms. He argued that Weingarten’s influence has caused the party to offload education policymaking to teachers unions instead of taking direct action to benefit students.
Austin criticized Weingarten’s union, United Teachers Los Angeles, for resisting efforts to reopen schools during the pandemic and for relying on racial ideology rather than science to justify their stance. He claimed that these obstacles led some parents to shift allegiance to Republican candidates. Austin also accused the party of having become stagnant under the influence of union leadership, contrasting this with past Democratic successes under Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, who took bold positions on education reform.
Weingarten, who recently stepped down from the Democratic National Committee, is facing criticism for her approach to education policy. Austin argued that the Democratic Party has failed to prioritize education reform, with figures like Harris neglecting the issue in her campaign. He called for a return to a more proactive stance on education, emphasizing the need to stand with parents and challenge failed leaders to restore democratic values within the party.