Randi Weingarten, the president of the nation’s largest teachers union, was slammed for complaining this weekend that public school teachers who have been working from home for the past year have too much on their plates.
Weingarten, head of the American Federation of Teachers, was reacting in a recent interview to a new policy by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC guidance now states that fully vaccinated adults no longer need to wear masks.
With summer vacation set to commence for many schools, Weingarten claimed in the tone-deaf remarks that the new mask guidance had made teachers’ jobs harder.
“Teachers are tired; they are exhausted,” she said. “We have to find a way to repair and nourish them as well as families in terms of attracting and retaining our teaching force.”
Weingarten and the AFT came under criticism earlier this month after documents proved she convinced the CDC to change its guidance encouraging schools to reopen.
Back in February, the CDC was preparing to issue guidance advising all public schools to reopen fully, but the AFT lobbied the agency and other Biden administration officials to keep schools closed.
Weingarten admitted she played a role in shaping the CDC’s updated guidance, claiming the White House “asked for language” the teachers unions would approve of.
“This is normal rulemaking, frankly,” Weingarten claimed. “This is what every administration used to do. The problem with the last administration didn’t do it.”
In response to the latest remarks, critics pointed out that most teachers nationwide haven’t seen the inside of a classroom for more than a year.
From what? Sitting our your asses on Zoom? People have had it with your no work, whining nonsense. https://t.co/KI0Z5GCAjI
— Carmine Sabia (@CarmineSabia) May 23, 2021
is this a parody account https://t.co/K0JGtAmYD3
— Corey A. DeAngelis (@DeAngelisCorey) May 22, 2021
Why do public school teachers think they’re so special? Parents and students not exhausted and tired too. medical workers and grocery store workers need to be nourished and repaired too. You. Aren’t. Special. #doyourjob
— Mark Powers (@markepowers2) May 22, 2021